As we get nearer to the March 7 trade deadline, there will be a lot of chatter about pending unrestricted free agents. There’s already been a lot said and written about Jake Evans, Joel Armia, and David Savard. Very little has been written about Christian Dvorak, however.
On Wednesday at the Bell Centre, La Presse’s Richard Labbe spoke to the centerman, who told him he would love to play in Montreal next year. The centerman added that he loves the city and his teammates. However, he doesn’t know if the interest is mutual since there has been no talk with the organization.
Dvorak is in the sixth and final year of the big-money contract he signed with the defunct Arizona Coyotes in August 2018. His $4,450,000 cap hit is relatively high considering his offensive output. Although people were hopeful that his production in the OHL would translate well to the NHL, it didn’t happen. He never had the kind of linemates he had with the London Knights (Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk) in Montreal or in Arizona, which could have helped.
In nine NHL years, his highest point total remains 38, which he reached during the 2019-20 campaign. With the Canadiens, he was never able to score more than 33 points in a season, and he was also never able to play a full 82-game season.
Dvorak landed in Montreal thanks to a panic move by former GM Marc Bergevin, who needed a pivot after losing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a Carolina Hurricanes offer sheet and Phillip Danault to free agency. The Canadiens were desperate, and the American was available, but it was far from a match made in heaven.
He spent the best part of this season on the Canadiens’ third or fourth line, depending on who you ask, centering Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson. In 56 games, he has gathered 17 points and a minus-14 rating. Right now, it’s hard to imagine Kent Hughes offering him a contract extension even though he’s a good teammate and Cole Caufield’s roommate. Talks would have to start with a very sizeable pay cut.
Dvorak can hope Hughes wants to keep a backup plan in case Owen Beck is not quite ready to make the jump to the NHL next season, especially since the Canadiens’ GM has said he doesn’t want to have too many rookies on his team at once, as it would hinder the team’s progress.
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