On the eve of the NHL’s Trade Deadline, Marc Bergevin made a move to shore up
the depth on the blueline, acquiring defenceman Davis Drewiske from the LA Kings
in exchange for the Habs’ 5th round pick in the 2013 draft. To make room
for him on the roster, Colby Armstrong (lower body) was placed on injured
reserve while Nathan Beaulieu was re-assigned to Hamilton.
Drewiske, a 28 year old, is in the final year of a three year deal with a
small cap hit of $616,667. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the
season. At 6’2 and 220 lbs, he brings some extra size and grit to the
blueline. He won’t be able to contribute much of anything offensively; in
126 career NHL games he has just four goals. However, he is a quality
stay-at-home player who knows his limitations and should also be able to take a
shift or two on the penalty kill as well.
The undrafted blueliner was signed out of college as a free agent by the
Kings in 2008. He played his NCAA years with Wisconsin, with former
Montreal draft picks Ryan McDonagh and Patrick Johnson. He spent most of
the 2008-09 season with Manchester but since then has been up permanently with
Los Angeles, albeit primarily as a seventh defenceman.
This year, Drewiske has played in 20 of the Kings’ 35 games, recording a goal
and three assists with a +3 rating and 14 PIMS. He is averaging 14:27 in
total ice time per game, including 3:01 in shorthanded time, which ranks him
third on Los Angeles.
The deal now gives the Habs 47 committed contracts out of the maximum of 50.
With Armstrong going to IR and Beaulieu to Hamilton, the active roster now sits at 22 out of a maximum 23 players.
Career Stats
