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NHL Trade Chatter: Canadiens Monahan Still Linked To Avalanche

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Montreal Canadiens player Sean Monahan

It’s no secret the Montreal Canadiens will be weighing the possibility of moving Sean Monahan at the NHL Trade Deadline, with one team, in particular, continuing to come up in trade chatter.

The Colorado Avalanche are looking to get their shopping endeavours moving and don’t necessarily have the assets to go big-game hunting for the likes of Bo Horvat nor go through the cap retention hoops required to acquire Jonathan Toews from Chicago (if he wants to be moved).

After having connected with the Montreal Canadiens on a clutch trade for Arturri Lehkonen, the Avalanche could make it two-for-two leading up to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline by zeroing in on a cheaper alternative to Bo Horvat in Sean Monahan.

Montreal Hockey Now has learned that Monahan is indeed part of the list of targets for the Avalanche, who are actively looking into getting themselves a centre to help balance their lineup as they start to get healthy again.

NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun has also linked Monahan to the Avalanche on a multitude of occasions. Given the uncertainty with Ryan O’Reilly and Jonathan Toews, Sean Monahan represents the surest bet to fit in their lineup and play some meaningful minutes.

The issue is that Sean Monahan himself needs to get back to health and play some games before a team is going to dish out the kind of assets that would make Kent Hughes consider moving the 27-year-old.

According to a recent Montreal Canadiens health update, Monahan should be nearing a return this week, aowing him a handful of games before the NHL All-Star game to get his feet going again before a very important month of February for both him and the Canadiens.

Prior to his foot injury, which has kept him out of the lineup for six weeks now, Monahan was one of the most valuable players on the Canadiens roster.

The rugged centre posted six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in the 25 games he’s played so far, all while playing a sound two-way game and winning 55% of his draws on the faceoff dot.

It’s worth noting how Montreal’s offensive game has struggled without him, particularly the play of Nick Suzuki, who has to take on more responsibility without Monahan in the lineup.

His absence further displays what kind of an impact he could have on a team, but here’s why the Avalanche make for the best fit.

The Perfect Fit

The Avalanche had one of the most balanced rosters in the NHL last season, until they were forced to let Nazem Kadri walk in the summer after winning the Stanley Cup.

Owning the position of second-line centre for the Avalanche, the loss of Kadri has been a big hole for the Avalanche, who have tried to test the likes of Evan Rodrigues, J.T. Compher and Alex Newhook in those positions to no avail.

In fact, none of the Avalanche’s regular centres have a faceoff percentage higher than 49% at this time, a major point of worry going into the second half of the season fighting for a Wild Card spot.

Further to that, Monahan could play some sound even-strength hockey for the Avalanche, who used to thrive at 5-on-5 last season, as the Canadiens centre sports a some of the best underlying numbers on the team, while being able to play in all other situations in a pinch.

Having someone like Monahan would allow the Avanlanche to drop Compher to his ideal spot in the middle of the third line, restoring balance to their roster and providing head coach Jared Bednar with two scoring lines that could dominate at even-strength.

The fit certainly makes sense, and it’s understandable why the Avalanche have been keeping tabs, but any trade will be contingent on Monahan’s health.

Something to keep an eye on moving forward.