The Montreal Canadiens added some promising forwards at the draft, but their need for immediate scoring depth remains, resulting in continued speculation.

A lack of scoring depth hampered the Montreal Canadiens over the last two seasons. There's little offensive punch beyond first-line forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Addressing that issue was a priority for Canadiens GM Kent Hughes. Since the end of last season, media speculation linked the Habs to Carolina Hurricanes winger Martin Necas, Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson. There was talk Hughes might use one of his two first-rounders in this year's draft as trade bait to address the issue. 

The Canadiens GM never received a trade offer suitable to tempt him into parting with one of those picks. He used them to select promising forwards Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage.

Hughes received praise for those selections and for locking up the promising Slafkovsky to an eight-year contract extension. However, adding a scorer remains unaddressed.

Sportsnet's Eric Engels noted there's not much left in the free-agent market if Hughes were to go that route. He had discussions with UFA winger Jonathan Marchessault but was unwilling to sign the 33-year-old to a long-term deal. Marchessault opted to join the Nashville Predators.

Engels lists wingers Daniel Sprong and Tyler Johnson as the best remaining options. TVA Sports also noted Alexander Nylander (brother of Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander) is available.

Hughes will likely go the trade route. He's been involved in summer dealings before, acquiring Sean Monahan in August 2022 and taking part in last August's three-team deal that sent Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Engels pointed out the Canadiens have lots of draft picks to use as trade bait, including two first-rounders in 2025. They could also draw on their depth in promising young defensemen.

The Montreal Gazette's Stu Cowan believes Hughes will add a scoring winger before the start of the regular season. He expects the Habs GM could target a young scoring forward or a veteran with two or three years remaining on their contract. 

That could spark more conjecture linking the Canadiens to Zegras, though the Ducks will set a high asking price that ensures the 23-year-old forward remains in Anaheim. 

There could also be an uptick in speculation tying the Habs to Patrik Laine. The 26-year-old Blue Jackets winger has two years left on his contract with an annual cap hit of $8.7 million. However, he's been frequently sidelined by injuries in recent years, and the Blue Jackets could insist on interested clubs taking on the entirety of his cap hit.