The Montreal Canadiens have hovered around a points percentage of .500 this season through their first two thirds of the regular season.
With low expectations on day one of training camp, and severe injuries to key players like Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, as well as missed time by others like Kaiden Guhle, David Savard and Christian Dvorak, not much more could have been expected out of this team.
They have already begun the process of selling ahead of the trade deadline. Sean Monahan was shipped to the Winnipeg Jets for a first round pick as well as a conditiional third round selection. That third round pick will only be swapped to the Canadiens if the Jets win the Stanley Cup this season. Even then, the pick would not arrive until the 2027 NHL Draft.
So it is Go Jets Go as we await the next Canadiens trade. Although, it is probably better to just hope they struggle down the stretch and lose in the first round of the playoffs which would give the Canadiens a pick around 22nd overall.
Speaking of the Canadiens next trade, there are not many candidates that are definitely going to be traded. Tanner Pearson is the only pending unrestricted free agent on the roster but his price tag will make him unlikely to be dealt.
Others veterans could be on the move but Josh Anderson, Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher are not really playing well enough, and their cap hits are too high, to expect a contending team to make a trade in the middle of the season.
There are others, like David Savard and Mike Matheson, who could be traded because of the plethora of defense in the system. Trading Jake Allen makes sense as a solution to the three goalie system.
With those players as potential trade candidates, which teams out there make the best trade partners for the Montreal Canadiens right now?