Montreal Canadiens: Three Realistic Trades Habs Need to Consider with Buffalo Sabres

Brandon Montour

I know, I know. I just said the top targets should be centres, left defensemen and scoring left wingers and now I’m saying they should target right shooting defender Brandon Montour. But this one comes with a bit of an asterisk.

That asterisk is, Montour would have to be the third pairing right defenceman, which means Alexander Romanov would have to move up the depth chart. This trade only makes sense if head coach Dominique Ducharme is willing to shake up his defence pairings quite a bit.

That would mean Romanov moves up the depth chart to play with Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot moves down the lineup to the third pairing. Then, Montour would play the right side on the third pair with Chiarot, or Brett Kulak if he outplays Chiarot.

Montour is a good skater and has shown plenty of offensive ability in his career, though not this season. Of course, no one is showing much with the Buffalo Sabres so it’s quite likely his production would increase quite a bit if he were to be traded.

In Montour’s first two full NHL seasons, he scored 35 and 32 points. He is down to 22 points in his last 75 games over the past two seasons, but would make a perfect partner for Chiarot as he can skate, move the puck up ice and transition zones while Chiarot does the heavy lifting in the corners and battling in front of the net.

Montour was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for Brendan Guhle and a first round pick in 2019. He isn’t going to cost that much today, as he will be a UFA after this season and isn’t playing his best hockey at the moment. Still, the Sabres won’t give him away and will want a decent draft pick in return.