The free agent market will open on Wednesday July 28, and then if the exclusive from the website Habsolumentfan comes to be true, Cédric Paquette is expected to join the organization of the Montreal Canadiens. According to the information received by the website, Paquette would get a one-year deal that will pay him $950,000. Wouldn't this be the perfect addition to the fourth line of the Red-White-Blue?
If I dig deeper, it leads me to some plausible conclusions, if this signing turns out to concretize itself, of course. If Paquette is in the fourth center chair, it means that Bergevin has no intention of offering Eric Staal a contract, right? It also means that Jake Evans will have a bigger role, becoming the Habs 3rd line center. Then there's the whole situation with Phillip Danault, who will probably test the free agent market... and Jack Eichel name related to the team, who knows?
To return to Paquette, the Lightning had to trade him to get some cap space before the start of the 2021 season. On December 27, 2020, he was added to the Braydon Coburn trade to satisfy the Ottawa Senators, but on February 13, 2021, he was traded once again to the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he was able to settle into a specific role, unlike what he experienced with the Senators.
Paquette is not the 7th wonder of the world, but he brings additional eagerness to a fourth line with his relentlessness character, work ethic and physical play. The 27-year-old Quebecer has played 424 games in the NHL, where he has 94 points. He also has 95 playoff games and a Stanley Cup to his record, which is very remarkable. A winning spirit, we like that!
