You’ll find a common thread among NHL general managers most consider to currently be the “best” in the sport: they’re all willing to make trades on a dime if the current roster isn’t working. And they generally pull it off without sacrificing the long-term in panic moves.
The Ben Scrivens trade is more proof Marc Bergevin is the NHL’s savviest GM
It might not look like much, but Scrivens could be a great pickup.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
In a few short years, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has shown he's pretty good at that. He provided more evidence this week, trading troubled winger Zack Kassian for Edmonton Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens. Montreal's goaltending situation has been in flux all season with Carey Price out more than six weeks with an injury. With the Habs losing all but three games in December, some sort of move was necessary.
So in comes Scrivens. Acquiring him is another underrated, savvy move that’s been the hallmark of Bergevin’s career with the Canadiens’ front office. Here’s why:
He didn’t give up much for Scrivens
The critical component of any trade is making sure you didn’t overpay for what you bought, right? In this case the Canadiens clearly didn’t. In fact, they might have underpaid.
Kassian has two things going against him. First, he’s on his last chance to make it in the NHL. He’s a first-round talent (2009) that’s bounced around from Buffalo to Vancouver to Montreal because his production hasn’t justified his penalty minutes. Kassian hasn’t played this season because he’s been in the NHL’s substance abuse program.
"It's no secret I've been given a few chances and I'm very thankful I've been given one more," said Kassian, who played on the 2010 Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires with Oilers winger Taylor Hall. "It's probably going to be my last (chance)."
He was reinstated two weeks ago, but Bergevin didn’t show any willingness to bring him back into the fold. Getting rid of him for a proven NHL goalie (and no draft picks!) was a shrewd move.
Goaltending wasn’t Montreal’s problem anyway
Well, it is a problem. But it isn’t their biggest problem.
When Carey Price went down with a long-term injury, Condon stepped in and performed admirably. There’s no question he’s faltered a bit; you don’t lose 10 of 12 games in December if your netminder is playing lights-out.
But you also don’t lose that often if your offense shrivels up like a flower dropped in a desert. Here’s their goals per game averages as a team per month:
October: 3.75
November: 3.30
December: 1.50
And their average margin of defeat in December? A reasonable 2.1. If anything was wrong with Condon, it was that the poor man didn’t get a night off for the last three months.
The good news is Montreal scored four goals on Monday in Tampa Bay. If they can reawaken their offense then they should be in good shape.
Scrivens might actually be good?
I pose that as a question because who knows what sort of state he’s in post-Edmonton. That sort of experience can destroy your soul.
But the Oilers traded for Scrivens in 2013 for a reason. His numbers for a bad Toronto team were pretty decent (2.69 GAA, .915 SV% in 2012-13) and he looked good spelling Jonathan Quick on the Kings a year later. He was unable to win the starting job in Edmonton outright, but so was Devan Dubnyk and he's doing pretty well in Minnesota these days.
Plus, as Eyes on the Prize points out, Scrivens has performed better than every recent Habs goalie not named Carey Price.
Even Dubnyk:
And even Dustin Tokarski, who he'll replace on Montreal's roster:
That whole EotP post is great and worth your full attention, by the way.
Scrivens, like Kassian, has been given another chance to earn his place. He seems like a smart guy, so he’ll likely recognize it and run with it.
Montreal didn’t need a savior to stop their tailspin. They just needed an upgrade. Bergevin found one, went and got it without giving up much in return and wiped his hands clean of a mistake in the meantime. This guy is good.
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