The Canadiens' Strategy At The Trade Deadline

On Sunday, Marco D'Amico reported on RG.org that the Montreal Canadiens would be hybrid sellers at the deadline. When the Habs were on fire last month, it was a possibility that they would be hanging on to their assets at the trade deadline, but now it looks like Kent Hughes will be selling. 

However, we've seen this season that the rebuild is moving forward and the Montreal brass won't just be looking to gather futures at the deadline. They'll be looking to move their pending free agents such as Jake Evans (if a deal on an extension cannot be reached before then), Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak and David Savard, but they may also listen to offers on Mike Matheson who has a year left on his contract before becoming a UFA. 

According to D'Amico, Montreal won't just be looking for draft capital and prospects this time, they'll also be looking to add an NHL ready young forward (hence the Dylan Cozens Rumours) and a top-four right-shot defenseman (D'Amico adds they have enquired about Noah Dobson's availability).

The willingness to find an NHL ready young forward means, to me at least, that Hughes isn't convinced by what he's seen from Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook so far. They've both had productive moments, but they cannot seem to produce consistently. With Patrik Laine's acquisition, the Canadiens hope to have a real top-six, but 55 games in the "it takes time to get back in shape after such a serious injury" is wearing thin for Dach.

Hughes is also clearly concerned with the right side of the defense. He moved Jonathan Kovacevic this Summer to make room for Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher, but the former wasn't as far as expected in his development while the latter headed to the injury lift for most of the season. Not one to die on his sword, Hughes addressed the need he create himself by acquiring Alexandre Carrier, but it should be a cautionary tale when it comes to the possibility of trading Matheson now. 

Savard's age and contractual status makes the claim the Canadiens have inquired about Dobson highly credible. The New York Islanders' blueliner is a pending RFA and is expected to demand quite a sizeable contract. According to multiple sources, Lou Lamoriello is not willing to meet his contractual demands and has elected to move him. The 25-year-old would be a fit age wise with the core the Habs are building and he's showed he can be quite productive, racking up 70 points in the 2023-24 season. 

He has struggled this year however and only has 24 points in 46 games. If there's one thing the Canadiens' GM has showed in the past, it's that he's not scared to acquire a player who has potential but has not reached it yet. Hughes' has dealt with Lamoriello before, sending Alexander Romanov to Long Island for a first-round pick he then used to acquire Dach. 

The concern has to be however, would Dobson be amenable to signing a bridge deal to show he can rekindle the magic he had during the 2023-24 campaign? If not, would Hughes be confident to sign him long-term with no guarantees that the current season was just a bump in the road?

Furthermore, the Islanders' GM is not going to give away such a valuable asset and the Canadiens would likely have to put quite an attractive package together to land him. This new "hybrid seller" status promises to make March, 7 quite interesting. While hockey deals can just as well be made in the Summer, high interest on the market could force Hughes to get right down to business. Of course, he could also surprise us and jump on a player nobody has even thought of. 

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