Montreal Canadiens Rumour: Trade Talks Involving Anthony Mantha and Joel Armia?

The Montreal Canadiens are off to a decent start. Their 4-2-1 record has them in the middle of the pack when it comes to the NHL standings, which is better than many would have predicted.

In the long run, most still expect them to fall off and end up near the bottom of the standings and become sellers at the trade deadline. That is a long way off, and we should probably just enjoy the ride for now while it is going well, knowing it probably won’t last forever.

We can talk about who will be sold off at the deadline in the new year, when it becomes closer to a reality. Trades do not usually happen at this time of year anyway, as most teams don’t have the cap space to get anything done until later in the year anyway.

There could be an exception to that rule, as one prominent insider around the NHL reports there are talks going on between the Canadiens and Washington Capitals.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period claims there have been talks surrounding Joel Armia and Anthony Mantha, and he suggests Washington would possibly not be the final landing spot for the Canadiens winger.

That would be a slam dunk great trade for the Canadiens as it would mean a little short term pain on the salary cap, but it would also solve a longer term problem. Mantha has struggled mightily since joining the Capitals and is in the final year of a contract with a cap hit of $5.7 million. Armia takes up $3.4 million of cap space and his contract will not end until June of 2025.

Trading Mantha for Armia would make sense for the Capitals as it opens up a little cap space they could use to try and add some speed and skill to the lineup, or perhaps a defender to add some depth. Of course, Armia could also be moved immediately as Pagnotta suggests and maybe Conor Garland ends up in Washington to add some speed to the top six?

That is connecting a few dots that Pagnotta lays out there, but the short term cap hit of Mantha for longer term hit of Armia would be a huge win for the Canadiens if this trade comes to fruition. Hopefully the Canadiens can make it happen, as it is definitely a situation to keep an eye on.

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