In his quest to fix the Montreal Canadiens’ offense, it seems like Marc Bergevin’s MO is “sign former Washington Capitals who have seen better days.”
Alexander Semin is the most noteworthy example of that (fake) strategy, but it cropped up again on Saturday, as the Habs handed Tomas Fleischmann a professional tryout contract.
The 31-year-old seemed to fall victim to an odd subplot of the 2014-15 season: terrible contract years for mid-level players. “Flash” went from struggling with the Florida Panthers to becoming downright irrelevant once the Anaheim Ducks gave him a shot as a rental.
He only played in six games during the Ducks’ Western Conference Final push, nabbing a shabby assist in the postseason.
The plus side is that Montreal gets a chance to buy-low on Fleischmann, at least if he makes a solid enough impression.
He’s not that far removed from his 27-goal, 61-point peak during the 2011-12 season, after all.