Tony Marinaro shares his three Montreal Canadiens untouchables

I think Montreal Canadiens' fans can collectively agree that there are some pieces in place that bring forth excitement for the future.

There are some players on the current Habs roster who will be around for a long time, and picturing the team without them is hard to do. Having said that, I expect guys like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky will be around for the long haul. On defence, I expect that Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson lead the group of guys set to lead the team into the future.

In the interest of the article I am solely mentioning guys that would be in the conversation that took place between Tony Marinaro, host of The Sick Podcast and Global Montreal writer Brian Wilde. The pair discussed untouchable players for the Canadiens; more specifically three players who will absolutely not be traded under any circumstance.

Of the five players I mentioned previously, one one of them is featured on their list of untouchable players. Hutson is absolutely a special piece for the Habs future, and moving him would be an awful decision. Guys like him are hard to find, and for that reason he is firmly on the list of three untouchables, and I would include him in my three also.

Marinaro quickly mentioned Boston College sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler as a guy he would absolutely not trade. Fowler is the future of the Habs' goaltending picture and the pedigree that he brings is irreplaceable. Moving a guy that has the potential that Fowler has would set the Habs rebuild back a couple of years - in my eyes when he is ready, the crease will be his to lose.

Wilde had just two untouchables, but he didn't argue with Marinaro about his addition of Fowler. They both agree on the final guy, and in my eyes number one on the list without any debate, Ivan Demidov. Wilde believes that Demidov is the future of the Canadiens' offence, and he possesses the skills to be the first 100-point Habs player since Mats Naslund scored 110 in 1985-1986.

The three are for sure at the top of their position in the Habs organization, and promise to be pillars for the Habs future.

The next three?

I'm sure names were circulating in everyone's mind when trying to narrow a list down to just three players, and they just missed out. But these are guys that are so important to the Canadiens' current success, and you really wouldn't want to trade them away. Guys like Suzuki, the captain and the Habs' number-one centre for the time being.

For me, if you are throwing Suzuki's name into the conversation, then you need his linemates and triggerman, Cole Caufield. Although Patrik Laine is in the lineup, Caufield is committed to being here for the next eight seasons, at minimum. Laine, hopefully, will stick around beyond this season, but nothing is cemented.

The third name is most difficult because you obviously want to keep Michael Hage around, what he is doing in the NCAA as a freshman is impressive. I think that he has the highest potential of any forward not named (Ivan) Demidov. I love Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj, but Hage has the tools to be a top-line centre.

I think that Laine is an obvious guy you don't want to lose, and likely wouldn't ever trade away. As I was writing this I was leaning towards, because this guy is exactly what the team needs, a smart defensive guy to help David Reinbacher complement offensive guys like Hutson and Logan Mailloux. I give the slight edge to Laine though, he is the most elite player I have seen in a Habs sweater since Alex Kovalev, easily.