Montreal Canadiens: Three Teams Most Likely To Be Habs Trade Partners Before Trade Deadline
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?
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a Stanley Cup contending team, there is no doubt about that. They are also a cap strapped squad that can't just go out and add whoever they want and would need to move out money to bring someone into the team.
The Avalanche have also added a couple of former Canadiens recently and things have worked out great. They acquired Artturi Lehkonen in a trade during the 2021-22 season and he was instrumental in helping them win the Stanley Cup that spring.
The Avalanche then signed Jonathan Drouin last summer and though he started slowly, he has been playing well lately and now has 30 points in 51 games. They were hoping for a similar bounce back performance from Ryan Johansen who they also signed last summer, but it hasn't worked out.
Johansen scored 28 points in 55 games last season for the Nashville Predators before being bought out. This season, he has been worse, putting up just 18 points in 53 games. He has a $4 million cap hit through next season, and the Avs need to move him out to bring someone in.
They would like to bring a goaltender in but have limited options with their cap space and desire to move out a bad contract. Could the Avs look to add another player from the Canadiens and solve their problems?
Jake Allen is certainly available, and though his last game was a bad one, he is a reliable netminder who posted league average numbers before being destroyed on Super Bowl Sunday. That is all the Avalanche need with such a strong group of defenders and Alexandar Georgiev holding down the starter's role.
Swapping Allen for Johansen is not the most exciting trade for Canadiens fans, but what more can they expect for Allen at this point? At least it would give them an NHL center between Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans for the rest of the season and free up the three goalie logjam.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are surprisingly one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season. In fact, they are sitting atop the overall standings and we are well into the second half of the league's schedule. No one predicted this from them, but they have moved plenty of chips to the middle of the table already.
The Canucks made the first big addition of trade season when they acquired Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames. They needed to add some center depth and they did so by landing the top center on the market this season.
They have elite players at every position with Thatcher Demko in goal, Quinn Hughes on the blue line and Elias Pettersson at center. They have plenty of depth throughout their lineup and added far more by acquiring Lindholm and filled a need up front.
Their next biggest need is a defensive minded right shooting defenseman. David Savard would be a fine fit there on the second pairing between Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers on the right side. Savard is signed for one more season and the Canucks would welcome that as Myers, Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole, and Mark Friedman are all UFAs following this season.
Considering what the Canucks gave up for Lindholm, a package that included a first round pick, Andrei Kuzmenko. exciting prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, prospect Joni Jurmo and a fourth round pick, they are not shy to make a big deal.
Savard was traded for first and third round draft picks three years ago and there is no reason to believe his value is far less now. The Canadiens might be able to wiggle a first rounder out of the Canucks, but if not, there is still a trade to be made there involving draft picks and prospects.
Tampa Bay Lightning
There is sort of an unwritten rule in hockey that division rivals don't make trades with each other. Well, the Lindholm trade we just spoke about between the Canucks and Flames is proof that rule isn't always adhered to.
The Canadiens and Lightning have made trades before and the biggest one did not go well for the Habs. They traded Mikhail Sergachev to the Lightning six years ago and he has turned into a terrific defender and helped the team win two Stanley Cups in his career so far.
The problem for the Lightning is Sergachev suffered another serious injury this season and is done for the year. The Lightning need to fill his void on the blue line and have some serious cap room for the first time in pretty much ever since Sergachev's $8.5 million cap hit is now on long term injured reserve.
Why not reach out to the Canadiens again to find a top four defenseman that can put up points?
With Victor Hedman at the top of their depth chart, and Erik Cernak playing a rough and tumble shutdown role on the right side, the Lightning have two top four defenders. Unfortunately, with Sergchaev out, that is pretty much it as Darren Raddysh and Nick Perbix are forced into big roles.
The Lightning need another top four defenseman in their quest for another Stanley Cup and Mike Matheson would fit that role perfectly. They have the cap space with Sergachev out, and have not been shy in the past to aggerssively fill a need ahead of a playoff run.
Pairing Matheson with Cernak would give the Lightning an excellent second pairing behind Hedman and Raddysh or Perbix and allow them to compete with the league's best teams in a playoff series this spring.
It would take a lot to get the Canadiens to say yes, but this is the Lightning who traded a truck load of draft picks for Tanner Jeannot when they wanted a hard working third line winger. The Lightning don't have a first round pick until 2026 but the Canadiens can be patient and hope the Lightning tumble in the standings in a couple years.
They would also like to add Ethan Gauthier who was a first round pick last season and is scoring at will in the QMJHL as an 18 year old this season.
The Lightning are among the most aggressive teams when it comes to trades in the whole league. The Canadiens have exactly what they need. These two teams make perfect trade partners since the Sergachev injury.
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