MHN Podcast Ep. 2: Darren Dreger On Armia, Habs, NHL Trade Rumours

In the 2nd episode of the Montreal Hockey Now Podcast,  we welcomed TSN Insider Darren Dreger to discuss NHL Trade Rumours, Carey Price, and the Montreal Canadiens’ direction leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline.

Darren followed up on this morning’s news regarding the interest shown toward Canadiens veteran Joel Armia in recent days. Although he believes a few teams have a legitimate interest in Armia, he wasn’t ready to say if the rugged winger was set to be traded before the March 21 NHL Trade Deadline.

“Do I know that teams have called and asked about him? Yes, I know that,” said Dreger on the subject of Armia. ”Managers aren’t blind to the idea that Armia hasn’t posted the numbers were expected, but they also recognize that he’s not that far removed from being an important piece in Montreal.”

Armia wasn’t the only Canadiens player that Dreger believed to be garnering interest leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, as he pointed to Artturi Lehkonen‘s recent play as having driven up his value in the eyes of potential buyers, but also the Canadiens themselves. Although there is much internal debate amongst the Montreal Canadiens management team on whether or not to retain Lehkonen, Dreger ultimately believes he could be moved.

“Artturi Lehkonen has piqued a lot of teams’ interest, and that has to be because of his play of late,” said Dreger. ” Do I think he’s going to be traded? Probably. ”

Dreger went on to talk about Ben Chiarot’s situation, the impact of Martin St. Louis on the performances of key players, the possibility of moving Mike Hoffman, and how Carey Price’s health will influence decisions going forward.

For Dreger’s take on the Montreal Canadiens trade chatter leading up to the NHL trade deadline, watch below or listen to us on Spotify or Apple Music: