Montreal Canadiens: Three Possible Casey DeSmith Trade Scenarios

Ottawa Senators

The team that could really use DeSmith the most is the division rival Ottawa Senators. They are a team that believes they are ready to compete for a playoff spot, and have solidified their forwards and defense recently by adding Vladimir Tarasenko and Jakob Chychrun to an impressive group of young players.

One place they do still have questions is in goal. They did sign Joonas Korpisalo to be the team’s starter, and should have Anton Forsberg as the backup which gives them a solid pairing in goal.

However, Forsberg is coming off an odd double MCL tear when he was crashed into by Zach Hyman and Travis Hamonic. He should be healthy and ready to go, but it is an awkward injury to come back from. An insurance policy would not be the worst thing to have in house.

The Senators do have three other goaltenders under contract for the upcoming season, but all three of them – Kevin Mandolese, Mads Sogard and Leevi Merilainen struggled when given opportunity at the NHL level last season.

In total, the Senators used seven different goaltenders last season due to injuries and performance. That alone should be enough reason for the organization to think they could use a goalie with some quality NHL starts under his belt like DeSmith.

The Canadiens would be wise to wait through training camp to see if a team loses a goaltender to injury. Then, they would have all kinds of leverage as DeSmith would be one of the few veterans available. If no other teams get desperate, taking a 6th round pick from the Senators and retaining about $500,000 to make the cap hit more manageable would make a lot of sense for both sides.

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