Montreal Canadiens: Could Habs Have Made The Pierre-Luc Dubois Trade?

Much has been made of the Montreal Canadiens inability or unwillingness to acquire local star Pierre-Luc Dubois, but did they even have the assets that the Winnipeg Jets coveted to make the deal possible?

With the power of hindsight and knowing what the Jets ultimately received from the Los Angeles Kings to consummate the trade, what were the necessary pieces required for the Habs to make it happen and would it have been worth it?  To recap, the details of the trade are: Dubois to L.A. in exchange for Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari and a 2nd round pick in 2023.

The best comparable for Iafallo on the Canadiens roster is Josh Anderson.  They are the same age and have similar offensive production and while Anderson does have the bigger contract he also has a higher ceiling having topped out at 27 goals in his career year.

The other tangible parts that the Kings gave up, Vilardi and Kupari, are former first rounders that have flashed in the NHL and shown potential for growth.  Vilardi in particular is coming off a breakthrough season and if he can stay healthy is sure to be the centerpiece of the deal for the Jets and their fans.  Kupari projects to be a depth player as a middle to bottom six forward.

The equivalent to Vilardi would be a proven commodity with big upside so likely either Kirby Dach or Kaiden Guhle.  Montreal doesn’t really have a perfect match for Kupari because of his first round pedigree but I would suggest either Jordan Harris or Jesse Ylonen, both young players who have shown they can play at the highest level.

For organizational depth I assume the Habs would rather send out one forward and one defenceman and given their penchant for forwards I would expect that the Jets would insist on Dach.

So, when it all boils down, the package the Canadiens would have needed to put together would have to have been Anderson, Dach, Harris and a 2nd round pick in 2023.

This of course would have also affected the Newhook, and perhaps that one just never happens. So that would mean Dubois is in Montreal and they still have the 31st overall pick, but they have given up Dach, Anderson, Harris and the 37th overall pick would end up in Winnipeg, while Newhook stays in Colorado.

What do you say Habs fans?  Knowing what it would have taken, would you have pulled the trigger?

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