The Montreal Canadiens are the team everyone has been watching this season.
Montreal has gotten off to a better start than most expected, with a record of 17-18-7, sitting in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
As NHLRumors.com has documented this season, the Canadiens have several trade chips that teams have been interested in, goaltender Jake Allen and center Sean Monahan.
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Jake Allen and David Savard will generate trade interest
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes met with the media to address how his team has performed halfway through the season. As previously mentioned, the Canadiens are performing better than expected. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are out of reach, but nobody expected them to make the playoffs anyway.
One of the things that stood out at the beginning of the season was Montreal carrying three goalies. With the need for goaltending around the league, especially when Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had surgery at the beginning of the season, the Canadiens were in the driver’s seat in what they could get.
Hughes could have tried to sneak Cayden Primeau through waivers, but he ultimately chose not to because of fear of losing him on waivers.
“We were not ready to put Cayden on waivers, based on the discussions with other teams,” Hughes told the media on Monday. “We were pretty sure someone would have claimed him. We decided to keep three goalies and evaluate the potential trades from there. The plan was not to have three goalies all year. It’s still not the plan. But I can’t tell you 100% that we’ll make a goaltender trade.”
Clearly, the plan was to move a goalie, and it is still the plan, but nothing is certain. As NHLRumors.com wrote, the Canadiens hold all the cards regarding the goalie market. The Canadiens asking price is high for a team like the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and others on the market.
But the goalies are not the only trade chips on the team. Center Sean Monahan will be a hot commodity at the trade deadline.
Monahan was the subject of trade talks at the deadline last season, but he was injured right before the deadline and did not move. His name is making the rounds again this year. In 42 games with Montreal this season, Monahan has 24 points (11 goals and 13 assists).
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With teams like the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche needing a center, Monahan could be a perfect fit for either of those teams. Colorado showed interest last year before he got hurt.
However, Kent Hughes will not rush into anything with the player, as he explained.
“When you talk about signing a player to a one-year deal and convincing the player to come to a team like ours that’s in a phase of building, as a player, you evaluate it and look at what the opportunity is,” Hughes told the media on Monday. “You’re trying to reset after a number of years of injury-riddled seasons. We’ll see where we are at the deadline.”
The Canadiens also have several defensemen teams interested in, but he won’t do it unless something tickles his fancy.
