“The CH would have liked to have had a better chance of signing Mason Marchment”

Félix Forget
“The CH would have liked to have had a better chance of signing Mason Marchment”
Credit: Jason Mowry/Getty Images

It was a busy day in the NHL on Wednesday as the free-agent market opened… but it was a different story for the Habs. The team reached an agreement with Ivan Demidov to keep him in town through 2035, but they didn't bring in any immediate reinforcements.

They added some depth to help out in Laval, but that's about it.

When you look at the prices, it's easy to see why Kent Hughes chose to stay out of the free-agent market. But we suspected that one of the players the Habs would have liked to sign was Mason Marchment.

And according to Chris Johnston, who discussed this on The Chris Johnston Show, there's reason to believe that was indeed the case: the insider mentioned that the Habs “would have liked to have had a better chance of signing him.”

It's probably understandable that Marchment ruled out the Canadiens from the process… but the club, for its part, wanted him.

We know that Marchment ultimately decided to sign with San Jose, where his father spent a good part of his career. That was probably the destination he had in mind from the start, and that may be why the Habs never really got a chance.

Because it's true that a player like Marchment—a big guy capable of racking up around 50 points a season—would have filled a major need in Montreal.

It's worth noting, however, that Johnston stated he doesn't think the Habs would have been willing to offer the forward a five-year contract worth nearly $7 million a year. It's unclear exactly whether it was the number of years or the amount that would have been an issue, but the club wouldn't necessarily have been open to going in that direction.

Without San Jose's interest and without a competitive offer, it would have been quite difficult for the Canadiens to land Marchment, even if he had been open to signing with Montreal. And from what we understand, that, too, was another issue.


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