The Montreal Canadiens' top priority was adding a center to run their second line behind Nick Suzuki and the first line. Unfortunately, the potential options to add a player of that caliber are quickly going away, with the latest player unlikely to be available being Nico Hischier.
Hischier is entering the final year of his contract, and if the Devils couldn't reach an extension, the thought was that he might be available in a trade. Last week, Pierre LeBrun reported that the two sides were working towards an extension and "were now over the hump in terms of the meaty part of the negotiations."
The Canadiens are expected to be picky in terms of who they add for that spot, as they want a player who is still early in his career who can grow with their core. Hischier would have been a perfect fit, and the Canadiens will need to now pivot if he was their top choice.
Montreal Canadiens don't have many options to address this need
Unfortunately, there isn't much else out there that checks the boxes the Canadiens want for the position. Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin requested a trade but didn't include the Canadiens among the teams he would waive a no-trade clause for. Vincent Trocheck with the New York Rangers was a trade deadline target, but Montreal isn't revisiting those talks.
This certainly doesn't mean that Kent Hughes won't be picking up the phone to try and find a player to fill this need. They could look at Shane Wright with the Seattle Kraken, who is only 22 years old but has only one year left before becoming a restricted free agent. He is also coming off a down year, so there is certainly risk with him, and the Canadiens have to believe he can bounce back.
In the article written by LeBrun on Hischier, he also notes that the Bruins are listening to offers for Pavel Zacha. However, the Bruins are a division rival, and those trades are harder to complete.
There may be trade discussions occurring or players available that can help the Montreal Canadiens fill this need, and there certainly is plenty of time between now and next season. However, what is a tough task has gotten even tougher over the past few weeks with some of the rumors.
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