Photo by Philippe Bouchard/Icon Sportswire

The 2015 NHL offseason was an interesting one. General Managers were relatively conservative in the deals they handed out and the market for many players took a prolonged time to materialize. When it finally did, many players were signed to team-friendly deals. The market was so dry that Curtis Glencross, an unspectacular but useful player, decided to retire.

One of the team-friendly deals that came about due to the way the free agent market developed was Tomas Fleischmann. The Montreal Canadiens signed Fleischmann to an essentially risk-free, one-year, $750,000 contract. Despite Fleischmann’s numbers in recent seasons not matching the totals he put up under Bruce Boudreau during their time together in Washington, or in his 2011-12 season in Florida, all signs pointed to him still being a capable NHL forward.

As the chart below from Muneeb Alam shows, over the previous three seasons, the man known as Flash posted rate stats that made him an adequate top-six forward.

Fleischmann’s skill set lends itself to him being an adequate option in a team’s top-six and a very solid option as a third line player. While Fleischmann isn’t the strongest player on the ice, his smooth skating stride, as well as above-average vision and creativity enables him to be a productive offensive player.

So, it is wholly unsurprising that this deal is working out so well for the Canadiens, though the extent to which it’s paying off is noteworthy.

Fleichmann’s cap hit of $750,000 ranks 502nd among forwards signed to NHL contracts. So yes, there are a good number of players playing in the AHL or elsewhere who, if they were on an NHL roster, would carry a bigger cap hit than Fleischmann.

Despite having just two points in his last 14 games, Fleischmann’s 17 points ranks 123rd among all NHL forwards and ninth among Montreal players as of the holiday break. According to Hockey Analysis, among the 350 forwards to have skated at least 200 5v5 minutes this season, Fleischamann’s 1.8 point per 60 ranks 74th, which is first-line level rate production. The recent dry spell doesn’t mean Fleischmann has petered out, as the Canadiens have shot just 2.2 percent with him on the ice during that span, so bad luck is as big of a factor as any.

The season-long numbers suggest that this bargain contract is going to continue to pay off for Montreal. Although he’s a negative relative possession player, the Canadiens are still on the right side of possession when the Czech-born forward is on the ice, as indicated by his 50.9 percent score-adjusted shot attempt percentage.

While his 12.73 5v5 shooting percentage is still above his career mark, despite shooting under five percent for the past month, Fleischmann is getting enough rubber towards the net, at a rate of 12.36 shot attempt per 60, to suggest that he’ll start scoring again soon. Fleischmann’s shot attempt rate ranks 127th among forwards. Not bad for a guy who costs less than over 500 of his counterparts, plenty of whom can’t even crack an NHL roster.

Another reason to believe that Fleischmann’s dry spell isn’t permanent is that, given the chemistry the trio has shown for much of the season, Fleischmann is likely to be reunited with Dale Weise and David Desharnais. As Matt Drake of Eyes on the Prize pointed out just prior to Fleischmann’s cold streak, this trio has been great together.

“If there is an intangible worth mentioning at this juncture, it would be the great chemistry that exists between Fleischmann and his linemates, David Desharnais and Dale Weise,” Drake wrote. “While regression is probable, they have shown time and time again that they are very dangerous in the offensive end, and show little signs of slowing down.”

Like many of the late Summer contracts signed by veterans, Fleischamnn’s contract was regarded as a smart, low-risk signing by arguably everyone around the league. This doesn’t necessitate that Fleischmann would pan out as a productive member of the Canadiens though, as Alex Semin’s situation shows.

Montreal have to be pleased that the deal has turned out to be an absolute bargain. Despite a recent cold streak, the Canadiens will be more than okay for the remainder of the season deploying Fleischmann to buoy their third line or even as a complimentary player in their top-six. And all for just $750,000.