Canadiens Seeing Major Spike In Trade Interest, Setting Stage

It may be the NHL Trade Freeze, but that hasn’t stopped rival GMs from blowing up Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes’ phone over the last month as they prepare their shopping lists.

NHL Insider Pierre Lebrun was on RDS on Wednesday night to talk about how the Canadiens have been receiving many calls as of late on their players.

The player almost everyone expects to see moved, despite the Canadiens viewing the pros and cons of keeping him is Sean Monahan.

The veteran centre has been a solid piece for the Canadiens, but the centre market is exceptional this season and the possibility of the Canadiens netting another 1st-round pick is real, according to Lebrun.

“The Canadiens have liked what they’ve seen from Monahan and, internally, management has considered the idea of bringing him back,” said Lebrun regarding Monahan’s fate. “If the offers presented by rival teams aren’t where the Canadiens want them to be, they may consider keeping him. I still believe he’s going to be traded.”

Meanwhile, Joel Edmundson continues to get a lot of attention from rival GMs, as the certainty of his contract lasting an extra year beyond this season is enticing.

“With Joel Edmundson, they really like him in Montreal. He’s a leader in the room. The Canadiens aren’t even bringing him up in trade talks, other teams are constantly bringing him up,” said Lebrun regarding the high interest in Edmundson. “It’s not the Canadiens’ priority to move Edmundson this year, but, because teams keep calling on him and the offers start to come in, the Canadiens will have to make a decision on him.”

The Canadiens don’t need to move Edmundson, but similar to Bett Kulak and Arturri Lehkonen last season, the act of not openly shopping the player may increase his price, as general managers get more and more desperate closer to the NHL Trade Deadline.

As for Josh Anderson, the Canadiens have turned down some big offers in the past for him and seemingly want to keep him around, unless a team knocks their socks off with a deal.

“Josh Anderson, well the Canadiens really don’t want to move him. He’s a unique player. I can tell you this, there isn’t a player on the Canadiens that Kent Hughes has taken more calls on than Josh Anderson,” said Lebrun about how popular Anderson is to rival general managers. “Players like him that are physical, that can play with the top players in a lineup, they’re so rare in the NHL. So teams keep calling on him, but the Canadiens want to keep him because they believe he could be part of the future.”

That being said, he doesn’t rule out a trade happening, as Hughes has done an excellent job in drumming up the value of his players, regardless of his intent to move them.

“But, I’m not saying with certainty that it won’t happen. There are some aggressive teams out there and some that could be ready to pay Kent Hughes’ price,” said Lebrun, as he clarified that Anderson isn’t an untouchable by any means. “They have teams that keep on calling; we’re going to have to see.”

All this chatter is setting the stage for a very exciting NHL Trade Deadline, as, similarly to last season, Hughes is letting his rivals come to him as they look to improve their team in a heated playoff race.

It remains to be seen if he’ll pull the trigger, but Montreal Hockey Now has been told by a few sources that the Canadiens would consider anything, on any player aged 25 and up, if the offer is right.

The ball is most certainly in the Montreal Canadiens’ court.