One of the top players who will more than likely be on the move before the NHL trade deadline is Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot.
The 30-year-old is a pending free agent, carrying a reasonable $3.5 million cap hit. He's registered 15 points in 50 games this season with 104 hits and 83 blocked shots. Chiarot does have a 10-team no-movement clause built into his contract that he will have to waive if one of those teams is interested in trading for him.
With the Canadiens sitting last in the Eastern Conference, they are going to be sellers at the trade deadline and Chiarot is a coveted target for contenders. He's a left-shot defenseman with size that can eat up minutes if need be and he has playoff experience, helping Montreal on its Cinderella-run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season.
His name has been brought up constantly throughout the year with a number of different suitors calling the Canadiens about acquiring him before the March 21 deadline. Chiarot boosted his trade value even more on Thursday night, recording two goals including the game winner in overtime against the Calgary Flames.
🚨BEN CHIAROT FOR THE WIN! 🚨
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 4, 2022
With his second goal of the game, Chiarot scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner to get the @CanadiensMTL past the Flames. pic.twitter.com/cRNc4Ewyr2
Here's a look at some potential destinations for Chiarot.
MORE: NHL trade rumors tracker: Vancouver Canucks "not that into the idea" of trading J.T. Miller
Trade destinations for Ben Chiarot
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been tied to Ben Chiarot since, well, he's a left-shot defenseman and the Bruins have been tied to nearly every available one. Boston badly needs an upgrade on the left side with the top-two defenders on that side being Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly. Both play more of an offensive, puck-moving role while lacking the size to be effective in their own zone.
The size and defensive strength on the left side was supposed to come from Derek Forbort, who signed a three-year, $9 million deal in the offseason. That experience has not worked well in Boston. Coach Bruce Cassidy hasn't been afraid to call out Forbort, and he was a healthy scratch earlier in February.
While it's never ideal to have a player making $3 million a year sitting in the press box, that might be the only way the Bruins compete for a Cup. In his place could be Chiarot, who can play more like a "prick", which Cassidy wants out of his team.
The problem is that Boston does not have much to give up in return. The Canadiens are likely to ask for a first-round pick for Chiarot, or a high-value prospect. While the Bruins do own their first-round pick in 2022, the team has one of the worst prospect pools and likely will want to hang on to the pick, as well as their top prospects, such as Fabian Lysell.
New York Rangers
TSN's Darren Dreger noted in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment that while the Rangers are looking for upgrades at forward, they are among the multiple suitors in on Chiarot.
The Rangers are one of the younger teams in the NHL this season, with an average age 25.88, the fourth-youngest in the league. It's a bright future in New York, and the team has made a leap forward this year and is in a position to make a run for the title.
Chiarot brings something that the Rangers' defensive unit lacks: playoff experience. The Habs defenseman has almost as many playoff games played (56) as the entire Rangers' blue line combined (64). Jacob Trouba has 30 postseason games under his belt and Patrik Nemeth has 28. But after those two, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox each only have three while K'Andre Miller, Nils Lundqvist and Braden Schneider have none.
New York has a number of young studs and at least one will likely be on the move if a trade for Chiarot happens. Canadiens executive vice president Jeff Gorton served as the Rangers' general manager for the previous six seasons, so he is extremely knowledgeable on the assets the Rangers have to offer.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers have been one of the most dominant teams all season. Florida has arguably the deepest forward group in the league and has been a high-flying, offensive machine, leading the league in goals per game with 4.06.
On the back end, the team sports one of the best top pairings in MacKenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad. However, the Panthers are in need of an upgrade on the left side, with Gustav Forsling and Lucas Carlsson serving as the remaining two defenders on that part of the ice.
Forsling has been a pleasant surprise this season, having a career year with 23 points so far, but for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, he's better off playing on the third pair. Having Chiarot, who has been tied to the Panthers for a couple of months, would greatly improve that defense, which has allowed 2.93 goals per game, a middle-of-the-pack mark.
It's no secret that the run-and-gun style tends to work less in the playoffs (look at the recent postseasons for the Maple Leafs and Oilers). The Panthers need to improve in their own zone and not rely solely on their offense to win games. Chiarot would immediately provide an upgrade to the defensive corps and the Panthers have assets, such as Owen Tippett, who could be used as trade bait.
St. Louis Blues
Perhaps no team is a better fit for Chiarot in terms of style of play than the Blues. St. Louis plays a physical, defensive game that is suited for the postseason.
The Blues are reported to be heavily pursuing the defenseman and have been looking to upgrade their left side since last offseason. It currently is made up of Torey Krug, Niko Mikkola and Jake Walman, with Marco Scandella injured. Even with Scandella healthy, the left side on the blue line is a weak spot, with Krug being the only above-average player out of the group.
Despite the personnel, the Blues have been very good in their own end this season. Their 2.72 goals allowed per game is the sixth-best in the NHL. And mind you, they have been that good while the goaltending has been suspect, as Jordan Binnington has lost the starting role to Ville Husso for the time being.
If coach Craig Berube wants to keep Krug and Justin Faulk together, pairing Chiarot with Colton Parayko would take off some pressure that's been placed on Parayko. The Blues have needed him to play a more shutdown role while he's been paired with Mikkola or Scandella and it's taking its toll on the defenseman. Chiarot is a much more reliable defenseman than either of those two and could benefit from being paired with Parayko.
Calgary Flames
The Flames and Canadiens already made one trade, with the Habs sending forward Tyler Toffoli out West to Calgary. According to Dreger, Chiarot was a part of those trade discussions, but nothing came to fruition at the time. With the Canadiens wanting a first-round pick for Chiarot and the Flames already giving one up for Toffoli, it didn't work out to package the two together.
The Flames have been one of the best defensive units this season. The team's 2.45 goals allowed per game trails only the Carolina Hurricanes (2.410) for best in the league. Adding a defenseman such as Chiarot is not as pressing of a need for Calgary as it is for other teams, but bringing in depth defensemen is never a bad thing.
The question for Calgary: Who do you take out of the lineup for Chiarot? Noah Hanifin has secured the top spot on the left side playing with Rasmus Andersson. Oliver Kylington has taken a giant leap forward in his development this season, playing comfortably with one of the best defensemen in Chris Tanev. The logical answer is Erik Gudbrandson, however, as he has formed a strong third-line pairing with Nikita Zadorov that has been sensational on the penalty kill.
Injuries could change everything and teams with depth tend to go further in the playoffs anyway, so a Chiarot trade to Calgary could still happen. But it would make more sense for the Flames to find a cheaper alternative.
