1. Get First Round Pick For David Savard
The Canadiens do not have a lot of trade pieces at the moment. With Monahan long gone, there are no pending free agents that are sure to be traded and get the team a solid return as well.
Tanner Pearson is a pending unrestricted free agent with Stanley Cup winning experience, but has just 11 points this season and earns $3.25 million against the salary cap. They could probably trade him, but he is not going to land a huge return in a trade.
There are other players who will garner some interest, but the one player that stands to get the Canadiens the biggest return is David Savard.
It has been a bit of an odd trade deadline for reading the market. Some of the trades that have been made had underwhelming returns that would suggest the Canadiens can not get a huge package for Savard. Noah Hanifin went for a first round pick and a third round pick that could become a second. He is much younger faster and more offensively inclined than Savard.
But then Ilya Lyubushkin went for a third round pick and Savard is definitely worth more than that. Sean Walker was traded for a first round pick but the Flyers also had to take on Ryan Johansen's contract in that deal which made the return better.
It makes it difficult to pin down exactly what the market is for Savard, or what he is worth. He is a vetearn right shooting defender who can kill penalties, block shots and help mentor young defenders and bring the best out of them.
Trading Savard for a first round pick would be huge for the rebuild. Heading into the 2024 NHL Draft with three picks in the first round would allow the Canadiens to trade one (or two) for a great young player that can step on the ice next season, or just load up on 18 year old talent and fill the prospect cupboards.
Getting a first round pick for Savard, moving on from Allen, and adding a good young forward for a young defenseman would make for a perfect trade deadline day.