Montreal Canadiens Rumour: Habs Targeting Sens Colin White?

The Montreal Canadiens are about to embark on a very busy two weeks. Every team in the league is going to be busy in the coming days, but possibly none more than the Habs.

Canadiens new general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton are trying to retool a roster that finished last in the NHL standings in 2021-22. That is a tall task for anyone and since they arrived they must have had their sights set on a busy offseason.

Most of that work will be done in the next 14 days. The NHL Draft is fast approaching and will take place on July 7th and 8th at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens have 14 selections in that draft including the first overall pick and a second pick in the first round. That means they own 12 selections on day two of the draft which could be a wildly busy day filled with picks, trades and roster maneuvering.

One player the Canadiens apparently have an eye on is Ottawa Senators winger Colin White. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, there were conversations between the two teams prior to the trade deadline, and it is possible that White could look for a fresh start in Montreal.

White is coming off a couple of disappointing seasons. He is just 25 years old, but is entering the fourth year of a six year contract and hasn’t lived up to the expectations that came with that pact.

White signed the lengthy contract after his first full NHL season in 2018-19 where he scored 14 goals and 41 points in 71 games. In three seasons since then, he scored 23 points in 61 games, 18 points in 45 games and just had ten points in 24 games last season.

That isn’t great production for someone on a long term contract with a cap hit of $4.75 million. The Canadiens are in no place to be taking on money either so this is a curious rumour.

Habs GM Hughes was the agent for White when he signed his big contract and up until the day he was named Canadiens general manager. It is obviously quite possible he knows a lot more about this situation than anyone else.

Could the Sens be considering a buyout and the Habs are waiting to pounce and give him a second chance? Are the Sens willing to add a nice sweetener like a high pick or another prospect to have someone take on White’s contract? Could the Sens be willing to take on a similar contract just to give White a new start?

If so, Hughes would have known all about their intentions months ago when he was representing White. The Canadiens simply don’t have the cap space to bring on White at $4.75 million but when Friedman reports something like this, there is definitely traction.

Keep an eye on the Sens and Habs as the NHL Draft approaches. Hughes could be getting one of his previous clients back in a creative transaction that doesn’t add attach that heavy cap hit with the player upon arrival in Montreal.

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