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Grading Potential Montreal Canadiens Trade Deadline Proposals

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1 year ago

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Montreal Canadiens trade proposals

The Montreal Canadiens will be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline.

With the March 3rd deadline quickly approaching, we wanted to give Habs fans an opportunity to propose trades.

We will analyze and most likely criticize the proposals in this article, with the important caveat that NHL trades are borderline impossible to predict, and NHL trade value is constantly changing from day to day due to the variables when it comes to supply and demand.

I tend to overvalue players on another team, whereas Canadiens fans tend to overvalue their own assets, which should make for a very interesting experiment.

Deep Dish Disaster

First off, we have to make something clear.

The lasagna known as “Chicago Deep Dish Pizza” is not the preferred pie in Chicago.

Most locals will opt for a tavern-cut pizza, which comes with a thin crust, is usually cut into relatively small squares, and unlike the deep-dish style, will not make you regret having a stomach for 72 hours after ingesting it.

With that in mind, given the authenticity of the poutine and the shameful representation of Chicago provided by the deep-dish disaster, I would quickly hang up the phone upon hearing this proposal and order a proper poutine.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Poutine is better than lasagna. (Lads, it’s Tottenham!) 

West Coast Reinforcements

There’s some merit there.

Jonathan Quick is having a rough season and is a clear weakness on what is otherwise a very solid LA Kings roster.

The second-round pick to absorb Quick’s contract is relatively reasonable and lines up with what Kent Hughes is trying to do with his cap space at the deadline. They would probably offer a worse pick, but that’s not the issue here.

Allen’s .894 save percentage is much better than Quick’s .878,  but would the Kings really want to take on Allen’s contract?

The concept makes sense for the Kings since they’d liberate precious cap space, but seeing as Allen is slated to be paid $3.85 million until 2024-25 and is on the downswing of his career, I doubt he’d interest the Kings beyond this season, which puts a big wrinkle in the proposed trade.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Good concept, poor execution. 

Edmundson in Edmonton

If Joel Edmundson happened to be healthy, we could perhaps entertain some proposals that involve first-round picks, especially if they’re late first-round picks and involve a significant chunk of retained salary.

But let’s be honest, as it stands, Edmundson is considered damaged goods on the NHL trade market, and until he can make a successful return to play, his value will remain relatively low.

It’s also worth noting the Canadiens are running out of opportunities to prove he’s healthy. Including Friday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, there are just four games left until the trade deadline.

In addition, I’m not convinced Puljujarvi is the type of player the Canadiens need. I’d argue he’s the exact opposite of what the Canadiens need: a player that has solid underlying numbers but struggles to finish.

This trade is a no-go, for more reasons than one.

But if Edmundson manages to return to play, we can circle back.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Unrealistic, for now. 

Colorado Christian

My first instinct is to shoot this down with the ferocity of a mid-80s movie based on fighter planes that I cannot mention for legal reasons.

But upon further review, the Colorado Avalanche do lack centres, and Dvorak could provide some tertiary scoring as well as an elevated faceoff efficiency.

Not to mention, before arriving in Montreal, Dvorak had an established track record of solid defensive work.

But I don’t think the Avalanche would offer a second-round pick in this case, mostly because Dvorak’s contract runs until 2024-25. If they’re looking for stability at the centre position for the next few years, he could provide some certainty going forward, but I don’t think the Canadiens would receive a second-round pick AND a B+ prospect.

Drop your demand to a third or fourth-round pick, with some salary retained, and we may have a deal.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: How did Maverick buzz the tower and not get kicked out of the Navy? Honestly, huge plot hole right there. He would have been thrown out faster than it takes to say, “Tom Cruise is actually just 5’7”.  What a ridiculous movie. Oh, and about the trade? There’s value here, but not as much as you’d expect. 

Multiple Moves

The good news, Teri, is that none of us know anything, and that’s part of the fun in trade proposals.

Hoffman for a second-round pick will not happen. No one is interested in him at the moment.

Drouin or Dadonov for a 5th-round pick is a little more realistic, depending on how desperate teams become. Some retained salary may have to be in play for the Canadiens.

And not to sound harsh, but Savard and Dvorak will not garner a first-round pick in return unless you package them with a first-round pick, but I could be, and often am, wrong.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Never going to happen.

Rental Real Estate

It’s always fun to remember Cole Caufield fell to 15th overall at the draft, whereas players like Turcotte went fifth overall.

On that note, I don’t think the Kings are ready to give up on Turcotte, and his value is probably at an all-time low.

Hoffman holds very little value right now, and Edmundson is not healthy.

The proposal makes sense because the Kings need reinforcements, but I don’t think they’re targeting players with cap hits that are over $3.5 million, due to their current salary cap situation.

