Grading More Canadiens NHL Trade Deadline Proposals

We asked Montreal Canadiens fans to bring us their best proposals before the NHL Trade Deadline, and they delivered.

We received so many proposals that we had to split them up into sections.

The first set of Canadiens trade proposals made for some interesting debate and analysis, and this next batch is likely to be even spicier.

Take a look:

Christian Dvorak + Jonathan Drouin (50% salary retained)

For

Darren Helm
Colorado 2023 1st round pick
Colorado 2025 5th round pick

— Milhouse40 (@HabsCrazyNumber) February 23, 2023

This one caught my attention pretty quickly because Christian Dvorak is a centre, and the Colorado Avalanche are in need of one down the stretch.

With Gabriel Landeskog potentially only returning for the NHL Playoffs, the Avalanche could use his $7M cap hit by way of Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) relief space to make some moves.

Jonathan Drouin is an interesting option, as he and Nathan MacKinnon had great chemistry together with the Halifax Mooseheads a decade ago, but does this really help the Avalanche?

Dvorak has a cap hit of $4.45M for another two seasons, while Drouin’s a pending free agent who would have 50% of his cap hit retained; bringing his impact to $2.75M in a hypothetical trade.

Before even getting into the value of the trade return, a move like that, even if Darren Helm’s $1.25M contract comes the other way, would put the Avalanche dangerously close to the top of their limit and would inhibit them from adding some depth elsewhere in their lineup.

Now, for the return.

A 1st-round pick for the combination of Dvorak and Drouin would be a pretty massive stretch. If the Avalanche had a 2023 2nd-round pick, it would make more sense in terms of value, but they simply shouldn’t be sacrificing such a high pick for a player that has proven incapable of filling a top-six role, even in Montreal.

Verdict: Not Happening

To EDM : Edmundson (50% retain) , MTL 4th 2024

To MTL : Puljujarvi, EDM 2023 1st

— Jonathan Lachance (@LuckyJo3267) February 23, 2023

In a parallel universe where Joel Edmundson played a healthy and full season, I could certainly see this as a base for a deal between the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers.

In fact, if Edmundson were healthy, I’d wager that it would be the Oilers adding a draft pick (3rd or 4th), rather than the Canadiens in this proposal; especially given that the Habs would be retaining 50% of his salary for the next season and a half.

That being said, although the Canadiens may have gotten some good news regarding Edmundson’s health on Saturday night, there’s going to be some doubt as to his longevity in the playoffs.

Edmundson’s wealth of experience and extra year on his contract make him a very appealing piece for the Oilers, who continue to put on disjointed defensive efforts that are covered by the excellence of Connor McDavid.

But, given his health, and Edmonton’s shift toward acquiring a puck-moving defenceman, rather than a stabilizing defensive presence, it may make this trade unviable in this universe.

Verdict: Maybe

Anderson to NJ devils in exchange for Dawson Mercer and 2nd round 2023

— Gravel Martin (@GravelMartin42) February 23, 2023

It would be an incredible return for the Montreal Canadiens, as Dawson Mercer has been impressive since breaking into the NHL last season.

The 21-year-old already has 141 games under his belt and has put up an impressive 36 goals and 45 assists for 81 points.

This season, the QMJHL alum is on pace to hit 55 points for the New Jersey Devils and is showing signs of further improvement on a game-by-game basis.

Although the New Jersey Devils do desperately need to add some size to their top-six, sacrificing a piece like Mercer, who has transitioned seamlessly into the NHL and is pushing for a consistent top-six role, would be shocking.

Mercer is outpacing Josh Anderson in every offensive category in his sphomore year in the NHL, playing a more all-around game that has been beneficial to the Devils in their rise up the rankings this season.

On the flip side, Anderson may very well be a very rare type of player, but he remains a middle-six winger that could hit 25 goals in a season under the right circumstances. Mercer, in his second season is already on pace to eclipse that kind of ceiling and still has a lot of development to go.

If the Devils aren’t interested in sacrificing Merce in a prospect Timo Meier deal, there isn’t much hope for the proposal above.

Verdict: Devils Fans Are Coming For YouDue to 

Habs trade Farrel,Strubel,2nd rd pick to Coyotes for Chychrun & Bjugstad.

