When Victor Mete made the team as a 19-year-old, many were shocked. The hopes were high that he would give an impact. Over the course of his first season, these hopes proved futile as injuries and the WJC-u20 tournament limited his impact for Montreal. Coming into the 2018-2019 season with already one season under his belt, Mete’s season started rocky, eventually being reassigned to Laval for the first time in his career for 7 games. In those 7 games, he recorded one goal (his first professional and only second date), and three assists. When he came back to the main club, his seasons took off. With the return of Shea Weber from a foot, and then a knee injury that sidelined him for over a year, they formed the top pairing defense in Montreal. Although only recording 13 assists last season and zero goals in the NHL, their pairing consistently drove offense.
Over the offseason, Montreal’s perceived biggest need was in the left defense position. With the departure of Jordie Benn to Vancouver, the depth and talent became an issue. Even though the paring of Brett Kulak and Jeff Petry proved to be a solid second pairing, Montreal hadn’t a dynamic offensive left-handed defenseman. To compound this further, Montreal had one of the worst powerplays in the league last year. Whether it was a player misuse or simply not enough talent to consistently put the puck in the back of the net, Montreal’s powerplay was abysmal and eventually was a major factor in them missing the playoffs for the second straight year. Pretty much the same defensive group, minus Benn, is still on the active roster for this year.
Coming into free agency, there were several options for Montreal to fix both these problems by acquiring one player and filling the void left by Benn. UFA Jake Gardiner from Toronto fit the bill, previously getting 50 points in the top pairing role. Via the trade route, Philadelphia’s Shane Gostisbehere or Islander’s Nick Leddy proved to be options that, for the right price could have been acquired. Instead of any of these options, Montreal gave Ben Chiarot a questionable contract. Chiarot is a stay at home defenseman that had a career-high 20 points last year while playing with Dustin Byfuglien in Winnipeg. While a solid defenseman in the d-zone, Chiarot doesn’t drive much offense whatsoever, preferring to be the last line of defense rather than the leader of the transition. His arrival means the odds of Mete being left on the top pairing for the next season were great.
Still only 21, Mete hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface of his ability and potential. Based on the early offseason moves, it seems he will be afforded every opportunity to seize the moment. This will be a big year for both Mete and Montreal, with the potential of great growth and success or stagnation and failure. Starting off the season scoring his first-ever NHL goal isn't a bad way to start.
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