MONTREAL — It was an easy decision, born of need, posing little risk, and even featuring a bit of upside, so Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes made it and signed Alexandre Texier to a one-year contract worth around $1 million Sunday after Texier and the St. Louis Blues decided to terminate the player’s $2.1-million deal.
With that, Hughes bought a forward who can play all three forward positions, who possesses top-nine talent and, most importantly, has five seasons and 240 games of NHL experience.
For a team that came into this season as the youngest one in the league before quickly losing established NHL forwards Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach to long-term injuries, that experience was too much to turn away from. It’s why the Canadiens reportedly first had interest in Toronto Maple Leafs castaway David Kampf (who ultimately chose a much more secure position with the centre-depleted Vancouver Canucks once his contract was terminated nine days ago), and it’s also why, according to our sources, they’re still poking around a relatively dormant marketplace for more help.
With the standings jammed up — if you want an idea of how jammed up, the Canadiens currently sit outside of the playoffs but are also just two points out of second place in the Eastern Conference — it’s hard to suggest another move is imminent. But Sunday’s move for Texier curbs some of the Canadiens’ need while also giving the player an opportunity to re-establish himself in a league he once showed promise in.
The six-foot-one, 196-pounder was effective shortly after debuting with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who drafted him 45th overall in 2017. Texier put up 34 goals and 79 points while averaging just 14:20 per game over the 201 he played with the franchise, and there’s at least some hope he can produce at a similar clip with the Canadiens after failing to do so in 39 games spread over the last two seasons with the Blues.
The 26-year-old missed some time due to injury and illness, and much more of it as a healthy scratch who never seemed to fit with the aging core in St. Louis — with just six goals, 11 points, and a role that kept diminishing an obvious reflection of that reality.
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In anticipation of Texier’s contract termination going through and the Canadiens signing him, we texted a Western Conference executive Sunday afternoon for some insight beyond the obvious.
“I think he’s primarily a versatile, checking/energy-style player with some complementary skill and sense to elevate up your lineup when needed,” he responded. “He’s yet to really live up to that consistent middle-six potential he showed early in his career, but he has the elements to fit various roles.”
The Canadiens aren’t exactly assuming much risk in seeing if Texier can fit one with them. And they’re hardly gambling the French-speaking native of Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France will fit in their market and with their players, who are all mostly between 22 and 27.
The Canadiens haven’t sacrificed much cap space, either, with Texier’s prorated contract still leaving them with close to $4 million to play with.
That contract is also just the 43rd of 50 the team is permitted to carry this season, and the entirety of it can be buried in the minors if Texier doesn’t prove to be more than a stop-gap solution while Laine, Newhook and Dach continue to heal.
Texier is starting with an opportunity to at least show he can help right now, which also gives the Canadiens the chance to partially replenish the diminished reserves of their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
That should happen with Joshua Roy’s retrogression Monday, provided Jared Davidson is health enough to practise after Scott Laughton jumped him and caused him to briefly leave Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
Assuming Florian Xhekaj also stays after his impressive NHL debut against Toronto, that will give the Canadiens the depth they need up front for three games in four nights in Utah, Las Vegas and Colorado this week.
The road trip gives Texier an immediate opportunity the Canadiens hope he’ll seize.
They could’ve left him for someone else to sign, but assuming minimal risk to see if he could do that — and then some — made sense.
Add in the need for an experienced player like Texier, and the potential he possesses to bolster both the team’s present and future depth, signing him was a no-brainer.
