Why The Montreal Canadiens’ Woes Are Not A One-Trade Fix

The Montreal Canadiens are still very much a work in progress, and one trade isn’t going to fix the issues on this club.

Even NHL betting odds had the Canadiens ranked exactly where they find themselves now, in the bottom of the NHL standings.

With their main offseason acquisition in Patrik Laine out until at least December, and no major upgrade anywhere else in the lineup, expecting this club to be a playoff bubble team may have been a little too optimistic.

Be it due to the lack of quality depth at the centre position, or the lack of established, right-shot defencemen in the lineup; the Canadiens simply haven’t been able to take a step forward.

The reality of it is that rebuilds aren’t always linear; sometimes there will be a step back in situations that will help the club take a step forward. Should losing the way they have over the last three weeks be tolerated? Absolutely not.

But, there are going to be growing pains with a young roster, especially on defence. It will require patience to help them work through the adversity and grow as individuals and as a team.

Does that mean the Canadiens need to make a trade, be it for a rental or a hockey trade, to improve their current standing? It would be more understandable if they were farther along in their rebuild.

Unfortunately for some in the Montreal market, the answer to the rebuild’s success likely isn’t in the form of a trade, but rather, in the form of patience.

Here’s why:

Strength Down The Middle

The Montreal Canadiens have seemingly had centre depth issues for the last 30 years, and, for a moment last season, it looked like they were close to solving it.

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Kirby Dach‘s knee injury derailed that vision and put their depth up the middle in doubt. Since returning to the lineup, it has been a slow process, with the 6-foot-4 forward totaling just one goal and five points in 14 games so far this season.

Coming back from a knee injury of that magnitude is never easy, and usually requires some time for players to shake off the rink rust. But, in Dach’s case, the organization’s decisions in regard to his usage tell a more worrisome tale.

Whether it be simply to get him going offensively or remove him from the centre position, Dach has been shifted to the wing for the last handful of games; taking Juraj Slafkovsky’s spot on the top line.

It’s forced the Canadiens to try Jake Evans, a serviceable fourth-line centre, in a top-six role. Evans has more than earned more minutes in the lineup, but to use him on their second line truly shows the organizational need the Canadiens have at centre.

The organization covered its bases when they selected Michael Hage 21st overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, but the club doesn’t have a backup plan beyond Hage after Dach at this junction, and that is worrisome.

If Dach is indeed not the solution to play behind Nick Suzuki in a potential playoff contending team, then what is the solution? Trade for a 2nd-line centre?

Unfortunately, that’s also easier said than done. More often than not, teams will overpay for career 3rd-line centres, hoping they’ll continue on their development curve and hold down a more vital position for their new team.

Names like Trent Frederic, Nic Dowd or Evans highlight the current list of pending free-agent centres in the NHL that fit that description; but the Canadiens aren’t interested in giving up futures for a quick fix.

To trade assets right now for a legitimate top-six centre is not likely either. Contending teams need their centres, and bottom-feeding teams like Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks either can’t trade them because of No-Trade clauses or don’t have any to give away.

The reality is, the Canadiens will likely have to draft their way out of this or make an off-season move to fill the hole.

If it’s via the 2025 NHL Draft, there are quite a few potential top-six centres available at the top of the board such as James Hagens, Michael Misa, Roger McQueen and Anton Frondell; just to name a few.

As for any centres available by trade, it’s too soon to tell, but it’ll will likely be a very costly venture; and it’s not like the Canadiens don’t have another glaring need they want to fill.

Defensive Maturity

The Montreal Canadiens have one of the deeper defensive prospect pools in the NHL, but that lies mostly on the left side of their defence.

Unfortunately for the Habs, the injury to David Reinbacher has exposed just how thin the team is on the right side moving forward.

Given the way the Canadiens have played so far, moving pending free-agent David Savard would seem like a no-brainer move if the Canadiens can promote a strong market for him between now and March.

However, due to a lack of established players and prospects like Justin Barron or Logan Mailloux still requiring more development time on the defensive side, they’re now caught in no-man’s land.

David Savard has been a very serviceable defenceman for the Canadiens, but he simply cannot be the Canadiens’ most reliable right-shot defenceman at this junction of their rebuild.

It’s one of the reasons why the Canadiens have been looking for a long-term fix at the position since this summer.

Patience is going to be on point at this point, unless the Canadiens acquire make a minor swap to add a depth right-shot defenceman.

But again, at the moment, there isn’t a team in the NHL looking to flip a top-4 RD at this junction without receiving some major pieces; which would likely include some roster players.

Not Sacrificing The Future

Sources have indicated for months that the Canadiens are not interested in sacrificing their future for a quick fix, and there aren’t any long-term fixes available at the moment.

Is the solution then to remove head coach Martin St-Louis from his post in order to jolt the team? Unlikely. The reality is that this is simply not a deep enough team to compete in a league full of parity.

General Manager Kent Hughes seems intent on following the plan and having a respected figure in hockey like St-Louis guide the young core through this adversity. His leadership within the room is grossly underrated by many in the market, and the organization likely won’t be swayed by outside pressure unless things get really ugly.

Being impulsive is easy, being patient is hard.

The reality is the Montreal Canadiens are going to be patient, and that’s not what some want to hear; but it’s perhaps the wisest thing they can do in this situation.

So many rebuilds in the Salary Cap Era have been derailed because general managers succumbed to pressure and made some less-than-ideal moves. Simply look at the Buffalo Sabres over the last decade making forced trades, or the Ottawa Senators, declaring their rebuild by wasting major assets only to end up right where they started.

Patience in this situation would likely give the Canadiens the best opportunity at being competitive as soon as next season.

The team is trending toward $20M in new cap space to work with next summer, Ivan Demidov landing in Montreal, they’d likely bring in another elite talent with an additional top-10 pick and some other prospects likely rising through the ranks.

Keeping their eyes on that reality and preparing themselves to strike at the opportune time, be it via trade or on the draft floor, could be exactly what allows them to fill those glaring holes in their lineup.