Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Most Likely To Be Traded After Sean Monahan Deal

The Montreal Canadiens traded Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets yesterday. It was a trade we all saw coming, but we didn't know when, or what the return would be.

As it turns out, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes pulled the trigger early and did not wait until the final few minutes before making a trade. The Vancouver Canucks put some pressure on other buyers when they landed Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, and it set the wheels in motion for Monahan to move.

Hughes also got that first round pick in return that many people thought was not possible. He must have found the offers underwhelming before teams pivoted after the Lindholm trade and upped their offers. It seems Hughes was just waiting for someone to offer a first round pick, and when the Jets did, as well as a conditional third round pick if they win the Stanley Cup, the Canadiens general manager signed off on it.

This makes sense, especially with Monahan's lengthy injury history. He was on his way to being dealt for a good return last season but suffered an injury and missed the final 57 games of the season. He was also acquired along with a first round pick two summers ago because Monahan had dealt with so many significant injuries. Risking losing him to injury by playing him until the trade deadline made little sense.

Now that the most obvious trade candidate is off the board for the Canadiens, attention will turn to what is next. They are clearly sellers, and will look to add more draft picks and prospects in the coming weeks ahead of the trade deadline on March 8.

Who is most likely to be traded by the Canadiens next? Let's take a look at the top three candidates.

Joel Armia

While there are some complication in trying to deal Joel Armia, there are reasons to believe a contender would want to bring him in this season.

The obvious road block is his contract. His offensive limitations ensure teams will not want to take on his $3.4 million cap hit for the remainder of this season plus the 2024-25 season as well. He has eight goals and just one assist in 33 games this season but offense is not his calling card anyway.

Armia would be an attractive addition to a Stanley Cup hopeful because of his elite defensive ability and penalty killing prowess. He would make a great shutdown winger in the bottom six that is first over the boards when a team takes a penalty. He just still isn't worth his cap hit.

However, the Canadiens did not retain any salary on the Monahan deal with is key. They have already kept some money from Joel Edmundson's contract as well as Jeff Petry's and can only retain salary on one more player for the duration of this season.

Holding onto about $1 million or perhaps $1.5 on Armia on making him a $1.9 million player would make it a lot easier to move the veteran winger. It still wouldn't lead to a huge return, maybe a fourth round pick, but would free up a bit more cap space to have a busier offseason and allow a player like Jesse Ylonen to play a bigger role for the rest of the season.

It is far from a guarantee, but an Armia deal is far from impossible as well. A good team with a little bit of cap space and a lousy penalty kill, looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders, would be wise to give up a small return to have Armia fill a depth, but important role in a Stanley Cup playoff chase.

Johnathan Kovacevic

The Montreal Canadiens acquired Johnathan Kovacevic off waivers at the start of last season. He exceeded expectations almost immediately and proved to be a valuable depth piece on the blue line right away.

The big right shot defender performed admirably in 2022-23, suiting up for 77 games last season while scoring three goals and 15 points. He was great defensively and became a big part of the team's penalty killing unit.

This season, he has showed a bit more of a scoring touch with six goals in 41 games but has just two assists to go with it. He has played well defensively, but seems to maybe have taken a bit of a step back in that area since last season. As such, he has been a healthy scratch a handful of times recently as the Canadiens have a plethora of options on the blue line and need to work them all into the lineup.

The 26 year old is signed through next season at a minimal cap hit of $766,667 which would make him an attractive depth option for any contending team. At 6'5" and 223 pounds, he fits the mould of the type of defenseman that helped the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup a year ago. That will surely up his trade value and with Justin Barron, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher coming on the right side it would make sense to move Kovacevic now if they get the right offer.

That could be a draft pick, or it would make more sense to trade for a similarly aged center to fill in an area of need for the rest of the season.