The Montreal Canadiens are once again looking for a top-four defenseman, and their man may be on the free agency market.
It feels like we’ve seen this before, but the Montreal Canadiens could certainly use a right-shot defenseman this offseason, and preferably one that could play a top-four role and handle some serious minutes. Those are not easy to find, but the closer we get to July 1, the more likely it becomes that a defenseman who absolutely fits the bill will be available in free agency.
Back in the 2024-25 season, the New York Rangers traded their captain, Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks. The blueliner was on a big contract with an $8 million cap hit, which the Ducks could absorb, and they did. Now, though, the contract is set to expire, and it appears that the negotiations between the two sides are not progressing particularly well.
It’s hard to know why, it could be that he wants too much money or that he wants too much term, or it could even be both. If he does become a free agent, though, that’s a call Kent Hughes has to make, at least to see if there would be any interest from the player to join what the Canadiens are building.
At 32 years old, Trouba has never won the Stanley Cup, and Hughes can at least point to the fact that his team reached the Eastern Conference Final. Of course, the veteran wouldn’t be a long-term hire; he could be the perfect temporary place-holder while David Reinbacher gets some experience to fill that top-four role eventually,
Trouba is not the biggest points producer; he got 35 points in 81 games, but he can hit. He’s got a big body at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, and he plays like it. This past season, he landed 125 bone-crushing hits, and that makes opponents think twice about approaching him. Furthermore, he’s a good shot blocker, blocking 143 hits this past season, and he’s playing a lot of minutes; he spent nearly 23 minutes on the ice for the Ducks. That’s the kind of veteran profile that Martin St-Louis would trust.
Would he entertain the thought of playing in Canada? He did it in Winnipeg for 6 years. There was noise about him not wanting to return to Canada in 2024 when the Rangers traded him, but only fools don’t change their minds, and a lot has changed for the Canadiens since then…
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