Three Outside Of The Box UFA’s Canadiens Could Look At

Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes dropped a mini bombshell on Thursday, saying that the team will in the end, not be gunning for high priced free agents.

It was just a few months ago that Hughes publicly stated that the Habs were going to be talking to some of the superstar free agents available, including Kristopher Letang, Patrice Bergeron, and Evgeni Malkin. With the salary cap climbing only one million dollars this offseason, and with that million already spent on salary overage penalties due to bonuses, this news hardly comes at a surprise.

Hughes most likely said this to lower fan expectations as the pressure will already be reaching tumultuous heights as this year’s NHL draft is in Montreal with the Canadiens having the best odds of drafting first overall. The Canadiens have 18.5% chances of drafting first overall followed by the Arizona Coyotes with 13.5% and the Seattle Kraken at 11.5%. The Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Nights have the lowest chances at 0.5%.

The announcement might also have been a result of the Canadiens’ inability to trade Shea Weber’s contract at the trade deadline. There were reports that for whatever reason, a trade involving the Coyotes and Canadiens was nixed, with the Coyotes instead turning towards Winnipeg and picking up Bryan Little’s contract.

Unless Weber’s contract as well as Jeff Petry gets traded before the opening of free agency, don’t expect huge splashes when the free agent trackers get going.

That being said, there are roster holes to be filled. The Canadiens like to think “outside the box” with the new management in place so here are three free agent candidates the Habs might take a serious look at.