The Montreal Canadiens have some decisions to make on their blueline and might have to make them sooner rather than later. The Top 6 defensemen in ice time last season are all under contract for next season, with prospects David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom pushing for a spot while restricted free agent Arber Xhekaj is still looking for a new contract.
Even if the Canadiens had eight defensemen on their roster, that still isn't enough room for all of them. They are going to have to move someone, possibly two players, and The Athletic's Arpon Basu recently mentioned that Engstrom is a player who has been out there in trade discussions.
"It is no secret Engström’s name is floating around out there. Teams have asked about him in trade discussions, and the Canadiens are open to those discussions. Engström has yet to be traded, largely because the Canadiens see him as having considerable value. That is, in part, due to the fact teams are enquiring about his availability, but it is also because the Canadiens feel Engström could help their blue line."
Engstrom was a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut last season. He played in 15 games, recorded one assist, and had a +/- of +2 while averaging just over 13 minutes per game.
One of the reasons the Canadiens might be interested in moving Engstrom is that they need to bring some balance to their blueline in terms of left- and right-shot players. While Engstrom shoots left-handed, he has played a lot on the right side and is fairly comfortable there.
Moving the wrong piece could cost Montreal Canadiens valuable versatility
The versatility of Engstrom is valuable, and probably why teams are calling on him, which is why the Canadiens might not want to just trade him away. However, it raises the question of who you move because each of the players who could be potentially moved brings a unique skill set to Montreal.
Xhekaj saw his ice time drop significantly over the course of last season, but there is no denying that he is the most physical player on the entire Montreal Canadiens' roster. Meanwhile, David Reinbacher was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and they probably want to see what he can do at the NHL level before moving on.
There is also the issue of contracts that factor into a decision like this because while they had six defensemen under contract for this season, two of them (Alexandre Carrier and Jayden Struble) are in the final year of their deals. In addition to that, Engstrom will also be a restricted free agent after the season.
The final option is that the Canadiens could plan on having Engstrom and Reinbacher begin in the AHL at Laval and re-sign Arber Xhekaj. However, that decision seems to just prolong the inevitable and doesn't really help any of the players involved.
At this point, the Canadiens seem to be considering all options and should make all defensemen available outside of their Top 4 of Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, and Kaiden Guhle. The challenge for general manager Kent Hughes is that he is running out of time and should look to have an idea of what they are going to do by training camp in a few weeks.
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