The Montreal Canadiens secured 11 of a possible 12 points since the break, which set them up as a potential playoff team heading into the trade deadline. All the players wanted was a chance to prove they were no longer the struggling rebuild that they were over the past few seasons, and Kent Hughes granted that wish by keeping all their pending UFAs. The Calgary Flames are in a similar position as the Canadiens, also sitting one point out of the wild card race with several teams knocking at the door. Craig Conroy took the same approach as Hughes, keeping his core together but not taking any big swings that would alter the course of their growing prospect and draft pick pool.
How to Watch Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Time: 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT
Venue: Scotiabank Saddledome
How to Watch: Sportsnet, CityTV, TVA Sports, FuboTV
The Flames have lost four of their past five games, which could've been another reason why Conroy decided to stand pat at the deadline. It'd be nice for the Flames' young players to get some experience playing in meaningful, playoff-style games down the stretch, but it wouldn't be wise for them to push it too far with this team. The rest of the teams they are competing with for the last spot also stood their ground or were slight buyers, which doesn't give Calgary the best probability of being the team to emerge.
The Canadiens still believe they will be one of the teams to advance to the Eastern Conference playoffs. You'll likely see some extra juice out of some of their players in Saturday night's game, as the stress of the impending trade deadline is off their shoulders. You can argue that five or six Canadiens were wrestling with the idea of every game being their last in a Montreal jersey, and it's hard to explain the toll that might've been taking on them.