The Montreal Canadiens have been busy in the lead up to the trade deadline.
Teams have until Monday afternoon to make trades to bolster their roster for a playoff run, or sell off veteran assets with hope that the return will help them down the road.
The Canadiens are certainly in the latter category as they sit at the bottom of the NHL standings.
They already got the ball rolling with trades that sent Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames and Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers. The return has been first round picks and prospects as the Habs look to build up its already impressive group of prospects.
It sounds like Artturi Lehkonen could be the next domino to fall.
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Canadiens general manager has been quite busy since the Chiarot trade and Lehkonen is the piece that is “in play.”
Arturi Lehkonen is now the piece in play in Montreal. High interest in the 26 year old forward. Decision time for the Canadiens. He could help the Habs for the next 4-5 years. His value to the team being measured against his trade return.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 18, 2022
Teams around the league would love to add a player like Lehkonen for their playoff run. He was great for the Canadiens in last year’s postseason, scoring big goals, killing penalties, shutting down the opposition’s best players and doing it all with a manageable cap hit of under $2.5 million.
Lehkonen is 26 years old and is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He would still have a lot of value to the Canadiens, but if the price for him exceeds a first round pick, the Habs would be wise to consider trading him.
We will have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but Dreger was the first to report the Chiarot trade so he obviously has an inside scoop on the Canadiens workings.
Lehkonen has scored 13 goals and 28 points in 57 games this season and is on pace to break his previous career highs.
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