New development in the Ben Chiarot sweepstakes; he may not want to remain in Canada
Montreal Canadiens' defenseman Ben Chiarot has long been the subject of trade talk this season. He topped the list of players to watch on TSN's very first Trade Bait board of the season on December 7...
...and this week finds himself at #2:
Chiarot's currently on injured reserve, but we've all seen how that bait-and-switch system can work if teams manipulate it properly (see Vegas Golden Knights last week RE: Eichel/Stone or last year's Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightnight RE: Kucherov as a refresher!). Besides, the teams that are interested in Chiarot's services likely don't really want him until closer to the March 21 NHL Trade Deadline anyway, so his getting some rest while Montreal pays him is fortuitous.
In terms of interested teams, Insider Frank Seravalli reported this morning on the Daily Faceoff podcast that he believes at least two teams are likely out on Chiarot and they're both Canadian teams: Calgary and Toronto.
Speaking of Calgary and acquisition cost, if the price the Flames paid to acquire winger Tyler Toffoli last week is any indication, then a highly sought after, stay-at-home, pending-UFA defenseman like Ben Chiarot is going to yield a quality return for a Montreal Canadiens team that is rebuilding its' roster.
