Defenceman Ben Chiarot has signed a new deal with the Montreal Canadiens. His new contract is worth $3.5 million per season for three years. The Hamilton, Ontario native’s deal runs until the end of the 2021-22 season. Chiarot has spent his entire NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets. Chiarot was a pending unrestricted free agent. He will be a nice and solid depth addition for the Habs.
Ben Chiarot Signs New Deal With Montreal
Chiarot has been originally drafted as the 120th overall player in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. He has made his NHL debut in the 2013-2014 season with the Winnipeg Jets. Ever since his debut, Chiarot has played a total of 305 NHL games. In those 305 regular season outings, the left-handed defenceman collected 12 goals and 52 assists for 64 points. Chiarot also skated in 24 playoff games, gathering three helpers.
In the past season, Chiarot carried a salary cap hit of $1,400,000 per season. He has previously re-signed for two years with the Jets in 2017. During the past campaign, the 28-year-old combined for five goals and 15 assists for 20 points in 78 games. He also played in all six playoff games with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets lost in the first round versus the St. Louis Blues.
What Does This Mean For The Future
Chiarot has worked himself out to be one of the most reliable guys on the Jets defence. In the 2018-2019 NHL season, he set his new career high in goals, assists, points, and the time on the ice. While he averages 16:10 of the ice-time per game in his career, he averaged 18:37 of the ice-time per game last year. In the recent playoffs, Chiarot almost reached 20 minutes per night, just ended up averaging 19:47 of the time on the ice in the playoffs.
His new team is definitely getting a very solid defensive addition. Given his career season in 2018-2019 and his age (28 years), the Canadiens will have a good addition to their blue-line group.
ST. LOUIS, MO – APRIL 14: Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets makes a save against Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the St. Louis Blues as Ben Chiarot #7 of the Winnipeg Jets defends in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Enterprise Center on April 14, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
