Canadiens: Darren Dreger Convinced Lehkonen Will Be Traded

The Monday trade deadline in the National Hockey League is rapidly approaching and although the Montreal Canadiens already pulled the trigger on a trade, more might be underway.

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Despite saying he would rather keep him, Kent Hughes is apparently taking a number of calls involving pending restricted free agent Artturi Lehkonen.

At the time of this writing, Lehkonen is still a member of the Montreal Canadiens. It seems however, that the price to pay may have become logical not just due to the pending contract he may receive in arbitration(rumored to be between $4-5 million), but his value only increased with the recent trade of Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Hagel belongs in that same category of Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Artturi Lehkonen. Responsible two-way forwards who can play the game in any way and is a gem on and off the ice.

Granted the important part is that Tampa Bay’s competing window is still wide open and can remain that way for another couple of years. So sacrificing 1st round picks that unless disaster strikes, will probably be ranked 30 or lower, is acceptable. Which is still crazy when you think about it.

Also did you know? Brandon Hagel was once a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

All that to say, this just blows the doors wide open on this year’s trade deadline. If Hagel can fetch this kind of package, is it now so far fetched that Lehkonen can either bring back a 1st or a 1st round prospect? Will the Rangers finally snap and pony up Vitali Kravtsov, who both Hughes and Gorton are very high on? Or a 1st and Julien Gauthier or a Matthew Robertson? Will the Flames come back into the mix and offer up a package consisting of Jakob Pelletier?

Anything is possible at this point.