Montreal Canadiens: 5 Potential Habs Trades To Upgrade At Center
#5: Mike Ribeiro – Nashville Predators
Ribeiro would be a bit of a controversial addition to the Montreal Canadiens. That’s mostly because he once played for the organization and was unceremoniously cast aside. There were rumours he wasn’t exactly being the best teammate.
Well, that was more than ten years ago, and the only players still in town who were teammates with Ribeiro are Plekanec and Andrei Markov. You would have to imagine the 36 year old center has matured since his last stint in Montreal.
Ribeiro was dealt on the eve of the 2006-07 season to the Dallas Stars for defenceman Janne Niinimaa. It was a trade that made little sense on the ice, so the off-ice rumours must have had a lot to do with the deal.
Ribeiro had become a solid top six center with the Canadiens before the trade. Since the deal, he has gone on to play 775 games and score 630 points. He’s had stops in Dallas, Washington, Phoenix and Nashville and continues to be a decent point producer.
This season, the Montreal native has 15 points in 23 games. That would be a major upgrade offensively on Plekanec’s seven or the nine Desharnais has scored in one more contest.
Why would Nashville make the deal?
Of course, any trade has to make sense for both sides. This trade becomes less and less likely with every Predators win, and they’ve been doing a lot of that lately. The Preds started the year a little slow and currently sit tied with three other teams for the last wildcard spot in the west.
However, Nashville has played at least three less games than each team they are tied with. They are also tied with the Minnesota Wild for third in their own division which would put them in a postseason spot. The Wild have played the same number of games.
If the Predators fall out of the race, a 36 year-old Ribeiro who is a pending unrestricted free agent would be an ideal rental player. It’s possible the Preds are unable to keep the pace in a tough western conference, but for now they look like they will be keeping their second line center.
What would it cost?
If the Predators fall out of the race before the end of February, Ribeiro will surely hit the market. As an offensive center, averaging 0.65 points-per game, Ribeiro wouldn’t be acquired for nothing. Although at the age of 36 and being a pure rental, the Habs wouldn’t be moving any of their top prospects either.
The closest comparable from last season’s trade deadline was the trade that sent Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes to the New York Rangers. Staal was 31, and is a better defensive player but was a UFA center expected to play a second line role.
The Rangers gave up a pair of second round picks and a low-level prospect in Aleksi Saarela for Staal. If the Habs want to acquire Ribeiro, it would likely come at a similar price.