Former Canadiens Still Looking for New Homes in 2023-24

Staal didn’t play in the NHL in the 2021-22 season, but was part of the Stanley Cup Final run with the Canadiens in 2020-21. He wasn’t exactly impressive after being acquired at the trade deadline that season, but he’s also not the player that should be counted on to score anymore. He is a big, smart, veteran who has won before. He knows what it takes and can definitely be a positive in the locker room and on the ice for a team, even just getting the chance with a PTO to start.

Nathan Beaulieu

Nathan Beaulieu is one of the closest of this group to have a contract for the 2023-24 season as he is on a PTO with the Carolina Hurricanes. That team has a lot of good defensemen as it is, so he might just wind up with a two-way, league-minimum deal and see limited action this season in the NHL. He is a capable defender and definitely gives the Hurricanes some depth if he does earn a contract.

Beaulieu was a first-round pick by the Canadiens back in 2011 and spent six seasons in the organization, playing games in the NHL in five of them. Without a doubt his two best seasons in the NHL were spent with Montreal in his final two seasons with the team where he played his most games in a season, logged the most ice time per game, and recorded the most points in his career. It has been a struggle for him to find consistent playing time in the NHL, but he is physical and has gotten more defensively responsible over the years as his offense has evaporated. He’ll be playing in the NHL/American Hockey League in some capacity this season.

Jordie Benn

Another former Habs player is Jordie Benn, who like Beaulieu, is a depth defenseman that just earned himself a PTO. He is back with the Dallas Stars with his brother Jamie where he started his professional career. Although he was undrafted, he signed with the Stars’ organization and played parts of six seasons with them before being traded during the 2016-17 season to the Canadiens.

Benn’s best season came in 2018-19 with the Canadiens where he was a beast in his own end with 128 blocked shots and 124 hits, adding five goals and 22 points on top of that. The 36-year-old didn’t get much playing time last season as a depth defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs, only getting into 12 games with limited ice time. He will likely be able to find a home in Dallas once again to potentially close out his career.

There is one more name, but he isn’t worth a whole section on, and it’s Nathan Schnarr . Drafted in 2017 by the Arizona Coyotes, he spent about a season in total with the Canadiens’ organization. He was acquired in March 2022 from the New Jersey Devils and played 20 games for the Laval Rocket to end the season. He then played 27 games the following season (2022-23) and was dealt almost a year after being acquired by the Canadiens to the Los Angeles Kings.

Most of these players are getting up there in age and retirement is definitely an option. A couple will surely find a contract somewhere this season though as they’re on PTOs.