The Montreal Canadiens are kicking off a week-long road trip starting in San Jose however the next time they are back in Montreal, the roster could look very different. The NHL Trade Deadline is set for Friday afternoon and the Canadiens could be very active over the next few days.
The NHL Trade Deadline is a stressful time for players as they not only could be changing teams but players still on the roster could see their role changed significantly depending on who the Canadiens were to bring in. When looking at the roster, these are four Canadiens who likely are impacted the most by the NHL Trade Deadline.
4 Montreal Canadiens likely to be impacted the most by the NHL Trade Deadline
Patrik Laine
It is probably the worst-kept secret around the NHL that the Montreal Canadiens are trying to trade Patrik Laine. The team has even granted the player permission to seek out a trade, and they need to get this deal done before they can really do much else due to limited cap space.
Laine has appeared in only five games this season due to an injury, but was ready to return before the Olympic break. However, the Canadiens don't have a spot in the lineup for him, and that is one of the reasons they want to move him.
It would be shocking if, at this point, Laine was on the roster by the weekend and is the most likely to be traded among the players on the Montreal Canadiens.
Arber Xhekaj
Another player who could be traded is defenseman Arber Xhekaj; however, if he is not, it is hard to imagine him retaining a spot in the lineup. For most of the season, he has been on the third pair but has seen his ice time significantly reduced as the season has progressed.
He would be active for the first game after the Olympic break and played pretty well with three hits in just under 12 minutes of ice time. However, Martin St. Louis didn't see enough to keep him in the lineup and he was a healthy scratch against Washington.
Xhekaj is a young defenseman who could generate interest from teams looking to rebuild or get younger on their blue line. He is a player that the Canadiens probably make available in trades, but even if they don't trade him, he could move further down the roster, as Montreal should try to add to the blue line.
Kirby Dach
If the Montreal Canadiens make a big splash at the trade deadline, it will almost certainly be for a Top 6 forward. One spot that they could be looking to upgrade is on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
This season, the Canadiens have had a number of players in that spot, but none have been able to hold onto the spot. Right now, Kirby Dach is playing on that line with Caufield and Suzuki and has been pretty good with four points in his last five games.
The Canadiens would be fine with Dach in that spot for the remainder of the season but if the goal is to compete with teams like the Lightning and Hurricanes in the playoffs, an upgrade in this spot makes sense.
Sam Montembeault
The final player on this list is Sam Montembeault, and it would seem logical that the Canadiens would want an upgrade at the goalie position. This has been arguably their biggest weakness all season, and they have had Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler see numerous starts as they try to find an answer.
Montembeault got the first start coming out of the Olympic break but struggled against the New York Islanders after allowing four goals in their overtime loss. Dobes would get the start in the next game against Washington and looked better.
However, the challenge for the Canadiens is that there are no clear upgrades over what they currently have in the trade market. If the Florida Panthers make Sergei Bobrovsky available, this would be a no-brainer and one the Canadiens should aggressively pursue.
At this point, though it doesn't seem likely, the best goalie that is probably available is the St. Louis Blues' Jordan Binnington. The problem is that Binnington hasn't looked much better than Montemebeault this season, and it feels more like a lateral move.
It should be an active few days as rumors continue to swirl around the NHL and could be a little extra stressful for these four players on the Montreal Canadiens with the uncertainty that comes with the trade deadline.