NHL Trade Deadline Primer: Teams will covet Chiarot; Canadiens have better options

The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is Monday, March 21 at 3 p.m. ET. As we get closer to the deadline we will take a look at some individual players who could be on the move. We continue today with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot and the rest of the Canadiens defense. 

The NHL Trade Deadline is made for players like Ben Chiarot. At least it has been in recent years. A useful enough player if used correctly in the right role, but also one that is going to spark baffling interest around the league and leave people scratching their heads wondering why their team is willing to move so much for a player that is probably not really a difference maker.

Every year there is one of them. Remember the year Paul Gaustad got moved for a first-round pick? Or all of the picks Tampa Bay moved for David Savard? Same sorta thing here.

This season has not gone according to play for the Canadiens as they have followed a stunning Stanley Cup Final run with a season that has put them at the bottom of the NHL standings, resulting in sweeping changes throughout the organization. They have already made one significant trade by sending Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames, and there should be more moves to be made. There is probably nobody that is off limits in trade talks over the next month, but Chiarot seems like an obvious candidate to move given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent after this season. As well as the fact so many teams seem to have an interest in him.

Chiarot is not going to provide much in the way of offense, but plays a ton of minutes and is highly thought of around the league for his defensive play and toughness. The problem is there are very few defensive metrics that actually back up that assessment.

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