Despite a quiet trade market around the league, Marc Bergevin continues to tinker with his line up, now acquiring Andreas Martinsen from Colorado for Sven Andrighetto.
Canadiens acquire forward Andreas Martinsen from the Colorado Avalanche, in return for forward Sven Andrighetto. pic.twitter.com/ddljyCd2jY
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 1, 2017
The acquisition of Martinsen continues the ongoing trend of the Habs stocking up on large, bottom six role players at the deadline this year. Alongside Steve Ott and Dwight King there could be an entirely new fourth line in Montreal this weekend.
In 55 games this year the Norwegian winger has three goals and four assists, with 32 PIMs for the Avalanche this season.
Martinsen’s HERO chart isn’t flattering to him. He doesn’t generate a ton of shots, or prevent shots against either. Though playing on a bad team in the Colorado Avalanche may skew those numbers a bit. Either way, with a 43.12 CF% he isn’t going to push play on the fourth line, and certainly won’t make a significant impact.
The biggest issue with this, much like the Ott trade is that an older, less skillful player will be stepping into the lineup over their AHL talents. Even if Andrighetto had been inconsistent this season it’s far better to let young talent sort out their game and pay dividends at the end.
As opposed to flipping them for another older, expiring asset. Even in a struggling season the Swiss forward has more points in half the games of Martinsen, which makes this trade all the more head scratching.
It’s possible the Habs would rather have received an asset for a player they were going to lose anyway, especially since Andrighetto would need waivers as well. But, from what it looks like now the Habs added another fourth line grinding forward, this time at the cost of a prospect with solid offensive upside, and not just a pick.
It’s entirely possible there’s still something larger at play, but for now Bergevin is playing his moves close to the vest.
