The Montreal Canadiens have been building for the future ever since Kent Hughes took over as general manager.
The team was obviously struggling when they decided to change the general manager, and a rebuild had been in progress ever since. Trades of veterans like Tyler Toffoli and Ben Chiarot have added prospects and draft picks to the organization and also ensured the team had a couple of top five picks in the past two years.
The team also made a few targeted acquisitions in the past couple of offseasons. At the 2022 NHL Draft, not only did the team pick first overall, but they also traded a mid-first round pick for Kirby Dach who looks pretty good as the team’s second line center.
A year later it was a late first round pick and an early second rounder that was dealt for Alex Newhook who went out and scored a pair of goals in his first game with the Canadiens. Dach and Newhook were both drafted in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft but didn’t really break out before their trades.
Could the Habs look to continue adding players about that same age to continue to advance the rebuild? If they do, Adam Boqvist may be available and would make a lot of sense as a trade target.
He is a 23 year old offensive minded right defenseman who was drafted in the top ten of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and scored 24 points in 46 games last season.
The Canadiens are desperate for a power play quarterback. They kept Mattias Norlinder and Logan Mailloux around training camp for a long time because they showed some promise and ability to run a power play. They need someone to take on the role and Boqvist could be that guy.
He was made a healthy scratch in the Blue Jackets opening game as he sort of lost his spot with the team bringing in Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov in the offseason. The rumour market suggest the Blue Jackets are looking to move a defenseman and Boqvist is one of the players most likely to be dealt.
Since everyone is asking for a name, the truth is #CBJ are open to different possibilities as they weigh value. Likely centered around Boqvist, Bean, and to a lesser extent - based on minutes - Peeke. They’ll likely move whomever they find gets them most back.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 10, 2023
The Blue Jackets are obviously not going to give Boqvist away, but they also can’t expect a massive return for a player they made a scratch on opening night. If the Canadiens were willing to part with one of their upcoming second round picks, they could possibly land Boqvist in a similar trade to the Newhook one we saw not long ago.
The Canadiens do have some budding young right defenders already with David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux and Justin Barron in the system. However, there are no guarantees when it comes to NHL prospects. Boqvist is older than the Habs prospects mentioned above and has far more NHL experience.
It would make sense to bring in Boqvist now and play him a lot this season while Reinbacher develops in Switzerland, Mailloux develops in Laval and Barron continues to develop on the third defense pairing without being asked to do too much too soon, or even spend a little more time in Laval to work on his two-way game.
Boqvist is in the age range of players Hughes likes to add, and he could possibly fill a role that is a desperate need as the power play quarterback. It would make a lot of sense to trade for him now and see how he develops over the season. It may lead to a logjam on the right side next season when Mailloux and Reinbacher are ready to crack the roster, but that just makes it easier to trade David Savard and teams are always willing to pay for skilled right defenseman so it would put the Canadiens in a position of strength anyway.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!