Montreal Canadiens: Fantasy Land With David Pastrnak

It appears that contract talks with David Pastrnak aren’t going well which, in an optimistic world, would be perfect for the Montreal Canadiens.

Anytime a player may become available, fans come out in waves. Twitter is be filled with reasons from fans as to why their team should pursue the player. Unfortunately, because of past trades that have had a high level of shock value, a lot of people assume that the Montreal Canadiens will always be willing to make the big move.

There are still some notable RFAs who have yet to receive a new contract. However, there are mainly three that Canadiens fans have been fixed on. The three being Leon Draisaitl, Alexander Wennberg, and Sam Bennett.

All are young players with skill, and all our centers. The possibility of Marc Bergevin working something out in that category is pretty slim, mostly because there hasn’t been an offer sheet in years. One RFA name that is overlooked by Habs fans, and for good reason, is Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak.

Related Story: Offer Sheeting Leon Draisaitl

He too still hasn’t been extended, and according to Brian Lawton, his days on the team may be numbered. The NHL analyst tweeted this out Monday afternoon:

So, a few things stick out. First off, seriously? It’s been a running gag, but the Bruins have had a knack of trading young talent before they reach their peaks. The two most recent examples are Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin.

What makes it worse is that Pastrnak may have more to give. However, even if Pastrnak is traded, the chances that he comes to Montreal are pretty low. In fact, it may only happen in our dreams.

Entering Fantasy Land

Trading for Pastrnak may have a lot of complications with it. The reasons why he’s in trade talks now is because of contract negotiations. So the Habs would have to give up assets to acquire his rights, and then sign him to an extension.

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Considering the Bruins have a little over $10 million in cap space, there’s no telling what Pastrnak wants. The highest paid winger on the team is Brad Marchand who makes $6.125 million. Perhaps Don Sweeny wants to keep it that way.

If the Montreal Canadiens were to trade for him, it would definitely cost a first round pick and maybe Max Pacioretty. Boston would give up a 30-goal scorer (for some ungodly reason, I mean come on, oh sorry we’re still in fantasy land), so they would probably want one back.

Luckily, the Habs have the cap space to sign him to the deal that he wants. Say for example $7 million per. That’s a fairly strong cap hit, but strap on some term with that and it looks better. If you think about it, Pacioretty may command that much or even more once his contract expires.

Back To Reality

If the Boston Bruins decided to deal their best young forward to a divisional rival, the Montreal Canadiens could be better off. Just imagine a top-line with Pastrnak, Alex Galchenyuk, and Jonathan Drouin.

However, in all honesty there’s absolutely no chance the Habs acquire him. Not just because it would be helping out a rival, but also because it doesn’t really make sense.

The Canadiens already have plenty options on the wing. Not just the wingers on the team now, but the ones in the system that will be soon. It doesn’t make sense to trade assets for Pastrnak, despite how good he is.

Additionally the contract he will command may be concerning. The value I mentioned earlier in fantasy land may not be far from what Pastrnak wants. Sure the Habs have the cap space for it at the moment, but it’ll decrease their flexibility for a major addition later on. Hopefully said major addition is a center.

It’s alright to have fun with some trade speculations, however the Canadiens don’t necessarily have to be involved in all of them. Who knows, Pastrnak could very well be traded in the next few weeks. He could also be resigned. Either way, the Montreal Canadiens will probably remain far away from this speculation.

Next: Increasing Pacioretty's Rank

Do you think the Habs would actually pursue Pastrnak? What would the trade look like? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Player stats from Hockey-Reference.com and team salaries from Capfriendly.com