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Four RFA’s Canadiens Rumored To Be Interested In

By Patrick Lortie |
Canada's defender Thomas Chabot (L) and Canada's forward Pierre-Luc Dubois cheer after the 3-2 goal scored by Dubois during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships quarterfinal match between Sweden and Canada in Tampere, Finland, on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Canada's defender Thomas Chabot (L) and Canada's forward Pierre-Luc Dubois cheer after the 3-2 goal scored by Dubois during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships quarterfinal match between Sweden and Canada in Tampere, Finland, on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
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Miss the rumor mill? The Montreal Canadiens are never short of a few rumors. As a matter of fact, there are so many it’s hard to chose from. This time around however, we’re going to pick five of them as there are some very interesting Restricted Free Agents who could be requesting a change of address either via trade, or through a hostile offer.

If Kent Hughes can accomplish his task of ridding himself of Shea Weber’s contract, shelving Carey Price’s contract on the LTIR, as well as trading away some hefty contracts such as Mike Hoffman’s and Jeff Petry’s, this opens the door to some young and exciting players who can compliment the young core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov.

So without further ado, here are four RFA’s the Canadiens have been linked to and are apparently interested in acquiring if of course, the “Price” is “Wright”.

Yeah i’ll leave the pun to the others.

Patrik Laine

ELMONT, NEW YORK – MARCH 31: Patrik Laine #29 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates in his 400th NHL game against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena on March 31, 2022 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ELMONT, NEW YORK – MARCH 31: Patrik Laine #29 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates in his 400th NHL game against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena on March 31, 2022 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

This isn’t the first time Laine has been linked to the Canadiens. During the 2016 draft it was reported Marc Bergevin was attempting a coup as he was dangling his number 9 overall pick along with a plethora of prospects and other picks in order to receive the 2nd AND third overall picks.

There’s no doubt that Laine’s inconsistency furstrates everyone including arena janitors. This is a player who can play at an Alexander Ovechkin level if he just showed up. Last season showed a little more promise as he lit up the lamp 26 times and scored at a point per game pace scoring 56 points in 56 games. His $7.5 million contract is up and he is once again facing an unknown future as a restricted free agent. Though the Blue Jackets have recently attempted to lure Laine back to Columbus by signing one of Laine’s best friends in Joona Luoto.

There’s just no doubt that a line of Laine-Suzuki-Caufield could be one of the most dangerous for the next decade.

2016 was the year Auston Matthews went first overall and while no trade ever materialized for Montreal, Laine went second overall to the Winnipeg Jets. Who went third overall? The man he would be traded for in Pierre-Luc Dubois with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the next player on our list.

MONTREAL, QC – APRIL 11: Pierre-Luc Dubois #80 of the Winnipeg Jets skates the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Centre Bell on April 11, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – APRIL 11: Pierre-Luc Dubois #80 of the Winnipeg Jets skates the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Centre Bell on April 11, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

I don’t think there’s a minute that goes by without Pierre-Luc Dubois’ name not being mentioned in the Montreal Canadiens rumor mill. Then again, neither does any francophone for that matter.

The big power forward had a banner year in Winnipeg this season having career highs in goals (28) and penalty minutes (106) and falling only one point shy of tying his career high of 61. He alternated the year between left wing and center depending on team needs and who was injured.

There hasn’t been any negotiations between Dubois and Winnipeg at this time making it believable that the Jets are willing to listen to offers for the Ste-Agathe-des-Monts native. Dubois just finished a contract that carried a $5 million cap hit so you know he’s in for a raise. The Jets might be unwilling to give Dubois to give such a hefty raise.

While the Canadiens have often been rumored to be interesting in Dubois, it will be interesting to see if this is still the case now that they likely have their eyes set on Shane Wright with the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 03: Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a first period goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on June 03, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 03: Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a first period goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on June 03, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The core of the current edition of the New York Rangers is mostly built by Jeff Gorton and of course there’s going to be pieces that he’s going to want to snatch away if they’re available. Kakko might be one of them.

Kakko of course still has a lot of upside. The 2nd overall pick of the 2019 draft is still only 21 years old and likely won’t be given away for cheap. That being said however, he hasn’t exactly been lighting the NHL on fire since his debut in 2019. In 157 NHL games he has scored 26 goals, amassed 32 assists totalling 58 points.

There has been progress in his transitional game and like more and more players in the game, he can play both sides of the wing.

Kakko is a player who loves to have fun on the ice so playing under someone like Martin St. Louis might elevate him to the next level.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 20: Kirby Dach #77 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Winnipeg Jets on March 20, 2022 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 20: Kirby Dach #77 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Winnipeg Jets on March 20, 2022 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

Take it a notch lower at the 2019 NHL Draft and you get Kirby Dach. The Blackhawks are apparently open to trading the centerman and that hasn’t fallen on deaf ears, especially in Montreal.

For one reason or another, the Blackhawks are on the verge of throwing in the towel when it comes to Dach. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native had a career year with 26 points last season but hasn’t been the dominating force that was projected to support Jonathan Toews down the middle.

Dach is a big player and an excellent playmaker. This is the kind of centerman that needs to be paired with both a speedster and a power forward in order to compliment his playing style.

New General Manager Kyle Davidson has reportedly been open to overhauling the roster in Chicago and rumors are that he had been sniffing around Montreal with interest in Christian Dvorak.

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