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Montreal Canadiens Exploring Trade Options

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When the Montreal Canadiens placed Evgenii Dadonov on injured reserve yesterday, there were quite a few smirks going up around the hockey world. It was “kicking the can down the road” as Eric Engels of Sportsnet put it, opening up a roster spot by moving out a forward that wasn’t playing anyway. It avoided having to waive a player like Dadonov but doesn’t fix the root of the problem – Montreal has too many forwards.

Yesterday on TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun explained that the Canadiens have been trying to “create a trade market” by calling around to several teams in the league. One of those is the Washington Capitals, who lost Connor Brown to ACL surgery, but nothing is imminent between the two as the Capitals look at internal options first.

LeBrun lists Dadonov, Jonathan Drouin, and Mike Hoffman – three players who have all been healthy scratches recently – among the names that could be on the move.

Each of those three, it should be noted, come with relatively hefty contracts. Dadonov carries a $5MM cap hit this season, Drouin a $5.5MM hit, and Hoffman is at $4.5MM through next season.

With Dadonov on injured reserve, the team is currently carrying 14 forwards. Of that group, only Brendan Gallagher and Hoffman are over the age of 30, and many are 25-and-under. The team is obviously focused on moving toward their youth and away from the older generation of players, but whether they will be able to actually pull off a trade remains to be seen.

Evgenii Dadonov Moved To Injured Reserve; Joel Edmundson Activated

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The Montreal Canadiens have moved Evgenii Dadonov to injured reserve, clearing the way for the activation of Joel Edmundson. The veteran defenseman no longer appears on the injured reserve list on the NHL media site, but John Lu of TSN reports that he will be a game-time decision.

Dadonov’s placement is interesting, as Eric Engels of Sportsnet suggested that the forward may end up on waivers today to clear room for Edmundson and referred to this transaction as “kicking the can down the road.”

The 33-year-old Dadonov has essentially played his way out of the mix in Montreal with zero points through eight games. He’s only taken ten shots on goal during that stretch and saw his minutes reduced to fewer than 12 before ending up in the press box as a healthy scratch.

It seems that his time in Montreal might be running out, though they’ll now have a little bit of flexibility to make a decision. With a $5MM cap hit it seems unlikely that there would be much of a trade market for Dadonov, even if he did score 20 goals last season. Notably, he’s actually making $6.5MM in salary this season in the final year of his contract.

Juraj Slafkovsky Returns To Lineup

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Some good news is abound tonight for Montreal Canadiens fans, as 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky is returning to the lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues. Slafkovsky had not played in nine days.

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Nicolas Beaudin

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The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens have completed another trade that will see a former first-round pick head north. Nicolas Beaudin, selected 27th overall in 2018 by the Blackhawks, has been traded to Montreal in exchange for Cameron Hillis.

Similar to the move for Kirby Dach, this brings a struggling former top prospect to Montreal where he will likely get a better opportunity. Beaudin, 23, has played 22 games in the NHL but had obviously been passed by other young defensemen in the Chicago system. He cleared waivers earlier this month and was playing with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.

With the Canadiens, there’s at least a chance that Beaudin can make good on some of his potential and help them fill out the NHL lineup at some point down the road. The team did send Corey Schueneman to the AHL today, opening a roster spot, but are expecting Joel Edmundson back soon to fill it.

Of course, this is also an example of the Canadiens bringing in another hometown kid, as Beaudin is from Châteauguay, a Montreal suburb. He was a star for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL as a junior player and should be extremely excited about the move.

Hillis, meanwhile, is a third-round pick of the Canadiens from 2018 that has had a very odd professional career so far. Last season, when the team was struggling with injuries, Hillis was brought up straight from the ECHL to make his NHL debut. He was back in the ECHL this season and looks like he might be a potential non-tender candidate for the Blackhawks unless he finds a new level of play with Rockford, where he will initially report.

Mostly, this deal looks like it was made to find a new home for a young player buried in the depth chart, one that the Blackhawks had no intention of using.

Corey Schueneman Assigned To AHL

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It’s not often that you see a team send their extra defenseman down to the minor leagues before heading out on a road trip, unless of course, they are getting someone back from injury. That’s why there was instant excitement among Montreal Canadiens fans when the team announced that Corey Schueneman has been assigned to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

The team is about to head out on the road and with them will be both Joel Armia and Joel Edmundson, though there still isn’t a concrete timeline on when they’ll be in the lineup. Neither player appears on the active roster currently, though Edmundson does not have an injured reserve designation any longer. The Canadiens will play in Buffalo tomorrow to kick off a four-game road trip where it seems likely that one, if not both, will return.

Edmundson, 29, has become something of a fan favorite in Montreal thanks to his stability and physicality on defense. He was an integral part of the team’s unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 but has been in and out of the lineup ever since due to injury. Last season he managed to play in just 24 games, and his return on the upcoming road trip will be his season debut for 2022-23.

While this season may not be about winning a championship, you can bet that Montreal still wants to have Edmundson in the lineup around their young defensemen as much as possible. A Stanley Cup winner in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, he can help them make the transition to the NHL while providing a reliable model to emulate on the defensive end. Edmundson was named an alternate captain before the season began, and is signed through 2023-24.

Carey Price Not Retiring, Focused On Recovery

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Carey Price hasn’t considered retirement, at least not yet. While meeting the media this morning, he explained that he is focused on getting pain-free and will take things day-by-day from there. Price explained that he is still having trouble climbing stairs or with other activities, but hasn’t closed the book on his NHL career.

