Canadiens: 3 Players We Never Thought Would be Traded, But Will Be

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The word “rebuild” is being thrown around quite a bit in the realm of the Montreal Canadiens ever since Jeff Gorton has been appointed VP of Hockey Operations. In fact, he even stated that certain contracts will need to be disposed of in order to accelerate the development of certain younger players and also give the team some much needed flexibility vis-a-vis the salary cap.

Coming up next is a list that will have you shaking your head, have your fandom and allegiance towards some of your favorite players who may or may not be traded in order to enhance this rebuild.

Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Unless an absolutely surprising turn of events, this is as close as Shea Weber will get to lifting Lord Stanley’s trophy. Our captain, “Mountain Man” or “Dad” has pretty much called it a career when it was announced that he will not be playing at all in 2021-2022 due to a grocery list of injuries. At least that’s what Jonathan Drouin said.

While he hasn't officially hung his skates up, Shea Weber is already essentially retired, helping Montreal in the background, says Jonathan Drouin: https://t.co/qoweovG6A1
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 26, 2021

So why does he make the list? Because although there’s still a chance, although extremely finite, that he returns to play, there are still teams that would want to take on his contract. Bottom feeding teams like the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres or Ottawa Senators might be enticed to take on Weber’s contract in order to stay above the cap floor all while fetching the Canadiens a draft pick as high as a 2nd rounder. Even the Nashville Predators might be in the mix in order to control Weber’s fate and not get penalized if ever he would want to officially retire.

Weber has an annual cap hit of $7,857,143 but is owed an actual salary of $6 million this season, $3 million for 2022-23 and $1 million between 2023-24 to 2025-26.

MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 29: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Centre Bell on November 29, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

This one will sting.

We all love Brendan Gallagher. He’s the blue collar, gritty, heart and soul of this team and will play regardless of the ailment that hits him.

Unfortunately, that’s also an issue.

Gallagher has not been the same since the COVID-shortened seasons and has been dealing with a various amount and degree of injuries. The stats on paper might not be too bad to look at, but his overall play has been sluggish and lacked that fire he has shown time and time again. We all love seeing Gally in the slot pushing and shoving and trying to get that rebound and score one of his many “garbage goals” we are so fond of. However it seems that when he does get into that slot he starts to fall down more often than not and he never seems to be comfortable on the ice.

Players of his style have a relatively short shelf life due to the abuse the body takes. Now entering his 10th season in the NHL, Gallagher will still tempt a rival GM to take on his 6 year $39 million contract given that he will only turn 30 in May. Gallagher can still light up a locker room and if surrounded by the right players can still give you 20 goals a year and will keep the opposition in check with his legendary trash talking habits.

He must submit a 6 team no trade list before any negotiations can occur. He can probably bring back prospects as long as a short yet heavy contract is tied into the trade.

TAMPA, FLORIDA – JUNE 28: Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens watches the play against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game One of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on June 28, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

This one is a lot more complicated but still possible. If players like Gretzky, Bourque and Roy can be traded, so can Carey.

Carey Price has an enviable resume bar none. If he were to retire right now, he would definitely get the nod into the Hall of Fame even if he hasn’t lifted the ultimate prize in hockey. The 2014-15 season saw him win all the major awards: Hart, Vezina, Jennings and Ted Lindsay awards. He had a record of 44-16-6 with a GAA of 1.96 and a .933 save percentage including 9 shutouts. All career highs that he never even came close to challenging again.

He’s a seven time all-star, an olympic gold medalist and sits 1st in franchise history in the wins category with 360 all while putting him 21st in NHL history.

The naysayers will say nay to a trade because of the contribution he’s given to the organization and the city as a whole. Others would welcome a $10.5 million cap relief as he has 4 more years left on his bulky contract.

That being said, who would want an injury prone, 34 year old goaltender who makes $10.5 million a year (mostly paid in signing bonuses)? If his name is Carey Price, you can bet teams like the Edmonton Oilers will come knocking and package what they can in order to team up Price with Connor McDavid.

Price has a full no-movement clause and will need to approve any trade.

Must Read. Montreal Canadiens: A House Half-Cleaned. light

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