Bob McKenzie reported earlier today that there’s a strong possibility that Alexei Emelin will be on the trading block this summer. The rugged defenseman currently has a full no trade clause but that clause becomes a limited one starting this summer.

Is Emelin expendable?

I believe that Emelin is definitely tradeable for what he brings to the table. His defensive game is not consistent enough for the money he’s earning and even though this team is a tad too soft to my liking, I think the team could be investing their money more efficiently than by giving a fringe top-4 defenseman $4,100,000 a year. It doesn’t help that there are far more effective defenders out there making around the same money as the 29-year-old (Hjalmarsson, Fowler,Demers, Muzzin, Scandella, etc).

Another thing that doesn’t play in the 2004 draftee’s favour is that he is essentially our 5th defenseman on the depth chart as Nate Beaulieu has established himself as a top four defenseman. The money Emelin is making is simply too much to be utilized on a bottom pairing player. The Canadiens are already spending more than a quarter of their cap space on their top three (Subban, Markov and Petry). With Emelin that total almost reaches the 20-million mark, which is not money spent wisely in my opinion.

I feel it’s slightly illogical that a team that has the best goaltender in the world is spending more than anyone else is on its defensive squad; it just doesn’t make sense. It’s even more mind boggling when you add in the fact that the team’s offense has been a position of weakness and our main downfall in the playoffs for a few years now.

Montreal’s management should take a hard look at how the Chicago Blackhawks are spending their money. They have their ‘core’ on defense (Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson) and their contracts are a little over $15 million combined. None of their other defensemen earn more $1,275,000 (Ehrhoff). Given how decent Mark Barberio has played this year, I would have zero problem bringing him back next season for cheap and start the season with him and Pateryn as our bottom pairing.

Trading Emelin would potentially clear $3 million, which could be spent on a forward. As previously mentioned, Emelin supporters will point out that the team is far too weak and shy physically to trade one of the few players willing to engage physically. To give you an idea of how much influence Emelin has on the team’s stats in the hitting department, he has 212 hits and the next player, no longer with the team Dale Weise, only has 108 of them. I think that paints a pretty good picture as to how passive the Habs have been when it comes to throwing the body.

So while I understand how ahead of his peers Emelin is, and how he’s practically our only intimidating presence, I still think the team should trade him. One of the few positive outcomes from all the injuries this season is that Greg Pateryn has proven he has what it takes to be a regular at the NHL level. Pateryn isn’t as good as Emelin, but I don’t think that justifies the 3,300,000$ difference between the two.

So what is Emelin’s value and what teams could be interested?

It’s evident that some GMs still covet physical players (see the Boston Bruins giving a third round pick (!) for Zac Rinaldo last summer). It’s hard to properly evaluate Emelin’s value across the league with the current state of the Canadian dollar potentially affecting the league’s salary cap. You also have to factor in the fact that Emelin can nix any deal that doesn’t include one of the 10 teams on his list.

That being said, considering players like Roman Polak and Mike Weber, who both play a similar style to Montreal’s #74 (note: as rentals), I would like to think that Emelin can return a third round pick, or something along those lines. If we have to retain some salary, so be it. This team needs to clear up some cap space in order to get some much needed help up front.

Two teams I could see being a good fit for Emelin are: Edmonton and Columbus. The Oilers don’t have the best defense in the world and, given the familiarity that their GM has with the Russian defender (former Bruins GM), he’s seen Emelin on his A-game and knows well what the he’s capable of. I also think the Western Conference’s physical style suits the Togliatti-native a lot more.

The Blue Jackets could be a fit for him considering the work in progress that is their defense. If (that might be a big if) John Tortorella is back next season, Emelin is exactly the type of player he wants on his team. He’s willing to pay theprice physically, either by blocking shots or hitting, which is something that the 2004 Jack Adams and Stanley Cup winner preaches and respects.

If the Habs can move Emelin and Desharnais without getting any bad contracts in return, that could clear around six million from the team’s cap, which could then be used on some of this year’s interesting free agents like Loui Eriksson, Andrew Ladd, Kyle Okposo, and, of course, Steven Stamkos.