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The Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs for the first time since losing in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. Still, the Canadiens were eliminated in five games by the Washington Capitals. Now, the Canadiens will look towards the offseason. One of the decisions that needs to be made is surrounding free agent Christian Dvorak. If the Canadiens cannot re-sign Dvorak, here are the three best destinations for Dvorak in NHL free agency.
Dvorak is coming off a solid season with the Canadiens. He played 82 games for the first time in his career, scoring 12 goals and adding 33 assists. Further, he added a goal and an assist on the power play. Dvorak primarily played on the second line for the Canadiens this past season, but could also be a solid third-line center. According to Cap Wages, he is expected to have an AAV on his next contract of just $1.7 million, making him an affordable option for many teams.
The Canadians have just $21.8 million in cap space this upcoming season and will be looking to upgrade their second line. That makes it unlikely they will bring back Dvorak, even on a lower-cost contract. Still, he will be attractive to other teams looking for help in the bottom-six forwards.
The Blackhawks need face-off help
The top line for the Blackhawks will be led by their franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard, but the Blackhawks need help at center overall. This past season, the Blackhawks were 31st in the NHL in faceoff percentage, winning just 44.8 percent of the time. Further, their leader in face-off winning was Jason Dickinson, who won just 49.5 percent of his face-offs this year. Meanwhile, Bedard won just 38.3 percent of his face-offs this past season. This is a clear area of need for Chicago.
Dvorak was 16th in the NHL in face-off percentage among players who took over 900 face-offs. He won 591 face-offs this year while losing 469, which gave him a win percentage of 55.8 percent. The Blackhawks have over $40 million in cap space this upcoming season and could easily bring in Dvorak while going after other quality free agents. He could fit well on both the second or third lines for the Blackhawks, while also helping on the power play and penalty kill with his face-off abilities.
Further, Dvoark is from Palos Township, Illinois. He played for the Chicago Mission U16 and U18 teams, so coming back to the Blackhawks would add a homecoming factor to his decision.
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The Devils add veteran depth
The Devils know they need to make moves this offseason if they want to progress in the playoffs. The core of the forwards is under contract for the foreseeable future, with Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, Nick Hischier, and Jack Hughes. Still, they need to add depth. Dvorak's 33 points this year would have placed him sixth among forwards on the Devils in terms of points. It also gives him more points than any player on the third or fourth line for the Devils.
Further, the Devils will be working with some cap restraints this year. While they are projected to have over $21 million in cap space this year, they have some needs to address before adding pieces. First, Luke Hughes is a restricted free agent. He is expected to garner at least $5.75 million this year of the $21 million in cap space. Further, Cody Glass and Nolan Foote are also restricted free agents and could cost another $3 million to bring back. This would leave the Devils with under $13 million to work with, so an inexpensive third-line option will be attractive.
Dvorak heads to Minnesota
The Wild could also use help for their forwards. They could lose restricted free-agent Marco Rossi. While he was playing on the third and fourth line towards the end of the season, he also logged minutes on the first line when Kirill Kaprizov was out. While Dvorak will not be a direct replacement, he could fill in spots on the third and fourth line for the Wild.
Further, Marcus Johansson and Gustav Nyquist are both free agents, and both played on the third line this past season. Johansson scored just 34 points this past year, while Nyquist had 28 between two teams. Bringing in Dvoark would be a less expensive option to help them re-sign Rossi. Johansson is expected to cost over $2 million, while Nyquist could cost over three. With Dvorak expected to cost just $1.7 million, the Wild could replace Nyquist with Dvorak and use that extra million towards Rossi. Further, Dvorak provides more flexibility on both the power play and the penalty kill than Nyquist, being an attractive option.
