Montreal Canadiens: 4 Habs Already Packing Bags 4 Weeks From Trade Deadline

Lucas Condotta

Lucas Condotta is not likely to be traded by the Canadiens before the trade deadline. So, why is he packing his bags already? Well, Alex Newhook is due back in the lineup any day now and someone is going to lose their roster spot.

Condotta has played fine for the Canadiens, but someone has to go down when Newhook returns to the lineup and Condotta is the logical odd man out. He plays a strong two-way game for the Laval Rocket and they are in a playoff hunt themselves and can use the services of Condotta to help them get there.

The 26 year old has played three games with the Canadiens so far, and had 13 points in 40 AHL games with the Rocket to begin the season. He should be prepared to head back down to the AHL as soon as Newhook is back.

Tanner Pearson

When a team is struggling and become sellers ahead of the trade deadline, the most logical moves for them to make are to trade away their pending unrestricted free agents. You are going to lose these players for nothing in the summer anyway, so you may as well trade them for something now instead.

Well, the Canadiens do not have many UFAs to toss out there on the trade market right now. In fact, their only players who are about to hit the open market this summer are Chris Wideman who has not played this season and Tanner Pearson who just returned from his own injury.

Pearson played well to start the season on a veteran third line with Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher, but cooled off quickly. He is still a trusted veteran who skates well and is good defensively. No one can ever take his Stanley Cup winning experience away from him which makes him a desirable asset for contending teams.

However, his $3.25 million cap hit and eight points in 31 games will ensure the Canadiens can't get a big return. If they retain half of his cap hit, they will find a team that can use an experienced fourth line winger for a 5th round pick in return.