The 2023 NHL trade deadline is fast approaching, and the Montreal Canadiens are one team many people will be keeping a close eye on. In his first trade deadline last season, Kent Hughes was a very busy man, moving out Tyler Toffoli, Ben Chiarot, and Artturi Lehkonen, amongst others. The Canadiens are likely to remain sellers yet again, but there are questions about who could be on the move, and what the return for those players looks like.
The biggest names to keep an eye on would be Sean Monahan and Joel Edmundson, two players who, when healthy, with a good reputation around the league. On playoff teams, they could both be solid additions to round out a team’s middle six and bottom four, providing depth and experience. Then you have some other names, like Evgenii Dadonov and Jonathan Drouin, that don’t seem to have the reputation but can up their trade value over the next few weeks with strong performances.
The big name to keep an eye on is Josh Anderson, someone who Kent Hughes has said he doesn’t want to trade but would do it for the right price. Anderson is a high-energy player that many teams would love to have on their team come playoff time. The challenge is fitting his $5.5 million salary into a team, a task much easier said than done. But the Habs could be willing to take a bad contract back to make it work, or they could wait until the off-season if they even trade Anderson at all. Anderson is nowhere close to being a UFA, as he has four years left on his current deal.
So let’s break down exactly what the Canadiens could do on February 3rd (or earlier), starting with the most realistic options.