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Montreal Canadiens: Mark Streit Has Big Shoes To Fill

By Suraj Sukumar

NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 11: Mark Streit #32 of the Pittsburgh Penguins lifts the Stanley Cup after the Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0 to win the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 11: Mark Streit #32 of the Pittsburgh Penguins lifts the Stanley Cup after the Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0 to win the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Mark Streit will be an important veteran on the Montreal Canadiens blueline, especially after Andrei Markov announced his official departure

Mark Streit is now the veteran presence on the Montreal Canadiens blue line. Andrei Markov announced on Thursday that he will not be returning to the Canadiens, and will take his talents to Russia. Amidst all the NHL-Olympics discussions, Markov could not have picked a better time to return back home to play in the KHL.

Markov and the Canadiens were never able to find common ground. The Canadiens are simply unable to pay the veteran defenseman top dollar, and his status as a top-two pairing remains in question. He was productive when healthy, but his injury issues last season certainly raise some concerns. Markov, who entertained offers from several teams over the past few weeks, opted for Russia as he could not force his family to move or play for any other team. 

Markov’s departure is certainly a blow. However, the Canadiens have plenty of hope in their current group.

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The Canadiens are moving in a new direction on defense with Shea Weber and Karl Alzner. With younger players like Brandon Davidson and Joe Morrow, Streit is a great presence on the second or third pairing. He will add some offense to the powerplay with Markov’s departure, but comes at a fraction of the price.

Even though Streit lacks the same consistency as Markov, he is able to fill the voids left by the veteran defenseman. He provides added experience and leadership, and will be a source of offense if he can stay healthy.

The Canadiens had just two right defensemen listed on their roster before signing Streit. His versatility will help them build stronge defensive pairings. And as magnificent as Markov is on the power play, Streit is pretty darn good himself.

Considering the discount on adding Streit, the Canadiens are much better off in the long-run. He is signed for just one year, and the Canadiens can use 2017-18 to see how their younger players develop.

With Streit’s offensive abilities and Stanley Cup experience, developing some of their secondary scoring on the blueline will also be possible. While Markov played heavy minutes at an older age, the Canadiens have found ways to balance their roster heading into next season. With elite level defensemen like Weber and Alzner, the Canadiens have plenty of potential on the back end.

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Outside of defense, the Canadiens have two major issues. One, they need to stay healthy. Carey Price is the most important part of their team, and his status will be monitored. Second, if they make the playoffs, creating consistent offense needs to be a priority. They have failed miserably in that department, and another strong regular season ended in futility would be demoralizing.

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