Like a lot of narratives surrounding the Montreal Canadiens, this one starts with last year’s P.K. Subban-Shea Weber blockbuster.
General Manager Marc Bergevin signalled a focus on reliability in the defensive zone over anything else a rearguard might offer. His moves so far this off-season have only reinforced this ideology: shipping out the puck-moving-if-defensively-spotty Nathan Beaulieu for a third-rounder; leaving Nikita Nesterov to walk as an unrestricted free agent; allowing hard-hitting, giveaway-prone Alexei Emelin to be claimed in expansion.
The pieces Bergevin has added in the last few months, including Jordie Benn and more recently Dave Schlemko — both around 30 years old and known for being steady and not very flashy — are very much defencemen in line with Bergevin’s increasingly apparent philosophy.