Price, 35, is still signed through the 2025-26 season, earning at least $7.5MM in each season. That will stay on the books for the Canadiens, though it will be moved to long-term injured reserve every year he isn’t able to play, essentially allowing the team to spend that money elsewhere if needed.

Selected fifth overall in 2005, Price was always touted as the next great Canadiens goaltender. Though he didn’t step directly into the NHL, going back to the WHL for two full seasons, he quickly showed why he was drafted so high upon his arrival. As a rookie in 2007-08, Price posted a .920 save percentage, going 24-12-3 and finishing ninth in Vezina Trophy voting. By the time he was 23, he was leading the league in wins and finishing as a top-10 Hart Trophy finalist.

In 2014-15, both those trophies ended up in his possession, after one of the best seasons the NHL has ever seen from a goaltender. Price led the league with 44 wins, a .933 save percentage, and a 1.96 goals-against average. He added the Jennings and Lindsay to the trophy case as well, but that peak wouldn’t last long. The netminder would end up playing just 12 games the next season, and injuries would start to shape the narrative of his career.

His regular season performance since the start of 2017-18 has continued to decline, registering a save percentage of just .908 over that stretch. Even still, he showed a flash of peak Price in the playoffs, taking the Canadiens all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2021.

Now, with retirement not on the table, Price says he is hoping to recover from a knee injury without undergoing another surgery – one that he suggests could risk his quality of life down the line. When asked if he’s been told when the knee issues started, Price laughed and said “about eight years old.” He listed off several other injuries he’s experienced – referencing his back, hip, and ankle – explaining that as he got older, it was harder to bounce back from these things.

Whether Price is focused on it or not, the end of his playing career seems closer than ever. He suggested that the surgery on the table – OATS, a procedure that takes cartilage from one area of the knee and grafts it into a damaged area – has a chance of causing further issues, both for his performance and quality of life. Without it, he is not able to train at a high level, meaning he’s just waiting to see if his knee responds to time and rehab instead.

If it is the end, Price would go down with 712 regular season appearances in his career, 28th all-time. His 361 wins put him even higher on the NHL leaderboard, sitting 21st, just ahead of Jonathan Quick.

When asked if he is at peace with the idea that he may have played his last game, Price used the word “miracle” to describe the possibility of a return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Juraj Slafkovsky Undergoing Tests On Upper-Body Injury

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There was a big absence at Montreal Canadiens practice today, as Juraj Slafkovsky was nowhere to be seen. The team released some information on the situation, noting that the first-overall pick is undergoing testing on his upper-body injury. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports tweets that there is expected to be an additional update Wednesday on “how long he’ll be out.”

It has been an up-and-down start for the top prospect, as he at times looked completely overmatched by the speed of the NHL game. His only point came during his last game when he released a brilliant shot after getting hit hard by Josh Brown. He would end up seeing his highest amount of playing time in the game against the Arizona Coyotes, but missed Saturday’s match and now appears headed for the shelf.

Given there was already some debate over whether Slafkovsky should receive some time in the minor leagues to continue his development, an injury at this point in the year isn’t going to help things. There’s no doubting his talent, but in two of his five games on the year Slafkovsky failed to receive even ten minutes of ice time.

Should he end up out long-term, or even if it is more of a day-to-day thing, the Canadiens could still send him to the AHL when he is ready to return. For now, we’ll wait to see what kind of diagnosis is coming down the pipe.

Edmundson And Armia Return To Practice, Slafkovsky Day-To-Day

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  • The Canadiens could soon be getting some help on the injury front as TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie relays (Twitter links) that defenseman Joel Edmundson and Joel Armia both took part in practice with a non-contact jersey. Both players have yet to play this season with Edmundson suffering a back injury in a collision with Nick Suzuki in a pre-camp practice while Armia suffered an upper-body late in the preseason.  Montreal is carrying a full-sized roster at the moment so when these two are cleared to return, they will have to make some moves to open up roster spots for them.
  • Still with Montreal, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Juraj Slafkovsky is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The first-overall pick is coming off his best game that saw him score his first NHL goal while logging over 14 minutes of ice time for the first time but it appears he’ll have to wait a few days to have a chance at his second tally.  Rem Pitlick is expected to take Slafkovsky’s place on the fourth line tonight.

Jake Allen Returns From Paternity Leave

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  • Goalie Jake Allen will return to the Montreal Canadiens crease tomorrow night after welcoming the birth of his third daughter. Allen is expected to get his third start of the season against the Arizona Coyotes, who are coming off an impressive 4-2 win in Toronto. The 32-year-old Canadian has a sparkling .943 save percentage through two games this season, his third as a Canadien.

Canadian Notes: Price, Dermott, Wideman

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Rumors have swirled over the future of Carey Price’s career ever since the severity of his knee injury became apparent. Those rumors intensified today when Sportnet’s Eric Engels said Price was scheduled to speak with the media on October 24. However, Engels notes that this is not a retirement announcement as many people first thought when his media availability was reported.

Price and his $10.5MM cap hit remain on long-term injured reserve, and he’s not expected to play at all this season as he continues his recovery from his knee injury. Price played just five games last season after missing nearly the entire year, and he certainly won’t top that number in 2022-23. The future Hall of Fame goaltender still wants to resume his playing career if he can, and he does have four years remaining on his deal to make an improbable recovery.

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