Nathan Légaré: a change of scenery that could benefit him

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the deal that sent Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh. Obviously, being the third team, the Habs were involved, and without giving anything away, they came out on top.

In addition to Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith and a second-round pick in 2025, the CH acquired an interesting prospect, Quebecer Nathan Légaré.

Légaré is a native of Montreal. He is a former third-round pick (74th overall) of the Penguins in the 2019 draft. In his last three seasons in the QMJHL, the 6-foot, 205-pound right winger collected at least one point per game.

He was a real prospect for the team, but in the AHL, he never really got into his stride. He never played a regular-season game in the NHL.

I’m curious to get up to date information on Nathan Legare. He seemed like an intriguing prospect has his draft year.@MOBeaudoin1 @mat_paradis @PascalLapointe_ @SimServant @19Simon19

🙂

– David Bouwm  (@Bouwm_Dad) August 6, 2023

The 22-year-old forward’s stats don’t jump off the page. In two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he collected 35 points in 125 games. Is he a victim of the team’s lack of offense?

Perhaps. As Maxime Duquet points out, the Penguins had the second-worst offense on the circuit last year. And this year, Légaré will have the chance to play in Laval, where the offense is much more dynamic.

For those unimpressed by Nathan Légaré’s stats last year, the Penguins’ club-école had the 2nd-worst offense in the league with 191 goals in 72 games. Can’t wait to see what he can do with a more dynamic attack in Laval. #GoHabsGo

– Maxime Duquet (@MaximeDuquet) August 6, 2023

Joshua Roy, Riley Kidney, Jared Davidson, Gabriel Bourque: Laval is going to be very interesting to watch this season, that’s for sure.

A change of scenery could be very beneficial for new acquisition Kent Hughes, who, we agree, hasn’t had the desired start to his professional career.

Légaré is in the final year of a three-year contract signed in 2019. He’ll earn $789,167 this season, but that amount won’t count against payroll since it’s a minor league contract. At the end of the 2023-2024 season, he will be a restricted free agent.

In short, Nathan Légaré isn’t the key piece of the deal, but he’s a local boy and in the right chair, he could be an important part of the Rocket’s success. Stay tuned.

In gusto

– The Penguins and…?

Sharks GM Mike Grier says there were two teams in the end that were still in the running for Erik Karlsson.

– Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 6, 2023

– It’s a case of saying it.

Erik Karlsson is with Penguins. Many of Ron Hextall’s mistakes are gone. There is protection on a first-round pick.

With one swoop, after many other moves over summer, Kyle Dubas set up The Big Three did another Cup run, My @TheAthletic story ⬇️ https://t.co/j2rakHfF15

– Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) August 6, 2023

– Too bad.