Montreal Canadiens: Three Potential Trades Involving Habs First Round Pick

Chicago Blackhawks

The Montreal Canadiens have made a few big trades with the Chicago Blackhawks. It makes sense considering general manager Marc Bergevin was a scout and then assistant general manager in Chicago before taking the reins in Montreal.

We saw Andrew Shaw move from Chicago to Montreal (and back again) and the Habs also acquired Phillip Danault and a draft pick that would become Alexander Romanov from the Hawks a few years ago.

Could we see the two teams connect once again?

Why not? With both teams finishing 12th in their respective conferences, anything could be on the table. It appears that the Habs are more interested in making an aggressive push for the 2021 postseason than the Blackhawks. Could the Hawks be convinced to sell a veteran for an early draft pick?

Brandon Saad has one year left on his contract before being eligible for free agency. He earns $6 million per year and has proven to be a consistent goal scorer during his career. He scored 21 goals in just 58 games this season, and had 23, 18, 24, 31 and 23 in the past five seasons. He stays healthy, missing only 12 games in his entire NHL career before this season.

Saad brings the size (6’1″ and 205 pounds), defensive ability and playoff pedigree (two Stanley Cups) that Bergevin admires. He has been around a long time but is still just 27 years old. If acquired, Saad could sign an extension immediately, and be productive for the next five years.

There hasn’t been a lot of trade rumours out of Chicago involving Saad. But there has been murmurs that Bergevin is willing to move his first round pick. If he does, Saad is exactly the type of player he would want to acquire.