The Montreal Canadiens will dictate the pace of the Trade Deadline

Montreal could also choose to keep things quiet. Perhaps they resign Kovalchuk to another one-year deal and see if he can continue his production next season. The Habs have never shied away from having a mix of youth and veteran presence on the team, and they like what Kovalchuk has brought on and off the ice.

Bergevin doesn’t really have a reason to consider trading Petry unless the price is right. Yes, the Montreal Canadiens have future replacement options in Cale Fleury, Alexander Romanov and Josh Brook, but again, they value the character and presence. At the same time, Petry has another year on his contract and moving him next year may warrant a higher return.

Montreal has another role in this as they still have cap space. Right now, the special number is $4,072,540, but Bergevin will have about $10,236,384 to work with around the deadline (assuming both Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron return from injury.

Teams have and will always be willing to pay other teams to take on poor contracts. We go back to the Oilers one more time. They currently have a little over $1.25 million in cap space, which can be bumped up to $5.85 million at the deadline. If Edmonton was willing to give up a pick, I doubt Bergevin will be unwilling to take on say Sam Gagner, who is the final year of his deal with a $3.15 million cap hit.

The options are endless, but it starts with where the Montreal Canadiens lie. They have the potential to add, sell, or keep things the same based on those decisions from management. Which will it be?