Montreal Canadiens Trade Options: 5 Wingers Habs Should Consider
Examining why the Montreal Canadiens should consider acquiring Toronto Maple Leafs Forward James van Riemsdyk.
One of the things that the Canadiens have lacked for many years is a big strong power forward. JVR certainly would fit the bill for the Habs, if they desired to make a deal for a big forward. Riemsdyk has a strong six foot three inch frame that he uses to gain strong net presence.
JVR has also shown his scoring ability through the last few years, and has had three seasons with at least 20 or more goals. In fact, last season JVR was on pace to score 28 goals, but he got injured and missed half the season. At that pace, JVR would have had his third consecutive season of 25 or more goals.
Van Reimsdyk is also having one the best seasons of his career. In 24 games this season JVR has scored 11 goals and has totaled 20 points. He is currently on pace to score 37 goals this and the Canadiens could certainly use that offense.
Rumors
There have been rumors that James has been on the trade block. However, Leafs Head Coach Mike Babcock tried to put an end to those rumors and insisted that Toronto wasn’t going to move him. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and you never know what the cagey Lou Lamoriello is up to.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a great young core of Forwards but have some holes to fill on Defense. The Leafs could get a a great return for JVR and this would continue to help the Leafs rebuild. Also JVR only carries a 4.25 million dollar cap hit and his contract would end after the 2017-18 season, making a trade even more attractive.
What Would it Cost?
The Leafs are in the market for some more young talent on the back end. Montreal has a couple of young prospects that could attract Toronto. The Montreal Canadiens have top prospects like Noah Juulsen and Mikhail Sergachev who were first round picks, that would certainly interest the Leafs. Sergachev is very highly regarded around the Canadiens organization and it seems unlikely that Bergevin would ever want to trade him.
Also, the Montreal Canadiens have a current young defender who doesn’t seem to have earned the trust of Habs Head Coach Michel Therrien and this would be Nathan Beaulieu. Nathan has a ton of offensive upside and is a tremendous skater who can make good first passes. Beaulieu may also interest the Leafs as they are clearly building a team that is focused on speed.
Here is what a potential trade could look like:
Habs Should Make this Trade
Nathan Beaulieu is a terrific young player but for whatever reason he hasn’t been trusted by Therrien. Beaulieu started the season with Shea Weber and played very well. Nathan could develop into a sound top four defender and so could Juulsen.
That being said, Therrien doesn’t want to play Beaulieu top minutes. The Canadiens have other options for bottom pairing Defensemen like Mark Barberio and Zach Redmond who are more than capable to play 15-17 minutes a night.
Also David Desharnais is just a throw in to even out the salary cap. Desharnais contract is also up at the end of the year so the leafs wouldn’t have to be committed to him. The Habs would definitely want to add a 30 goal scorer for that price.