The big news around the NHL was Connor Hellebuyck making his trade request from the Winnipeg Jets public. While the Montreal Canadiens should not be interested in trading for Connor Hellebuyck, there are a few reasons that they need to pay attention closely as this unfolds.
The first reason starts with Samuel Montembeault, as the Canadiens have yet to move him this offseason. That could be for one of two reasons: the first is that there is no market out there for Montembeault, or the second is that the Canadiens are asking too much in return.
A Connor Hellebuyck trade could help with the first reason because the Jets might find themselves in search of a goalie to pair with Stuart Skinner. They signed Skinner this offseason as a free agent, but he struggled last season between the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Montembeault is in a similar situation after coming off a down season, but the Jets don't get a goalie as part of the return for Hellebuyck. However, if the Canadiens' asking price is too high, then a Hellebuyck trade doesn't really change anything.
Montreal Canadiens should call to see which other players the Jets might want to trade
A Samuel Montembeault trade doesn't really do much for the Canadiens outside of creating a chance for Jacob Fowler to jump up to the NHL. However, the more consequential reason is that the Jets might be looking to go into a full rebuild and might be willing to move other players.
For Montreal, they have been looking for another player in their Top 6, and two players immediately jump out. The first is Gabe Vilardi, who has gotten better every season in Winnipeg and this past season had 30 goals and 39 assists.
Vilardi checks a lot of the boxes that the Montreal Canadiens look for in players they want to add. He is still early in his career at 26 years old and has term left on a reasonable contract that has an AAV of $7.5 million. The challenge is that the Jets probably still view Vilardi as a key part of their future, and if that is the case, it doesn't make much sense to trade him.
A player that the Jets probably would listen to offers on is Mark Scheifele, who is coming off a career season with 102 points. However, he is 33 years old and still has five years left on his contract at an AAV of $8.5 million. In addition to that, he has a no-movement clause that he would need to agree to waive to go to Montreal.
He may not be the ideal trade candidate, but there is no denying that he would be an upgrade this season for Montreal. In the latter parts of his contract, the Canadiens have the depth that they don't need him to be a top-line center later in his career, which could still have him be a valuable part of the team.
The Montreal Canadiens are not going to find themselves in the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes but they could end up being a winner if some of these other situations become a reality.
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