Canadiens Best Trade Assets Going Into The NHL Draft

The Montreal Canadiens have confirmed their intent to be as active as they can on the trade front, and they have some interesting pieces they can offer.

When General Manager Kent Hughes and EVP Jeff Gorton sat down for their end-of-season press conference, they didn’t shy away from their desire to make moves this summer; with the goal of improving the club long-term.

Standing pat is always an option, but NHL betting odds don’t have a very positive outlook on the Canadiens’ hopes of making the playoffs next season; unless they make some key additions.

But, standing pat seems incredibly unlikely. Over the last two years, the Montreal Canadiens have made some rather big trades leading up to or during the NHL Draft, acquiring Kirby Dach in 2022 and Alex Newhook in 2023.

Now heading into 2024, and with a clear need for some scoring forwards, Hughes and Gorton have some ammunition to make some bigger moves this summer.

Let’s look at what’s available.

Winnipeg’s 1st-Round Pick

It would be utterly shocking to see the Montreal Canadiens use this pick come June 28, as it has looked like a potential trade chip since the moment the Sean Monahan trade was announced back in February.

With the pick expected to slot anywhere from 24th and 27th overall, it could be a valuable piece to be added in any trade for a young, scoring forward.

Of course, a late 1st-round pick doesn’t have that much value on its own, but, when coupled with another asset or two, you begin to build the makings of an enticing package for a rival team.

2025 1st-Round Picks

The Montreal Canadiens have loaded up on picks for the 2025 NHL Draft as well, and that is no coincidence.

Owning the Calgary Flames‘ 1st-round pick (or Florida’s depending on the conditions), previously acquired in the first of two Sean Monahan trades, on top of their own 1st-round pick in 2025, the Canadiens could always look to package one of these selections in a trade.

But trading a pick a year early without any protection is likely not the way to go. If indeed one of the 2025 1st-round picks is put on the market, there will likely be some protection allowing the Canadiens to transfer the weakest of the two picks come the 2025 NHL Draft.

It’s not an uncommon stipulation to include in trades, as the Detroit Red Wings, who had both their own 2024 1st-round pick and Boston’s,  put a condition on their blockbuster acquisition of Alex DeBrincat that Ottawa would receive the lesser of their 2024 two 1st-round picks, along with Dominik Kubalik, a 2024 4th-round pick and prospect Donovan Sebrango.

If there’s a can’t-miss player on the market that could help put the Montreal Canadiens over the top for years to come, these picks should be in play.

Young Defenceman

It’s no secret: the Montreal Canadiens have too many young and promising defencemen to fit in their roster long-term.

With Hughes sitting on a half-dozen left-shot defencemen with legitimate NHL aspirations, a decision will likely have to be made as to who is untouchable, nice to have and expendable.

In this case, the names of Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble and potentially even Adam Engstrom or Logan Mailloux could be pieces Kent Hughes looks to use as bait for a young forward or as sweeteners in a larger deal for an impact player.

There is an outside chance that Kaiden Guhle could potentially be sacrificed if it meant bringing in a top-end, can’t-miss forward, but the Canadiens don’t seem keen to entertain the possibility at the moment.

David Savard

There was heavy interest in David Savard on trade deadline day this year, but a less-than-ideal buyer’s market and nonexistent cap space for contending teams made the move difficult.

However, this summer, especially with the rising salary cap, is a totally different ball game.

This isn’t to say Savard should openly be shopped and traded for pennies on the dollar, but, if the Canadiens receive their price of a 1st-round pick (or more) for their 34-year-old veteran rearguard, that may help them to quickly pivot toward another trade to acquire that scoring forward.

Now, if there isn’t a strong market for Savard, there is value in retaining him and having him work with young blueliners line Lane Hutson and Arber Xhekaj during the season and taking another crack at it at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.

Prospects Galore

The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of quantity in their prospect pool, beyond just the defencemen that have recently turned pro.

Prospects like Filip Mesar, Owen Beck or Joshua Roy will be the forwards that most teams will be looking to include in any prospective deal; and, although they may try, I don’t believe Beck or Roy would be on the table.

But players like Mesar, Sean Farrell and Oliver Kapanen, the latter of which is having an impressive World Championship tournament at the moment, could also be dangled in trades for teams looking to bolster their prospect pool and inject some youth into their organization.

The Canadiens have more quality on their backend in terms of expendable parts, but one shouldn’t rule out the Canadiens sacrificing a young forward to acquire an established or young, promising forward to speed up the rebuild.

Mike Matheson

Mike Matheson is likely the most valuable trade piece the Montreal Canadiens can afford to part with, as his inclusion in any trade would get most GMs to perk up and listen closely.

Finishing 9th in scoring for defencemen in the NHL this season, Matheson’s 62-point season has seen his value to the organization, and across the league, take as sharp a spike as his production has.

That being said, the Canadiens view Matheson as their current #1 defenceman and don’t appear willing to move on from him just yet, as he plays big minutes and shelters the younger defencemen from tougher minutes as they continue to develop in the NHL.

There’s value in that too.

But Matheson’s production, along with his sweetheart $4.875M contract for another two seasons, would be an attractive piece to dangle if it meant bringing in a young forward in the 21-25 age range that can measure up to Cole Caufield or Nick Suzuki.

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