Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
The Montreal Canadiens took care of another free agent forward over the weekend, agreeing to a new contract with forward Ryan White. The new deal not only locks up White for next season, but it also prevents him from heading to arbitration, the only Habs player to file.
White was essentially the last free agent that the Habs were set to bring back, doing so on a one-year deal. That new deal is worth $700,000, a value which should pan out to be nice value for the Habs, even if he won’t see a ton of minutes next year, as a fourth line player.
That’s just what White is: a fourth liner. He’s not a guy who’s going to go out and make much of an impact on the stat sheet, outside of the penalty minutes category. In 89 career games with the Habs, he has only 11 points, with his career high of five coming back in the 2010-2011 season.
What White does bring to the table is that agitating presence. He’s a tough matchup for opposing forwards, as he simply drives them nuts. He plays the physical game and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves, as evident by his 67 penalty minutes in just 26 games in the shortened 2013 season.
However, despite what little offensive White does bring to the mix, this is a strong signing for the Habs. That $700k is excellent value for a fourth liner, who you know exactly what you’re getting from. He won’t bring much, but he’s the type of presence they wanted, and they got him on the very cheap.
He may not play in every game, he’s more of a matchup type player. But against the right opponent, he can be a positive impact for this team.
