With Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Eric Staal and Corey Perry gone, Marc Bergevin will have to find alternatives if he wants to have a competitive team next year. When the free agent market opened, he filled two holes by signing forwards Mike Hoffman and Cédric Paquette. However, that won't be enough.
Tyler Bozak would be a good replacement for Phillip Danault. The veteran center is known as an excellent third line player, solid defensively. He is also capable of bringing his share of points. The Habs are not entirely comfortable with having Jesperi Kotkaniemi as their second center on a regular basis. Tyler Bozak would bring some security to the center position, which could help Kotkaniemi develop and transition to the second line center eventually.
He had 17 points, including 5 goals, in 31 games last year with the St. Louis Blues. Remember that he won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
As for Mathieu Perreault, he just spent the last seven seasons of his career with the Winnipeg Jets. At 33 years old, the Quebecer could decide to spend the last seasons of his career at home. Remember that he is a native of Drummondville. In the past, Perreault was a player capable of putting up a considerable amount of points, hence his five career seasons of 35 points or more. However, if he comes to Montreal, he would be limited to a secondary role, just like in Winnipeg.
