The Montreal Canadiens have signed defencemen Christian Folin to a 1-year contract worth $800,000. Folin was set to become a free agent this summer before signing the deal. This contract carries him through the 2019-20 season.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a one-year, one-way contract with defenseman Christian Folin.
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— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 18, 2019
Christian Folin Staying In Montreal
Over his six-year NHL career, Folin has played for the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens. He has put up seven goals and 35 assists for 42 career points in 228 career games.
Last season he had a total of six assists in 45 games split between the Flyers and Canadiens. He also recorded 27 penalty minutes. His possession numbers were 49.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -5.2 percent. Folin managed these numbers while averaging 15:49 of ice time each game, a career-high.
What This Means for the Future
The off-season has officially begun in Montreal with the signing of Folin. Folin was acquired by the Habs on February 11 of this year. The Canadiens also received Dale Weise in the trade, sending David Schlemko and Byron Froese to the Flyers in return. In 19 games with the Habs after the trade, Folin picked up four assists.
Folin will likely see time next year on the third pairing and could be playing alongside players like Cale Fleury or Josh Brook. This allows to Habs to have an experienced player on the blueline to help guide the soon-to-be rookies, Fleury and Brook. The signing has quite a bit of merit to it, as the Canadiens net a veteran defenceman for less than a million.
With Folin now signed, the Habs still have to make decisions involving Jordie Benn, Brett Kulak, and Mike Reilly before next season. All three defencemen set career-highs in points this season, with 39, 17, and 11 respectively. Kulak and Reilly both played 57 games this past season, 24 less than Benn. They’ll clearly fight to become consistent members of Montreal’s defence moving forward.
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