By J.D. Lagrange, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

When it was reported that the Canadiens had traded for Zack Kassian, it was fun to read Twitter and see the reactions. Most were quite critical, saying that GM Marc Bergevin was getting more third and fourth line depth and not addressing the team’s top-six needs, that the team had enough “grinders”. To be fair, most of those comments came from people who have not been following the Canucks up close and relied on stats or hearsay to base their analysis, not even knowing what the team gave up for him.

PENTICTON, BC. – Then came the news that Brandon Prust was the player heading to Vancouver and while he was a fan favourite, a majority of those same fans felt good about the trade. To clarify, the Canadiens got Kassian and the Canucks’ fifth round pick in 2016 for Prust.

The reason why fans were, for the most part, okay with the trade is because for whatever reason, likely injuries, Prust was not the same player on ice as he was in his first two seasons. He had lost a step skating-wise but mostly, he was not as physical as he once was, although there is no denying his commitment to the team and his teammates, and his leadership. Prust is a very loveable character and he’s a lunch-box type player who comes to work every single day, every single shift.

Recently engaged to local celebrity Marie-Pier Morin, Prust was just as popular off the ice as he was on ice. He was involved in the local culture and donated a lot of his time to the community. Approachable, fans couldn’t get enough of the popular couple and Prust was even taking French lessons to better communicate with them. In the dressing room, he was a very popular figure, the class clown.

WHO IS KASSIAN?

First, the obvious… Kassian was selected in the first round, 13th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2009 Draft held in Montreal, the year when the Canadiens selected Louis Leblanc. Standing at 6-foot-3-inches, weighing at 214 pounds, the 24-year-old winger has missed several games last year due to a bad back. In spite of playing just over 12 minutes per game, he still managed to score 10 goals in 42 games, nine of those at even strength. Once thought as a power-forward in the making, Kassian has yet to live up to the expectations and that’s mostly due to his inconsistency, something that he admits himself.

What is less known however, is the fact that Kassian is an excellent teammate and he’s well liked in the dressing room. Not unlike Prust, he is known for being a fun guy in the dressing room, a prankster. While not as accomplished as a fighter as Prust, Kassian too will drop the gloves to defend a teammate and players appreciate that.

If you want to make a correlation between Kassian and a former Canadiens’ player, it should be Guillaume Latendresse. While more physical and tougher than the former number 84, Kassian is a big body with good hands. He’s also faster than “Tender” and he is expected to play more physical than he does at times. It is important to point out that Kassian isn’t blind to his own faults, as he admitted publically that he needs to bring more consistency to his game and that with close to four years of experience in the game, he feels like it’s time to get that rectified.

“I can play physical, I can grind it, and I like the cycle game, but at the same time, I like to make plays and I like to score goals. When I’m at my best, I can do both.” — Zack Kassian

From having seen him play here on the west coast, I can tell you first hand that Kassian is a frustrating player to watch. Some shifts, some games, he has a huge impact on the game, scoring big goals, using his body, fighting, being a force. Other games, other shifts, he’s nonexistent. He is a guy who skates really well for a big guy, he has very good hands, and he has a good shot, although most of his goals are from the dirty area, in front of the net. Unfortunately for him, I felt like he had the short end of the stick in too many occasions, being sat or put on the fourth line what seems like every time he made a mistake. If he gets it all together, he could very well be in the mold of a Todd Bertuzzi, but not as shifty.

The Canadiens completed a good trade. Prust, since his shoulders injuries, has not been the same player and he was on his last year of a contract with a cap hit of $2.5 million. It is unlikely that the Habs would have re-signed him. Kassian is in the final year of a contract paying him $1.75 million. The team not only saves $750,000 in cap hit, but Kassian is a RFA at the end of the season. If he works out, the Canadiens still own his rights. If he doesn’t, they can choose to trade him or keep his rights. That is smart assets management.

“I need to find consistency. Honestly, after spending three-and-a-half, four years in the league, I know what I have to do to be the player I need to be. This summer, I’m really taking strides forward to coming into next year. I want to have a good year. I have matured a lot as a person, as a player and I can’t wait to get going.” — Zack Kassian

Kassian said the right things after the trade but let’s be careful with words like this as we’ve heard that in several occasions, more recently with Daniel Brière and P-A Parenteau. Players tend to say the right things, although not all admit their own fault, as it is easier to blame the coach as the last two above-mentioned have done.

BERGEVIN’S PRESSER

I wasn’t going to write about this but Marc Bergevin forced me too… sort of. Reporter Phillipe Cantin from La Presse asked Bergevin a question about the so-called defensive system preached by the team, stating that others as well as he had noticed. Bergevin turned the question around by asking Cantin what he meant by defensive system and to explain what the Canadiens do differently than other NHL teams. He stated that if they had a one-man forecheck, he’d have a point but the Habs’ system is similar to most other teams in the NHL. Bergevin even asked him if Tampa Bay was more offensive. Cantin admitted that they have more punch up front so Bergevin explained that Tampa, when the puck is in their zone, rally with five guys in front of their net. Bergevin continued by saying that some of his players didn’t have a great year offensively and that the powerplay was non-existent for most of the season, contributing to the lack of punch up front.

This goes to show that while head coach Michel Therrien is not without blame, some of the blame he’s taking from some members of the media and mostly, some pocket of the fan base, is unfounded and totally made up in the eyes of Bergevin. This does not mean that the Canadiens could not use some more punch up front, but that the problem was emphasized by some players’ lack of production and by the faulty powerplay. Can’t really say that the GM is wrong about that…

For what it’s worth, I think that Bergevin isn’t done and that we will see at least one, maybe two more trades in the next few days.

Go Habs Go!