In numbers: The arrival of Alexandre Carrier has transformed the CH

Sometimes, the acquisition of a single player can change the performance of a sports team.

We see this this year in Montreal with Alexandre Carrier. Renaud Lavoie just talked about it this morning, on the airwaves of BPM Sports.

Because without making too much noise, the defender has transformed the CH since his arrival in town…

Carrier was traded for Justin Barron (one for one) on December 18 and played his first game with the CH two days later, on December 20.

Since then, the Canadiens…

• Rank 7th overall
• Have a record of 18-11-3
• Have an efficiency rate of 83.5% in numerical disadvantage (5th in the NHL)

In the standings, only the Stars, Capitals, Jets, Panthers, Avalanche, and Lightning (in that order) are doing better than the Canadiens since December 20.

It’s not nothing:

Renaud Lavoie was keen to recall the importance of this transaction and he did well.

Because before December 20, the Canadiens…

• Rank 28th overall
• Held a record of 12-16-3
• Had an efficiency rate of 81.1% in numerical disadvantage (11th in the NHL)

We knew that the arrival of Alexandre Carrier was going to help the Canadiens’ defense.

We knew that adding a guy who is effective in all three zones and has experience like him was going to help the CH be more competitive defensively.

But few people could have predicted that the player’s impact would be so significant in Montreal.

This is where we realize that Kent Hughes really made a good move and won this transaction. Justin Barron had some potential… But it’s nothing compared to what Carrier brings to the team since his arrival in Montreal.

So much the better, then.

Extension

While talking about Barron… Let’s note that the defender seems to have found his niche in Nashville.

He has collected eight points in 26 games with the Preds and has been playing an average of 18 minutes per game since the beginning of February.

It’s not so bad.