It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re getting ready to start the Four Nations Faceoff. However, general managers still have the wheels turning on what they should do next. We have a number of teams that are thinking about what they need to do at the March 7 trade deadline. Will some teams add or will they have to subtract? One team that’s on the borderline of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot is the Montreal Canadiens. This edition of NHL rumours deals with what the Habs might do with some of their pending unrestricted free agents at the trade deadline.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens May Have Decisions to Make at the Trade Deadline
Rumour: On a recent edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discussed what the Canadiens might do with some of their players at the upcoming trade deadline.
Analysis: Montreal had been making a surge at the start of the new year. However, things have slowed down for the Habs in recent games. The Canadiens are six points back of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal has lost eight of its last nine games before the Four Nations break.
There was hope that the Canadiens would be playing meaningful games and that may still happen. However, the upcoming deadline could be another one where Montreal spins pending UFAs into future assets.
There are a number of UFAs that will become free agents in the coming off-season. Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes has some choices he needs to make before March 7.
Players like Joel Armia, Jake Evans, David Savard and Christian Dvorak could all walk at the end of the season. However, Hughes and team president Jeff Gorton might be able to trade these players and get something in return.
What It Means
Despite the impression that the Canadiens are seemingly open for business, the management isn’t going to just give away players according to Friedman. Montreal is looking for the right match and will hopefully find that in one or more of these players.
Savard seems to be a coveted asset at the upcoming deadline. He appears in the No. 12 spot on Chris Johnston’s Big Trade Board 6.0 that he did for The Athletic. Defenceman like Savard are always a hot commodity and could fetch a nice return.
Evans and Armia also seem to be players that are desired by other teams. Friedman mentioned that there are a few teams that have asked about Armia. However, he may not get as much attention as Savard.
Johnston also mentions that Evans is going to receive some attention. Evans is picking the right time to have a career year and he’s got a digestible cap hit of $1.7 million. That low price tag will likely make his contract easier to move at the upcoming deadline. Montreal has some choices to make, but it will likely be able to get some assets should it go that route again.
Main photo by: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The post NHL Rumours: Montreal Canadiens Trade Possiblities appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.