The Montreal Canadiens have remained patient this offseason as they hope to upgrade their roster after a deep playoff run. However, it might be time for general manager Kent Hughes to dial up the urgency and see if they can get a trade done with the Ottawa Senators for Drake Batherson.
Recently, Bruce Garrioch with The Ottawa Citizen reported that the Senators and Batherson were still far apart on a new contract. Garrioch wrote that both sides seem to want to get a deal done, but Batherson is looking for a deal similar to Los Angeles Kings' Adrian Kempe and Washington Capitals' Alex Tuch.
However, they are running out of time if Batherson wants an eight-year deal because the new CBA is set to begin on September 15th, and the maximum length for new contracts drops from eight years to seven.
Drake Batherson would be a perfect fit in the Canadiens' Top 6
The Montreal Canadiens ideally would find a center for their second line, but those opportunities don't seem to be out there currently. The next best option would be to find another solid wing and try to bridge the gap until Michael Hage joins Montreal at the end of the season.
In that scenario, Batherson would be an immediate upgrade on a second line with Ivan Demidov that would then allow the Canadiens to move a player like Alex Newhook to center to compete with Oliver Kapanen.
Over the past four seasons, Batherson has been very consistent for the Senators with at least 20 goals, 60 points, and 98 hits during that stretch. This past season was by far his best, with 33 goals and 38 assists in 79 games, but the biggest selling point is the size and physicality he could bring at 6'3" and 209 pounds.
The other reason that Batherson might be the ideal offseason addition for Montreal is that Kent Hughes knows him well. Prior to becoming general manager, Kent Hughes was a player agent and Batherson was one of his clients.
Hughes knows Batherson well and would be the best person to know what he might bring to the team. He is also uniquely positioned to work out a new contract and is willing to offer an eight-year deal.
The biggest challenge to getting a deal done would probably be convincing the Senators to be willing to trade a player like Batherson to a division rival. Those don't happen often, especially for a player in the prime of his career, and the Canadiens would likely have to overpay slightly to make it worth Ottawa's time.
If the Montreal Canadiens even slightly believe that Batherson would be a solid addition, and there is no reason to think they wouldn't, it would make sense to be even a little more aggressive. The goal would be to get a trade done before September 15th and the new CBA so they could sign Batherson to that longer extension.
Add us as a preferred source on Google