The Montreal Canadiens biggest weakness on roster this season was on left defence. Last summer, they attempted to address this issue when Jordie Benn left as a free agent by signing Ben Chiarot to a three-year contract worth $3.5 million per year.
Chiarot joined Victor Mete and Brett Kulak on the left side of the team’s depth defensive depth chart. On paper, especially before Chiarot stepped onto the ice, it looked like a huge weakness. There was no guarantee that Mete was ready to play on the top pairing with Shea Weber full time, we knew Kulak was not a prototypical first pairing defender and we didn’t really know what to expect from Chiarot.