Marc Bergevin has had plenty of money in his pocket in the past few off-seasons, but despite his best efforts, the top free agents kept signing elsewhere. The result was a Montreal Canadiens team with enough room under the cap to fill some glaring roster holes, but no one willing to fill them.
Last summer, after Matt Duchene became the latest player to choose another franchise over Montreal despite an in-person meeting with the Habs’ general manager (likely a good outcome in hindsight), Bergevin tried a different tactic to land a big player. Seeing his chance to get a star centre and address the biggest shortcoming during his tenure, he sent an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes, and got a signature from one of the top young players in the league.