The Montreal Canadiens have traded defesneman Ben Chiariot to the Florida Panthers for an unprotected 2023 first-round pick, a 2022 fourth-round pick and Tyler Smilanic.
The Canadiens are retaining 50 percent of Chiarot’s salary.
Thoughts from the media
Frank Seravalli: The fourth round pick was to get the Canadiens to retain 50 percent of Chiarot’s salary – $1.75 million.
Chris Peters: “Nice haul for the Habs. Smilanic is a good scoring forward with some pace. Has played C at times, but probably a wing as a pro. Was part of U.S. WJC team before it got cancelled. Numbers were only OK this year, but he’s got more in there. Good tools and time to develop.”
Adam Gretz: “No problem with the Panthers paying prospects or picks (banners hang forever) but it is worth asking if Frank Vatrano (who had to be traded for cap space) and those picks/prospects could have brought them a more impactful player.”
Dom Luszczyszyn: “The Panthers have a way of making questionable players work in their system, so it’ll be really interesting to see how Chiarot fits there in a lesser role”
Dom Luszczyszyn: “Chiarot is better than his numbers (especially this year’s terrible numbers), but this is still an incredibly steep price to pay. Great work by the Canadiens”
Evolving Wild: “Chiarot has been used as a top pair defenseman for the past several seasons so maybe a change of role/deployment (and not using him on the penalty kill) will help… but, still, this is an awful trade for the Panthers.”
J.D. Burke: “Oh, wow. Montréal got a 2023 first out of this too. What an absolute coup for the Habs. I don’t even think the most generous possible assessment of Chiarot’s game aligns with this sort of return.”
Cam Robinson: “Ty Smilanic is a high-pace, north-south forward who loves to forecheck and does it well. He has a pretty nice wrist shot too. Bottom six energy line type of upside.”
Ty Smilanic, acquired as part of the Ben Chiarot trade, hasn’t had any massive production development jumps since being drafted in 2020. If he makes it, it’s likely as a depth support piece and it’s a few years out. https://t.co/VDhJCwtHH3 pic.twitter.com/6leF3oCX7T
— Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) March 17, 2022
Whenever you get a chance to trade a 1st in slick draft and decent prospect for a guy like this, you simply have to do it pic.twitter.com/ADtOpXL8lj
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) March 17, 2022
The Florida Panthers have acquired Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Ty Smilanic, 1st round draft pick 2023 and 4th round draft pick 2022. Overpaid by the Panthers in our eyes. Chiarot likely will be better than he was in Montreal this year, but still… pic.twitter.com/R5GE2g9jWm
— Andy & Rono (@HockeyStatsCZ) March 17, 2022
Ben Chiarot (traded to Florida for a fourth this year, a first next year, and a prospect) is an average defensive defender with a decent shot. pic.twitter.com/zq4iLVbTQY
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) March 17, 2022
Defense was an area with room for improvement for the Panthers, and the Vatrano deal helped clear some cap to do it…
The price – a 1st, 4th, and prospect – was still too high for Ben Chiarot, but he did improve under Marty St. Louis and shouldn’t be as exposed in Florida. pic.twitter.com/MFDddjnI3P
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) March 17, 2022
This is a fantastic trade for Montreal and a really bad trade for the Panthers. I do not understand what teams see in Chiarot, but by our models he has been one of the worst defensemen in the league for several years now… https://t.co/L8OPOarYF5 pic.twitter.com/fWif5wRSJf
— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) March 17, 2022
