Canadiens Trade Deadline Preview: Hughes under no pressure to make changes
The Montreal Canadiens are one point out of a playoff spot and in the mushy middle. While that’s normally not where you want to be going into the trade deadline, it’s exactly where they hoped to be when they set out in October. Eric Engels previews where the team stands ahead of Friday’s deadline.
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MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens are riding a five-game winning streak, sitting one point out of a playoff spot and in the mushy middle of the NHL standings. And while that’s normally not where you want to be going into the NHL trade deadline, it’s exactly where they hoped to be when they set out in October.
The Canadiens wanted to be in the mix deep into the season. They wanted to be playing meaningful games in March. And now they have a chance of playing meaningful games in April, regardless of what comes next.
That’s a position general manager Kent Hughes can take advantage of in several ways between now and 3 p.m. ET, Friday.
He has already said he won’t pay premiums to rent players, but he can sell players, buy them, do both, or even stand pat and easily justify his decisions regardless.
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Watch Hockey Central Trade Deadline on Sportsnet
Sportsnet’s hockey news breakers, analysts and reporters will have coast-to-coast coverage of all the moves made ahead of this season’s NHL trade deadline. Full coverage on March 7 begins at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Either way, Hughes is in a position of leverage because he doesn’t have to do anything for the Canadiens to get what they want out of this season.
He said halfway through, “We wanted this group and this young group of players to be under the pressure of learning to win when it counts,” and that goal has already largely been met.
The Canadiens have been learning under that type of pressure for months, and we don’t expect it to subside suddenly ahead of — or immediately after — the deadline.
Projected deadline day cap space: $6,649,167, according to PuckPedia
Contracts: 45/50
Cap space committed to 2024-25: $91,722,917 committed to 24 players
DRAFT PICKS
NEEDS
Not to suggest the Canadiens don’t have any, but it would be more accurate to say they have wants rather than needs in the short term.
In the short term, Hughes doesn’t have a single player he absolutely must sell. And he’s not buying just for now, either.
That doesn’t mean he won’t sell or buy. It just means the price has to be right to sell, and assets to purchase have to be able to help both now and in the future.
If Hughes can find some scorers or stalwart defenders that fit that description, he’ll pull the trigger. If he can’t find any, then he’ll stick with what he has.
From a purely long-term perspective, the Canadiens need a second-line centre, with the potential for Kirby Dach to adequately fill that position in the future placed in serious doubt by his performance and yet another season-ending knee injury.
But long-term needs aren’t typically filled at the deadline, and we think it’s a big stretch that this one will be filled by Friday’s deadline.
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POTENTIAL TARGETS
A legit NHL prospect
This was what the Canadiens got when they acquired Emil Heineman as part of the package obtained for trading Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames in 2022, and that’s most desirable to them this time around if they’re to move any of their pending unrestricted free agents.
An established, signed second-line centre
We can’t say whether Dylan Cozens is a target for the Canadiens, but players like him — young centres, signed to long-term contracts and playing for teams looking to rebuild or retool — have to be on their radar.
It’s still unlikely a move like that will get done ahead of Friday, though.
AHL depth
It is a priority to bolster the Laval Rocket, who are near the top of the AHL standings and in a position to go on a long playoff run that would benefit some of Montreal’s best prospects.
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Real Kyper’s Trade Board
Hockey Insider Nick Kypreos shares the latest intel on players who could be on the move ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
ASSETS TO TRADE
Joel Armia: The six-foot-three, 216-pound Finn the Canadiens have nicknamed “House” due to his puck protection abilities has 10 goals and 24 points and is also one of the most effective penalty killers in the league. We don’t know if they’re willing to sign him for one more year, but they aren’t afraid to hold the 31-year-old through the deadline and risk losing him to free agency if teams aren’t willing to pay a premium to rent his services.
Christian Dvorak: The 29-year-old has six goals, 20 points, a 56.8 per-cent rating in the faceoff circle and a cap hit ($4.45M) and salary ($5.725M) that’s too high for what he’d bring to a contender. And even if the Canadiens are willing to use their final retention slot to eat half, the return might not be as enticing as just keeping him around to keep them playing meaningful games from here to the end.
That doesn’t mean Dvorak won’t be traded, though. The chances of him signing a new deal with the Canadiens are almost zero, so his end in their uniform could still come between now and Friday’s deadline.
David Savard: The 34-year-old right-handed defenceman has a Stanley Cup ring and might be willing to keep sacrificing his body to win another.
But there’s a sense Savard would be most happy continuing to sacrifice it in the Canadiens’ pursuit of a playoff spot, and the team might sooner appease him than accept less than a third-round pick for his services.
There’s no telling if the market will pay that much.
But if one team is willing to, it could entice the Canadiens to move on and give right-handers David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux some valuable NHL experience from here to the end of the season.
They also might do that even if they hold Savard through the deadline.
