Top Montreal Canadiens Players Considered Trade Bait

The NHL trade deadline is still months away, but some members of the Montreal Canadiens are already attracting attention throughout the league.

According to TSN, four Habs players are among the top 20 in the league when it comes to possible trade.

Veteran goaltender Jake Allen is listed fourth in their ‘Trade Bait’ board, an indication that the goaltender market may be starting to heat up. Cayden Primeau follows Allen closely, listed as the fifth most likely trade on TSN’s board.

Given that the Habs recently offered goaltender Samuel Montembeault a three-year contract extension, it’s clear that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.

Moving one of Allen or Primeau doesn’t just make sense. At this point, it’s a necessity, not just for the players, but the team itself.

Versatile centre Sean Monahan, who is currently signed to a very reasonable contract that carries a $1.985 annual average value, is ninth on the list.

Monahan currently has eight goals and seven assists in 26 games, but more importantly, he plays a stalwart brand of defence that would improve most lineups. Monahan’s 5v5 play is excellent, but so are his results when he plays on the powerplay and the penalty kill.

Sean Monahan scores a very nice shorthanded goal after Bedard's shot goes wide.

Once again, RHP did great work on the penalty kill. Smart player, that one. pic.twitter.com/jFrSNImnpM

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 15, 2023

In addition, he’s also quite adept at taking faceoffs, as evidenced by his 57 percent faceoff efficiency.

Defenceman Mike Matheson is the final Canadiens player mentioned, landing at 20th on the Trade Bait board.

Seeing names like Allen, Primeau, and Monahan is not uncommon when discussing possible trades, but Monahan is rarely mentioned.

Given the impressive play of some of the younger defencemen in the league, moving a player such as Matheson becomes a little more palatable, especially if the return would bring the team a quality asset that could play a big part in the team’s rebuild.

Matheson is on pace for a 12-goal, 41-assist pro-rated season, more than enough to garner significant interest from various NHL teams looking to improve their blueline production.

WOW.

Mike Matheson with an early goal-of-the-year candidate.

End-to-end beauty. pic.twitter.com/MLJLiz5bSf

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 25, 2023