Montreal Canadiens: Hypothetical Habs Trade With Every Pacific Division Team

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are in a weird spot. They have a lot of veterans tied up for a long time on huge contracts. They also were terrible last season. They are stuck with basically the same team that was not good enough to come close to the 24 team expanded postseason.

They would probably love a big shakeup trade, but a fit with the Canadiens is difficult to find. The Habs could use a left defenceman but Marc-Edouard Vlasic has six years left on a contract that comes with a $7 million cap hit. Yuck.

They could also use a scoring right winger but Timo Meier is not going anywhere. He is 23, signed for three more years and awesome. Why would the Sharks move their best young player when they need to rebuild?

Kevin Labanc is not quite in the same stratosphere as Meier, but he is a right winger who can put up points. He signed a one year contract at just a million bucks a year ago and is now a restricted free agent. He dipped to 33 points in 70 games after scoring 56 in 2018-19. Labanc would be my top target in San Jose, but just like Meier, why would the Sharks trade him? He is just 24 and had 56 points a year ago. They need all the young talent they can get.

The Sharks would be looking to move out veterans so they can open space for younger players and move the rebuild along. The Habs shipped out a number of veteran forwards at the trade deadline and could use a couple more for next season.