Cedric Paquette thrilled to be a Canadien, reveals what he can add to the group
The Montreal Canadiens shocked the hockey world when they bested the Leafs, ran through the Jets, took down the Golden Knights and landed themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals against the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.
The Habs ultimately couldn't find a way to get past the Bolts, but they did turn a lot of heads and opened people's eyes to the potential that the Canadiens have to be a true contender. When you can do that, you can draw in talent in free agency, as we've seen in the last 24 hours, with the team signing the likes of Mike Hoffman, David Savard and Cedric Paquette, among others.
On Tuesday morning, Paquette addressed the media, revealing that he grew up a Habs fan and relishes the opportunity to play in a high pressure market like Montreal.
One key message that Paquette wanted to deliver to the team and to Habs fans is that he would go through a wall for the team. That's the type of guy you want in the locker room.
Sadly, the Habs lost another one of those guys, as Corey Perry ultimately chose to sign a two year deal with the Lightning, announced earlier this afternoon.
With Paquette on board, it sounds like Perry's replacement plans to do much of the same if given the opportunity.
Paquette suited up in 47 games, split between the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes last season, managing just 8 points. The 27-year-old plays a physical game that should suit the Habs nicely on that 4th line. He registered over 130 hits last season and posted pretty good even strength results in Carolina, which should satisfy some within the analytics cohort.
Good depth signing for the Habs here.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Travis Konecny | - | 4 | 4 | |
| David Pastrnak | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Claude Giroux | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kaapo Kakko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Shane Pinto | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sam Reinhart | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mathew Barzal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jamie Drysdale | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Garnet Hathaway | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alexander Ovechkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 43 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 61 | |
Jets | 44 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 61 | |
Golden Knights | 42 | 28 | 11 | 3 | 59 | |
Wild | 43 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 58 | |
Maple Leafs | 44 | 27 | 15 | 2 | 56 | |
Devils | 45 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 56 | |
Stars | 41 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 55 | |
Oilers | 42 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 55 | |
Hurricanes | 43 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 54 | |
Kings | 40 | 24 | 11 | 5 | 53 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||