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Monahan Linked To Avalanche, Potential Targets For Canadiens

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1 year ago

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Montreal Canadiens player Sean Monahan

The Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche are still linked in NHL trade chatter for Sean Monahan and here are some targets for Montreal.

The Canadiens’ centre is about to return from an injury that has kept him out for the last 7 weeks, and his name continues to swirl in NHL Trade talk.

On a recent segment of TSN’s Insider Trading, NHL Insider Pierre Lebrun continued to fan the flames regarding a potential fit between the Colorado Avalanche and the Montreal Canadiens.

“Here’s what I would say: I think the Colorado Avalanche are a team to monitor when it comes to Sean Monahan,” said Lebrun regarding trade chatter surrounding the Canadiens’ centre. “The Avalanche expect Landeskog to be playing by early March, so his $7M will be on the books and they won’t have much cap room to play with. So when it comes to Ryan O’Reilly or Bo Horvat, sure they’re going to keep tabs.”

Sean Monahan could make much more sense for the Avalanche for many reasons.

For starters, the Avalanche would likely be able to fit Monahan in their cap structure if Montreal eats 50% of his salary.

Then you also need to factor in that the Avalanche likely don’t have the assets the Vancouver Canucks or St. Louis Blues want for their top centres, after having spent most of their future assets in the last two years.

“They don’t have a lot of future assets right now, they’ve spent a lot of it over the last two years. That’s why a guy like Monahan makes sense,” said Lebrun about the Avalanche’s situation and the NHL Trade market. “That’s why I know that he’s a player that the Avs, at the very least, talked about.”

Potential Targets

Unlike previous years, the Avalanche have their 1st-round pick in 2023. Colorado is currently in a playoff spot at the moment, but they’re far from being at the top of the standings this season.

They’ve amassed 55 points through 46 games this season, and are currently 15th overall in the NHL standings. This means that acquiring their 1st-round pick would like range between 18th and 23rd overall, unless they make the Western Conference Finals or Stanley Cup Finals.

With the 2023 NHL Draft slated to be very deep this season, the Canadiens could select a very good player, even in the later part of the 1st round.

https://montreal.nationalhockeynow.com/2022/12/15/very-early-mhn-2023-nhl-draft-rankings-montreal-canadiens/

Besides their 1st round pick, the Avalanche also own a few interesting prospects that could replace the value of a high pick.

Sean Behrens, Colorado’s 2nd round pick in 2021, has been a standout player for Denver University over the last couple of seasons.

Capable of playing both left and right, the smooth-skating defenceman has been a force in the NCAA the last couple of seasons. Although he may not be as flashy and offensively inclined as Lane Hutson, he plays a well-rounded style and excels in transition and even-strength play.

Another interesting option would be 2021 1st-round pick Oscar Olausson, the 28th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Playing in the AHL for the Colorado Eagles, the 20-year-old has put up some respectable numbers; logging nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 36 games as a 20-year-old.

He has very interesting offensive tools, most notably a very powerful shot with a quick release. Standing at 6’1 and 180 lbs, Olausson could add some scoring punch in the Canadiens’ prospect pool.

Lastly, there’s  goaltender Justus Annunen, a former 3rd round pick of the Avalanche in 2018.

The 22-year-old goaltender has been impressive for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL this season, posting a 0.913 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average.

The 6’4, 210lbs goaltender is technically sound and has been turning heads in Colorado’s AHL affiliate with his strong lateral movements and impressive compete level.

 

These are just a few of the assets the Colorado Avalanche have to potentially make a deal with the Montreal Canadiens before the NHL Trade Deadline.

With the Deadline just a few weeks away, the next few weeks should get very interesting.

 

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