I do love the idea of acquiring a player like Turcotte, but I don’t think the Kings would bite on this proposal.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Cole Caufield went 15th overall at the 2019 Draft, and that’s hilarious. 

Realistic Rene

Rene gets points here for providing a very simple, realistic proposal.

I see a team like the Avalanche potentially showing some interest in Drouin, especially if the Canadiens retain half his salary. He would be a significant boon in the bottom six and would provide decent value on the power play.

It wouldn’t be their first choice, but if other options fall through, we very well may see them make a move for a player like Drouin, especially if he only ends up costing them a fifth-round pick.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: An unreasonably reasonable proposal. 

Pollock Proposal

Shades of Pollock here, which is always a good sign.

Tertiary is the right term here, and if other options fail, trading players to ensure Panthers finish lower in the standings is a great idea.

Of course, it’s a matter of whether the Capitals and Penguins would be interested in players like Drouin and Dadonov. Perhaps retained salary could convince them, especially if the return is future considerations.

It’s not a traditional trade, but I do applaud the proposal for thinking outside of the box.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Great concept, unlikely to happen.

Ryder Reference

Sometimes I miss HFBoards, and I’m not being facetious.

The Habs fan community on there was very solid, if not slightly crazy, which is right down my alley.

The question becomes, what is the modern version of the Ryder + Halak + 2nd trade proposal?

Anderson + Allen + free poutine whenever the team involved in the trade attends a Laval Rocket game because the Rocket use proper cheese curds (St-Albert)?

Either way, Winnipeg would DEFINITELY say yes to this deal because St-Albert cheese curds are elite.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Browsing HFBoards was always good times. Well, they were times. Definitely times.

Pushing Puljujarvi

The logic here is that the Oilers are paying to move out Puljujarvi’s contract, and in that case, the return for Edmundson makes some sense, but let’s be honest, the Oilers could get rid of his contract simply by placing him on waivers. I guarantee a team would claim him.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: A lot like my desire to go on a date with Kathy Ireland, there’s no way this happens.

Monahan Money

Let’s assume Monahan passes his physical and returns to play, I wouldn’t be overly shocked to see a team sacrifice a first-round pick for his services, but it won’t be a good first-round pick, which makes the 2025-pick involved in this proposal somewhat logical.

Monahan is one of the few centres available (when healthy) that is great in his own zone, can provide a decent amount of offence, is excellent in the faceoff dot, and helps his team in transition.

For now, the deal would not be considered, but if the Avalanche get desperate and Monahan is cleared to play, I could see a trade involving Monahan and the Avalanche materializing. They desperately need centres, and the time to strike for Colorado is now.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: The Canadiens should have never let Monahan play in the two games following the Calgary Flames matchup.

Anderson Anticipation

The Flames have called about Josh Anderson numerous times, so the destination makes sense, but the return does not.

Even if Anderson is a rare specimen, let’s be realistic, he’s yet to crack 60 points in his career, and hasn’t earned more than 35 points in a season since he arrived in Montreal.

Absorbing the Lucic contract would be incredibly awkward,  but it would facilitate the trade.

I just don’t see Calgary wanting to sacrifice two good picks and a good prospect for Anderson, especially since their playoff hopes are starting to dwindle. If they were solidifying their home-ice advantage, then I’d suggest the odds for a trade like this would be higher.

This is the type of deal that could make more sense in the off-season.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Good return for a player like Anderson, but a questionable payout for a team like Calgary. 

Belzile Bonus

I would be incredibly happy to see Alex Belzile have another opportunity to participate in the playoffs, but I would also be quite annoyed that the team would lose such a good person.

He’s the exact type of player you want leading your AHL team, and as we’ve seen, he can make an impact in the NHL when given an opportunity.

His great story aside, I don’t think teams would offer enough to entice the Canadiens to trade the best player to ever come from the hockey hotbed known as Saint-Éloi.

Canadiens Trade Verdict: Hands off Belzile you ghouls! 

Newfoundland Pride

Fun fact, via QI:

In 1876, a man was killed in a brawl over the correct pronunciation of Newfoundland. Mill workers William Atchison and John Davis argued that was either pronounced “NewFOUNDland” or “NewfoundLAND”.

Atchison threw a punch, then Davis shot Atchison dead. Davis got away by going on the run for 37 years. On his deathbed in 1912, he admitted to his crime, but then he got better and had to go on the run again. At the time though, both Atchison and Davis were right as both pronunciations were accepted. (Forfeit: NEW-f’nd-lund; NOOF’UN-lund).

On that note, I pronounce it Nuf-F’n-Lin (as quickly as possible), with my Ottawa-valley accent, which, I’ve been told, is incredibly similar to an east-coast accent.

As for your trade proposals, sure, why not, you can never go wrong with more NufNLnDers on your team!

Canadiens Trade Verdict: I’se the B’y.

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