Latest Update On Canadiens Players On The Trade Block

The clock keeps ticking as we approach Monday’s trade deadline and all eyes are on Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. The question exactly is, who will be traded and what will we get in return?

Ben Chiarot has finally left the building as he was traded on Wednesday night to the Florida Panthers. He of course was in the middle of many rumors for quite some time now and the new management of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton got exactly what they wanted in their return.

Here is the remaining full list of Canadiens’ players that are rumored to be on the trade block and what the asking price might be.

Artturi Lehkonen LW/RW

Salary: Pending RFA – $2,300,000

Rumored Ask: 1st round pick

Rumored Teams Interested: WSH, NYR, COL

Artturi Lehkonen will likely not get traded, but there’s still a chance he might. We shouldn’t trade him, but it might be smart to trade him.

Confused yet?

Kent Hughes went on record saying that Lehkonen is part of the culture the Canadiens are trying to produce. However, he is willing to listen to anyone who is willing to pony up a first round pick for the Finnish forward.

Lehkonen is currently enjoying the best season of his career and fits perfectly under Martin St. Louis. He’s in line for a raise from his current $2.3 million salary with reports he can potentially gain upwards to $4 million on his next contract.

The Washington Capitals were going hard after Lehkonen at some point during the season, offering goaltender Ilya Samsonov as the main piece in return. These negotiations have appeared to die down now that Jake Allen is set to return against the Dallas Stars and Carey Price has made tremendous leaps in his rehabilitation.

Jeff Petry RD

Salary: 3 Years (2024-25) – $6,250,000 Possesses 15 team no trade list

Rumored Ask: Multiple Prospects + “bad” contract

Rumored Teams Interested: DAL, DET

The Jeff Petry “saga” is one for the ages.

He is the poster child of going from “Hero to Zero” with everything from his wife bashing the province of Quebec and Canada as a whole for the way they’ve been handling the COVID-19 pandemic, to Petry’s absolute nonchalance that nearly sent Samuel Montembeault to the hospital.

After laziness and pouting slowly becoming his trademark, Petry suddenly got a second wind under new head coach Martin St. Louis and we have magically seen the Petry of old all over again.

However, the damage has been done.

Petry’s request for a trade before Marc Bergevin was fired didn’t fall on deaf ears as Jeff Gorton got the message followed by Kent Hughes in turn. Upper management is taking a slow approach and openly said that they are not in a rush to trade Petry, but when the right offer presents itself, they’ll work something out.

The strongest rumors persisted between the Dallas Stars and the Detroit Red Wings, with the Flyers being in the mix at some point but those plans apparently went by the wayside when they re-upped Rasmus Ristolainen for the next 5 years totalling $25.5 million.

Detroit would make sense as he is a Michigan native and backing up captain Dylan Larkin, another Michigan native, would not only make a potential solid leadership tandem, but it’s a marketing department’s dream as well. As for Dallas, they were linked as interested with John Klingberg being an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Texas also happens to be the home state of his wife, Julie.

Having to move such a heavy contract is rarely done at the trade deadline. If Petry moves, expect him to do so in the off-season.

Jake Allen G

Salary: 1 Year (2022-23) – $2,875,000

Rumored Ask: 2nd Round Pick

Rumored Teams Interested: TOR, VGK, PHI, EDM

As we reported a few days ago, Jake Allen is slated to make his return this week. Martin St. Louis eventually confirmed that he will be starting on Thursday against the Dallas Stars.

If he is completely rehabilitated from his injuries, Allen can provide an interesting option for teams struggling with goaltending. The Golden Knights, Flyers, Oilers and Maple Leafs are all looking for goaltending help, but the goaltending market is collectively holding their breath as they away what will happen with the Blackhawks and Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Canadiens originally gave up a 3rd and 7th round pick to the St. Louis Blues for Jake Allen and a 7th round pick. Given his Stanley Cup pedigree and extremely affordable contract, it’s not exaggerated to assume he can indeed fetch a 2nd round pick in return.

With Carey Price reportedly progressing in his rehabilitation and Samuel Montembeault still able to hold the fort despite needing wrist surgery, there’s still a chance that Allen gets traded either at the deadline or in the off-season, especially if Montembeault is re-signed.

Here’s the best of the rest, or honorable mentions if you wish. These are players that have appeared at least once in rumors. Some won’t fetch much in return while others might have to wait into the off-season due to their heavy contract.

• Chris Wideman – Pending UFA – $750,000
• Joel Armia – 3 Years (2024-25) – $3,400,000
• Laurent Dauphin – Pending UFA – $750,000
• Jonathan Drouin – 1 Year (2022-23) – $5,500,000
• Christian Dvorak – 3 Years (2024-25) – $4,450,000
• Shea Weber – 4 Years (2025-26) – $7,857,143