Montreal Canadiens: Three Key Habs Storylines As 2023-24 Season Begins
How Do They Continue The Rebuild?
No one is picking the Canadiens to make a deep playoff run this season and there are not many people that think they can come close to the playoffs at all this season. With such a tough division, and so many young players in the lineup, and questions about who plays goal all season, it is not likely the team makes the postseason.
So, how do they take the next steps in their rebuild? Well, huge breakout seasons from Guhle, Slafkovsky and Dach among other young players would be a great next step. Suzuki and Caufield turning into point per game or better performers would be ideal as well.
But the biggest steps in a rebuild are finding the right trades to add young players, prospects and draft picks. The Canadiens do not have a lot of obvious trade candidates this season, so how do they continue that roster turnover and rebuild?
Monahan is in a contract year and is an obvious candidate to be dealt at the trade deadline. Pearson, Montembeault and Chris Wideman are the only other pending unrestricted free agents on the roster and none of them are likely to fetch a big return in a trade this season.
So, will the team look to trade David Savard who has a contract that runs through the 2024-25 season? Will Josh Anderson get traded even though his contract has him locked up until the summer of 2027?
Both players would have plenty of trade value and help with the rebuild by adding draft picks and prospects to the organization and are the team’s only option, other than Monahan, to make a big trade during this season.
If the Habs are stuck near the bottom of the standings again, who gets traded will be a huge storyline as we approach the trade deadline.
Next. Three Players Who Raised Their Stock During Training Camp. dark
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!