Montreal Canadiens: Future Star Free Agents Habs Will Target

Jonathan Huberdeau

The Montreal Canadiens, as mentioned already, are not a glamorous destination for most star players. But what about players who are actually from the province? Remember when Daniel Briere almost signed here? This would be kinda like that except this guy would actually sign here instead.

It is hard to think of a more perfect fit for the Canadiens right now than Jonathan Huberdeau. The Canadiens may have filled their top line left wing spot with Juraj Slafkovsky, but how amazing would it be to have the Saint-Jerome, Quebec native playing on the top line with Cole Caufield.

Huberdeau, as proven by his 85 assists in 80 games last season, is a phenomenal playmaker. Caufield is a pure goal scorer. Put them together and they would fit like peanut butter and jam. Nick Suzuki between them would fill out one of the best lines in hockey for the next few years.

This would allow the Habs to employ a second line of Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach and Josh Anderson. We could call that the SAD line, because of their last initials, and the fact their opponents would not be very happy to see this 650 pound trio jumping over the boards.

Huberdeau has one year left on his contract with the Florida Panthers before he could be a UFA in the summer of 2023. Things have gone quite well for him there after being the third overall pick in 2011, but if the team doesn’t have the cap space to double his current $5.9 million salary, he could look elsewhere as a free agent.

As for the Canadiens, with Jonathan Drouin, Evgeni Dadonov and Paul Byron heading into the final year of their contracts, nearly $14 million is just walking out the Canadiens door next season. If Huberdeau has any interest in playing close to home, the Canadiens could make it happen next summer.