Montreal Canadiens: A link to the Florida Panthers in the future
By Omar L
The Florida Panthers were a team hoping to make a splash at the deadline, but that may happen at the draft, and the Montreal Canadiens could be factors in it.
The final half hour before the Trade Deadline, as it is every year, is when the major deals take place. At that time, talk on Ryan McDonagh was at its peak and according to reports teams were continuing to call to acquire Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens. Once the deadline passed, Pacioretty remained the Habs captain, as teams weren’t willing to match the demands Marc Bergevin had, while McDonagh was set to make his way to Tampa Bay.
Other teams were in on acquiring McDonagh including the Capitals, Leafs, and Florida Panthers who has quietly continued to push for a playoff spot. The Panthers haven’t seen the playoffs since the 2015/16 season where they were eliminated in the first round. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to add any new pieces to their roster to better their chances of doing it.
General Manager Dale Tallon mentioned after the deadline that they had some deals in the works but they, unfortunately, fell through in the remaining minutes. Additionally, the interest in 2016 first-round pick Henrik Borgström was never at it’s highest. The 20-year-old is having another fantastic year at the University of Denver with 18 goals and 23 assists. When it comes to the Habs, you can’t ignore the fact that he is a centre and would be a perfect acquisition for Bergevin.
But how does Montreal play into this? It was reported in the weeks leading to the deadline that the Florida Panthers were one of the teams in on Pacioretty. Bringing the 29-year-old to Sunrise could’ve been just the boost the Panthers needed to secure their spot in the top 16 of the league. Although they’re only five points out, it’s still going to be a difficult task considering the teams they’ll have to leapfrog.
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The reason why those deals fell through, including a possible Pacioretty one, was already given by Tallon: the prices were too high. If we’re using the most recent announced want by the Habs in a deal like that, it would be a first and second-round pick, roster player, and a prospect (preferably a centre).
Tallon has always been a person to value drafting and developing which would explain his reluctance to pay that kind of price. However, if the Panthers miss again, that may push him to make a move to better the team. Tallon admitted that his team were buyers at the deadline and they could very well try to work on some deals at the draft or over the summer.
If that happens, perhaps the Habs and Panthers are used in the same sentence more often.