According to Darren Dreger, the Buffalo Sabres are not willing to meet the St. Louis Blues' asking price for Robert Thomas, what does that mean for the Canadiens?
With barely 55 hours left until Friday’s 3:00 PM trade deadline, TSN Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Buffalo Sabres have gone the distance in trade talks with the St. Louis Blues on center Robert Thomas and that Jarmo Kekäläinen is ultimately not willing to meet the high price tag set by Doug Armonstrong.
Meanwhile, after their defeat against the San Jose Sharks, the Montreal Canadiens woke up in the first wild card spot, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and three points behind the aforementioned Sabres, with a game in hand on both. The 7-5 defeat was the Habs’ last game before the trade deadline, and Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, who are on the West Coast trip with the team, looked deflated taking in the game last night.
If Armstrong refused to lower the price tag on his prized centerman with the Sabres, it’s unlikely he’ll be willing to do it with the Canadiens. The Blues’ GM reportedly wants the equivalent of four first-round picks in assets, and it is believed that any conversation with the Habs starts with the inclusion of Michael Hage.
Canadiens Lose Thrilling Game In San Jose
Former Canadiens First-Rounder Traded To New Team
Canadiens Would Need A Fantastic Offer To Net Robert Thomas
While the Blues are willing to move Thomas, they don’t absolutely have to move him, and they are probably more than willing to wait until the offseason to do it if they do not get an offer to their satisfaction. If the Sabres truly are out of the running, the pressure to overpay might be off for the Canadiens.
Seeing the Sabres land Robert Thomas a year after landing Josh Norris could have been a disaster for the Canadiens; seeing a direct divisional rival improve its center line twice while the Habs swung and missed would not have pleased Geoff Molson.
Even though Hughes is a shrewd negotiator, when GMs are moving major pieces like Thomas or Noah Dobson last summer, they tend to stick to their demands when they’ve identified their main trade target. Back in June, New York Islanders GM Mathieu Darche was adamant that, on top of the first two round picks, he needed Emil Heineman to pull the trigger. Hughes wasn’t keen on letting the winger go, but he eventually had to. It’s hard to imagine what the Canadiens could offer to make Armstrong forget about a player with so much hype as Hage right now.
Just like the Blues, the Canadiens don’t have to make a move right now; they have the luxury of waiting, and judging by what we’ve seen from Hughes in the past, he doesn’t lack patience. It may just be that the Habs have a quiet deadline and settle on just moving Patrik Laine and shoring up their blueline.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.