With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now just a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Montreal Canadiens.
An early season-ending injury to top-six forward Kirby Dach derailed the Montreal Canadiens season nearly as soon as it got started. The mantra has followed Montreal, who have also faced significant injury to Christian Dvorak and Rafael Harvey-Pinard. That’s left the team without much bite this season, destined to spend the year focused on developing young talents rather than pushing for the playoffs. But Montreal is prepared for this, boasting one of the youngest lineups in the league and providing ample opportunity to AHL standouts. This includes calling up top prospect Joshua Roy for the first 10 games of his career, signing Brandon Gignac to an extension after AHL success, and rotating a trio of goalies to find their future fit. In a season of failures on the scoresheet, Montreal is still finding ways to improve, and the Trade Deadline could be their chance to really lean into prioritizing the future.
Record
22-25-8, 7th in the Atlantic Division.
Deadline Status
Sellers
Deadline Cap Space
$5.654 MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: MTL 1st, WPG 1st, COL 2nd, MTL 3rd, MIN 3rd, MTL 4th, MTL 5th, SJS 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th, EDM 7th, WSH 7th
2025: MTL 1st, CGY 1st, MTL 2nd, PIT 2nd, MTL 3rd, VAN 3rd, MTL 4th, DET 4th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th
Trade Chips
Montreal’s trade chips begins with their goaltenders. General manager Kent Hughes recently shared that the team will need to move out one goaltender, leaving fans to speculate which is likeliest to go. Sam Montembeault seems to have the safest spot, largely thanks to the three-year, $9.45MM contract extension he signed on December 1st. He’s since become Montreal’s de facto starter, setting 12 wins and a .903 save percentage through 26 games. Montembeault is primarily backed up by veteran Jake Allen, who’s set a .894 save percentage in 19 games of his own. Allen likely offers the best trade market value, largely thanks to the experience he’s gathered over 11 years and 414 games in the NHL. Allen also brings championship prowess, winning the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. But if teams are dissuaded by the 33-year-old Allen’s $3.85MM cap hit next season, they could also find depth in 24-year-old Cayden Primeau. Primeau – the youngest of any Canadiens goalie – has yet to come into his own in the NHL, totaling 33 games since making his NHL debut in 2019 but managing just eight wins and a .884 save percentage. He does seem to be on good pace this year though, with a .903 save percentage in 12 games of his own. Primeau is signed to a sub-$1MM deal through the end of the 2024-25 season, offering a lot of potential to teams looking for a potential difference-maker.
The Canadiens could also bank on veteran talents, finally finding a trade partner for Josh Anderson or moving away from hometown pro David Savard. Both players have been apart of trade rumors for a while, though Anderson would fetch much, much more of a return than Savard. The 29-year-old winger has just 15 points in 51 games this season, also setting 51 penalty minutes and a -21. It’s a far cry from the 27 goals and 47 points he managed in 82 games in 2018-19. Anderson hasn’t scored more than 32 points in a season since joining Montreal in 2020 but could still offer top-six value thanks to his sturdy frame and drive towards the net. Any trade of Anderson would almost certainly require Montreal to retain salary, using their last salary retention slot. But, with Anderson signed through his age-32 season in 2026-27, any return would be beneficial for the youthful Canadiens lineup.
Team Needs
1) Go Window Shopping – Montreal has the luxury of being able to explore all options at the Trade Deadline. The team is not in a position to win now, but they have all of the draft picks, prospect capital, and role players that a seller could ask for. This could give the Canadiens a lucrative opportunity to go after big names like Pavel Buchnevich or Jakob Chychrun. Both players are under 30 and on generally cheap contracts. While the remainder of their 2023-24 season might end up a bit fruitless, adding a big-market name could be enough to propel the Canadiens into success sooner than they planned for. The NHL is currently witnessing the ascension of the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit comfortably in a playoff spot after the All-Star Break, and Montreal could look to mimic that success next season with a healthy lineup and high-profile additions. The Canadiens likely wouldn’t have to sacrifice much for the additions either – boasting seven picks in the first or second round of the next two drafts. Their wallet is plenty big enough and they shouldn’t be frugal if that means they can bring in a point-per-game veteran forward or an ever-rising young defenseman.
2) Buy Up the Youth – Montreal is, first and foremost, a seller this year thanks to their insistence on a goalie trade and long list of veteran talents. But that position could open them up to sneaky deadline deals. There is plenty of high-profile young talent on the open market, including Trevor Zegras, Arthur Kaliyev, Kaapo Kakko, and Philip Broberg. While each of these players carries with them varying degrees of certainty, they would all make stellar additions to a Montreal lineup that’s already full of young talent. It’s also easy to see the fit that many of them would have with skillful head coach Martin St. Louis. Edmonton’s desperate need for goaltending depth, or New York’s desire for forward depth, could be enough for them to take lesser value in favor of solidifying their lineups now. Montreal could be in the perfect spot to exploit those positions and add major, major value to their future outlook.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
kingcong95
Challenge: List all the conditions on the CGY/FLA 2025 1st.
waretiger21
Conditions Here are the conditions associated with the first-round selection acquired by Montreal: 1. In the event Calgary’s own 2024 first (1st) round choice is selection 20-32 (inclusive) (following the determination of the 2024 NHL Draft lottery results), then Montreal shall have the option, exercisable until 48 hours prior to the start of the 2024 NHL draft, to exchange the conditional 2025 or 2026 first round choice to become Calgary’s own 2024 first (1st) round choice); or, If Florida’s 2025 First (1st) Round Choice Transfers to Calgary (pursuant to the conditions on an earlier trade) 2. In the event the conditions to trigger Montreal’s option as noted in #1 above does not occur, or Montreal declines to exercise this option, the following conditions shall prevail: A) If both Calgary’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice and Florida’s 2025 first (1st) round choice (previously acquired by Calgary) are not in the top-10 selections of the 2025 NHL Draft (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results), then Montreal shall receive the earlier of the two (2) stated choices; or, B) If Calgary’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice is a top-10 selection and Florida’s 2025 first round selection (previously acquired by Calgary) is outside of the top-10 selections (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results), Montreal shall receive Florida’s 2025 first (1st) round choice). If Florida’s 2025 First Round Choice DOES NOT Transfer to Calgary (pursuant to the conditions on an earlier trade) 3. In the event the conditions to trigger Montreal’s option as noted in #1 above does not occur, or Montreal declines to exercise this option, the following conditions shall prevail: A. If Calgary’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice is not in the top-10 selections of the 2025 NHL Draft (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results), Montreal shall receive Calgary’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice, and additionally, 1) If Florida’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice is not in the top-10 selections of the 2025 NHL Draft (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results); and, 2) Florida’s 2025 first (1st) round choice has been transferred to another NHL Club; and, 3) Florida’s 2025 first round draft position is better than Calgary’s 2025 first round draft position; then Calgary will transfer their own 2025 fourth round choice to Montreal. B. If Calgary’s own 2025 first (1st) round choice is a top-10 selection (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results), Montreal shall receive Calgary’s 2025 first (1st) round choice, subject to the following condition below: 1) In the event Calgary’s 2025 first (1st) round choice is the first (1st) selection overall in the 2025 NHL Draft (following the determination of the 2025 NHL Draft lottery results), Calgary will retain its own 2025 first (1st) round choice and Montreal shall instead receive Calgary’s own 2025 third (3rd) round choice and a conditional 2026 first (1st) round choice. Montreal shall receive the better of Calgary’s 2026 first (1st) round choice or Florida’s 2026 first (1st) round choice (following the determination of the 2026 NHL Draft lottery results) (previously conditionally acquired by Calgary).