Canadiens Carrier Acquisition Could Set Up Another Trade

The Montreal Canadiens finally acquired their experienced right-shot defenceman, likely laying up another move that will await them in March.

Despite NHL betting odds continuing to peg the Canadiens for a bottom-five finish, the club is showing signs of life and just another experienced element to their team in defender Alex Carrier. The Canadiens do have other young right-shot defencemen in the organization like David Reinbacher and Bogdan Konyushkov, but they lacked a sure thing on the main roster.

The 28-year-old Quebec City-native has another two seasons left on his deal after this season at a reasonable $3.75M, which provides the club with some stability for the short-term as they figure out their defensive depth chart.

The good news is, that after spending months looking through the trade market for an experienced right-shot defender, the Canadiens can finally re-balance their defensive pairings.

With Carrier’s acquisition, Logan Mailloux also won’t be rushed back to the NHL just yet; allowing him to continue to develop his defensive game in Laval. Carrier creates no rush in having to call Mailloux up just yet, and Jayden Struble has shown to play dependable hockey on the right side for the time being as well.

It has certainly helped reset the depth chart order for the better; as it clearly seemed like youngster Justin Barron had lost his footing with the organization prior to being traded to Nashville.

But, perhaps the most immediate benefit is that it allows the Montreal Canadiens to truly explore the trade market for David Savard, should the club eventually become sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Montreal Canadiens Prepare For Deadline

Before the Carrier trade, the Canadiens didn’t have a single right-shooting defenceman in the organization with more than 150 games played in the NHL other than Savard.

Flipping Savard in the lead up to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 would have left an already inexperienced defensive corps even more exposed than it already is. The club was reportedly uncomfortable with trading Savard without a replacement in place to help guide the younger players.

In acquiring Carrier, the Montreal Canadiens now have the assurances they would need to entrain a deal for Savard, as Carrier would be able to take over some of his responsibilities and play a position of need for the organization.

Carrier has logged a career-average of 19:24 minutes a night and plays a very sound defensive style; exactly what the doctor ordered for the Canadiens’ young blue line. Carrier can easily be deployed next to Kaiden Guhle or Lane Hutson and cover for them defensively.

But, in the meantime, the organization can now begin to create a market around David Savard.

It’s no secret that last year’s NHL Trade Deadline saw Savard’s name come up quite a bit toward the end of the trade season. The Canadiens’ high price and the extra year on Savard’s contract required contending teams to commit a season and a half to Savard, which could have restricted their offseason moves.

Now that Savard’s set to be a pending free agent, many of those teams, and a potential set of new ones, will likely circle back if the Canadiens continue to live in the basement of the NHL Standings.

And given how thin the rental market is for shot-shooting defencemen; there will be interest in the veteran defender’s services; especially given his experience and the Canadiens’ ability to retain up to 50% of his salary.

The Upcoming Trade Market

This year’s market for rental right-shot defencemen is unusually thin, even compared to previous seasons. Players like Brent Burns, Aaron Ekblad, and Neal Pionk are essentially untouchable, as their teams are deep in the hunt for the Stanley Cup and can’t afford to part with such vital contributors.

The limited pool of available players includes names like David Savard, Cody Ceci (SJ), Dante Fabbro (CBJ), Jan Rutta (SJ), and Erik Johnson (PHI). Will Borgen, who was also on this listed, was just recently traded to the New York Rangers in the Kaapo Kakko trade, thus removing another option from the market.

Of those left, Savard and Ceci stand out as the most coveted due to their playoff-tested experience and ability to step up in critical moments.

Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has openly acknowledged how challenging it is to acquire right-shot defencemen. Teams recognize their rarity and importance, especially for postseason success, and are often unwilling to trade them unless the return is overwhelming.

Pending free agents tend to dominate trade conversations, as they offer contending teams the chance to bolster their rosters without long-term obligations. However, the current market’s lack of quality right-shot defencemen makes this trade season especially tricky for teams seeking to fill that void.

For the Canadiens, this situation feels eerily similar to last year’s thin market for rental centres, where Sean Monahan unexpectedly became a key target. With high demand and limited supply, this year’s trade landscape could force teams to overpay to address their defensive needs.

That trade helped the Canadiens net Michael Hage, on top of Ivan Demidov in a very productive 1st-round haul at the 2024 NHL Draft.

Netting another top asset, be it a high pick in the 2025 NHL Draft or a prospect, could give the club further ammunition to add the key pieces they need, going into the summer.