— Stephen Greer (@stwg14) February 23, 2023

If there aren’t at least three assets worth the equivalent in a 1st-round pick in any deal including Jakob Chychrun, you might as well forget it.

Sean Farrell is an excellent prospect and one of the most dynamic players in the NCAA this season, but adding Jayden Struble and a 2nd-round pick simply doesn’t move the needle for the Coyotes.

It would likely take Florida’s 2023 1st-round pick, a top prospect like Lane Hutson or Owen Beck, on top of Farrell to even get the conversation started.

Although Chychrun would be worth that kind of venture if the Canadiens were a contending team, or one on the verge of contending, the Canadiens’ current situation further complicates matters.

One of the reasons Chychrun has such high value, on top of his excellent play, is his extremely attractive cap hit of $4.6M for another two seasons.

By the time the Canadiens will be ready to compete, they’ll likely need to provide Chychrun with a very lucrative extension or risk losing him for nothing to free agency; making the trade useless.

It’s just not the right time for this kind of deal, nor do the Canadiens have the luxury of sending over the assets the Coyotes would need to warrant this kind of move.

Verdict: Absolutely Not Happening.

Edmonton Jesse Puljujärvi + Raphaël Lavoie for Paul Byron gives Edmonton 6.4M on the cap and Habs get 2 young guys to try figure out if they fit

— Steve Cowan (@steveccowan) February 23, 2023

I wanted to address this trade proposal, because there is a misconception when it comes to LTIR and the salary cap.

When a team acquires a player on LTIR in the middle of the season, they are not gaining cap space.

They aren’t gaining anything at all, unless you’re the Arizona Coyotes and you need to hit the salary floor.

That means that, if the Oilers were to acquire Paul Byron’s $3.4M contract, they would gain $3.4M in salary expenditure, and then gain $3.4M in LTIR relief space; meaning they cancel each other out.

There is no benefit to a cap-strapped team to make a move for a player on LTIR this late into the season.

Verdict: N/A

Calgary receives: Josh Anderson, 2023 2nd round draft pick

Montreal receives: Dustin Wolf, Milan Lucic, 2023 1st round draft pick

— Wade Messier (@wade_messier) February 23, 2023

I came across this trade proposal and thought to myself that the value wasn’t too far off.

Although Dustin Wolf is one of the hottest goaltenders in the AHL at the moment, he is stuck playing behind Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar for, at least, another couple of seasons.

Meanwhile, Calgary’s core of Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Elias Lindholm are all in their prime and looking to win in the immediate future; meaning Calgary might have to sacrifice some futures to pull ahead.

The idea of Josh Anderson in Alberta makes a ton of sense, as the Calgary Flames has had interest in him for a while now, and the idea of including a top prospect, a 1st-round pick and a cap dump is exactly the kind of deal that would get general manager Kent Hughes to pull the trigger.

That being said, the inclusion of Montreal’s 2nd-round pick makes this a high price for the Montreal Canadiens to pay to acquire Wolf and move up about 20 spots between their 2nd-round pick and Calgary’s 1st-round pick.

If the draft pick were in the mid-range, I could certainly see this as the basis of a package that could work, value-wise.

Verdict: Close, But No Cigar

MTL: Casey DeSmith, 2nd (2023), 4th (2025)
PIT: Jake Allen

— habs! 🥱 (@__stankovsky) February 23, 2023

This is an interesting situation, especially when it comes to the Penguins’ current situation.

Having just freed up 3.2M by having Kasperi Kapanen picked up on waivers by the St-Louis Blues, the Penguins now have a projected $1.8M to spend at the NHL Trade Deadline.

With Tristan Jarry’s health and future in Pittsburgh up in the air, the Penguins need to not only figure out their goaltending hierarchy in the immediate future, but also in the long term.

The emergence of Samuel Montembeault makes the trading of Jake Allen a possibility, as the Canadiens may have found a cheaper and younger option for the temporary role of No.1 in Montreal.

For the Penguins, having the 32-year-old Allen signed for an additional two years at a very reasonable $3.85M cap hit could certainly help them gain some stability at the position for a couple more seasons.

Allen has proven to be a good soldier for the Montreal Canadiens, playing behind a very inexperienced group over the last two seasons; and he could be the kind of piece the Penguins need to go into the playoffs with some insurance at a position of dire need.

Verdict: Plausible.