As we head to a trade deadline with high selling prices, the Montreal Canadiens don’t seem eager to test that market. I’m sure the GMs are calling about David Savard and he helped the team get a point that becomes a moral victory of sorts.

The Edmonton Oilers got a first-round pick for Jake Walman. I think Montreal could get a conditional first for Savard based on the prices and his Stanley Cup pedigree. If Savard wants to stay in Montreal, that’s fine, he can sign there in the offseason if he were to be traded. Kent Hughes should still explore what he can get for the defenseman because you can never have enough high draft picks. Trust me.

If you’re going with the premise that the team will gain valuable experience down the stretch, they can still do that even with a trade. That’s the part of this equation that doesn’t make sense to me. The Canadiens are trending up, but that’s this season. Next season will be different and this same kind of result isn’t guaranteed. The NHL is volatile and until a team becomes a perennial Stanley Cup contender, going up and down from season to season happens a lot more than fans want to admit.

I don’t think Hughes will receive a lot of criticism for doing nothing, if that happens, immediately. This is one of those decisions that could come back to haunt him in a few seasons. The Canadiens are in a spot where buying and selling can make sense. Teams have done that before and maybe that will happen before the bell tolls on this year’s trade deadline. Who knows?