The Montreal Canadiens traded defenceman Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers, the team announced on Wednesday. In return for Chiarot is Tyler Smilanic, a first-round pick in 2023, and a fourth-round pick in 2022. Smilanic, the No. 74 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is playing NCAA hockey at Quinnipiac University. The Canadiens will retain 50 percent of Chiarot's salary ($1.75 million) for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
Chiarot, 30, has seven goals and 11 assists through 54 games played this season with the Canadiens. He's spent the last three years with the Canadiens, after six seasons with the Winnipeg Jets.
The Panthers (41-13-6) sit first atop the Atlantic Division standings. The Canadiens (16-36-8) are last place in the Atlantic Division.
(Photo: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
What do the Panthers get in Chiarot?
Shayna Goldman, NHL staff writer: The Panthers add a very defensive defenseman in Ben Chiarot. He’s a tough player and can absorb a lot of minutes — but his team often was outshot and out-chanced with him on the ice. The defender’s not as bad as his underlying numbers suggest, he saw some improvement after the coaching change in Montreal, and now he won’t have to take on a leading role in Florida. However, this isn’t the caliber rental to invest as much as the Panthers just did.
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Does this trade make Florida a Stanley Cup contender?
Goldman: Florida was already a contender ahead of this trade, rating well in all the key categories on the Cup checklist. Defensive depth was an area with room for improvement, but at face value, this doesn't seem to be the improvement (especially at this cost) they should have been striving for. That said, a change of systems to a fast-paced Panthers team, in a lesser role, could help Chiarot play to his strengths.
What sort of a return did Montreal get for Chiarot?
Marc Antoine Godin, Canadiens senior writer: There was legitimate concern, only a little while ago, that the number of defencemen potentially on the market could make a dent in Chiarot’s value, but with Jakob Chychrun getting hurt and John Klingberg staying put in Dallas, the Canadiens could be hopeful again, and the return Josh Manson brought the Anaheim Ducks in the trade with Colorado was only more reassuring.
The first-round pick is obviously the big prize here, especially since it’s from the deeper and stronger 2023 draft.
Ty Smilanic, a centreman/left winger taken 74th in the 2020 draft by the Panthers, is a fast skater who is definitely more of a scorer than a playmaker. He was a finalist for rookie of the year in the ECAC last season with Quinnipiac and he got off to a very encouraging sophomore season this year with 11 goals and nine assists in his first 26 games, only to tail off with just two goals in his last 12. He was not considered among the Panthers' top-five prospects.
Who steps up in Chiarot’s absence?
Godin: In the short term, having Joel Edmundson back from injury provides some sort of status quo on defence, even though Edmundson hasn’t found enough of a rhythm yet to replace the Canadiens’ most used player. Alexander Romanov, next in line in the left side pecking order, actually figures to be the one getting the biggest bump in ice time. Chiarot was also seeing quite a bit of power-play time, so we assume that Jeff Petry might finally be able to get his old job back.
The Canadiens' blue line could be further depleted in the coming days, and at times, things could be difficult until the end of the season. Being able to sign Northeastern captain Jordan Harris and have him finish the season in Montreal would certainly help.