The Montreal Canadiens' top objective this offseason was to find another player to put into their Top 6 to upgrade that second line, either a center or a wing opposite Ivan Demidov. Unfortunately, they haven't found either yet, but there is still time if they can work out a trade.
One team they might want to call is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have seemingly had Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust available for the right price for a year now. Elliotte Friedman recently talked about how either player might be a good fit for Montreal.
"Someone else told me, you what they thought might be a really good fit in Montreal, and I have no idea if it's even possible, one of those two Pittsburgh wingers, [Bryan] Rust or [Rickard] Rakell," Friedman said.
Montreal Canadiens best chance at an addition to their Top 6 might be one of these veterans
The biggest hurdle for the Canadiens would be the contract, and both have reasonable AAV with Rakell at $5 million and Rust slightly more at $5.125 million, with both having two years remaining on their contract. However, Rakell has an eight-team no-trade clause, which could be a potential hang-up in a trade.
General manager Kent Hughes has tried to find younger players who could be long-term answers, but at this point in the offseason, that might be tough to find. However, there is no question that Rust or Rakell would be an upgrade on the wing for their second line.
Both veterans have been decent goal-scorers with 24 or more goals in each of the past two seasons. Rakell is a little bigger and does provide more physicality than Rust, but Rust has been the better point producer with almost a point per game over the past three seasons.
Either player could be a good fit for this offense, and the idea of having a veteran on the second line for the expected debut of Michael Hage later in the season isn't a bad idea.
The Montreal Canadiens set out this offseason to add another player to their young core that they have established. They didn't end up accomplishing that, but adding Rust or Rakell certainly would be an upgrade that helps them for this season.
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