The NHL offseason has been crazy so far, with every trade seemingly being a blockbuster. The Montreal Canadiens have been quiet so far this offseason, but after the Calgary Flames set off a domino effect of big trades by acquiring Simon Nemec, Montreal could look to circle back on a trade target they have been interested in since the Trade Deadline. With Nemec, the Flames have four right-handed defencemen on their roster, and if Calgary is looking to move off one, the Canadiens would have their eye on Zach Whitecloud. With Whitecloud being the eldest of the group and Calgary seemingly in rebuild mode, the Flames could make him available, and Montreal could be one of the teams that enquire about his services.
Canadiens have had interest in Whitecloud in the past
Whitecloud has not been with the Flames for long. He was acquired as part of the Rasmus Andersson trade that sent the Swedish defenceman to the Vegas Golden Knights for Whitecloud, Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft and a second-round pick in the 2028 draft. There were rumours during the NHL Trade Deadline that the Flames could flip Whitecloud, with teams in need of a right-handed defenceman, and the Canadiens were one of the teams calling.
Pierre LeBrun reported prior to the deadline that the Canadiens were interested in a couple of Flames players, which included, at the time, Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri, and Whitecloud. The Canadiens could not get a deal done for Whitecloud at the deadline, but with Calgary acquiring Nemec, they now could be more willing to move the veteran defenceman. The Flames' right side of their defence includes Nemec, Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Brayden Pachal, making Whitecloud expendable.
Whitecloud fills an obvious need for the Canadiens
The Canadiens have three glaring needs. A second-line centre, a top-six winger, and a big right-hand shot defenceman. Whitecloud would fill one of those needs. Montreal had two right-hand defencemen on its roster last season, Noah Dobson and Alexandre Carrier. This became a problem late in the season when both Dobson and Carrier were dealing with injuries. The Canadiens called up David Reinbacher late in the season and did not look out of place, but the lack of depth on the right side of their defence is an issue they need to address this offseason, and that is where Whitecloud comes into play.
Apart from needing a right-hand shot defenceman, the Canadiens lacked physicality on their blueline, with their only real physical presence being Arber Xhekaj. Whitecloud had 124 hits last season, which would have been second on the Canadiens blueline. Whitecloud saw his usage rate go up following the trade to the Flames. He went from playing just shy of 19 minutes a game with the Golden Knights to over 22 minutes as a member of the Flames.
His time with Calgary has shown how versatile he is as a defenceman, capable of playing up and down your lineup. He could be a player who could play with Lane Hutson, if the Canadiens want to go for balance and have Dobson play with Mike Matheson, moving Carrier to the third pairing. He could also just slot in on the second pairing, giving Matheson more freedom to move the puck up the ice, knowing he has a solid defender playing alongside him. Either way, adding someone like Whitecloud to the Canadiens lineup would be an obvious pickup.
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