February 4, 2025 | 10:42am ET
By David Calabretta, TheFourthPeriod.com
HABS EVALUATING ALL TRADE DEADLINE POSSIBILITIES
Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images
Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia, forwards
MONTREAL, QC — With big name players like Mikko Rantanen, J.T. Miller and Mikael Granlund already on the move recently, the NHL has found itself in an early trade frenzy ahead of the self-created mini trade deadline leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off.
As some players have found new addresses around the end of January and start of February, the Montreal Canadiens are still trying to navigate which path to take with the deadline now less than five weeks away.
With the team’s recent five game losing streak, Montreal is slipping from the playoff picture, sitting six points behind the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Code red hasn’t been called yet on the Habs’ season, but GM Kent Hughes is open to all possibilities as we leap closer to March 8th.
On Monday’s edition of “The Latest” on TFP with Kate Petterson and David Pagnotta, Pagnotta dove into what’s to come for Montreal and their future transactions.
He stated that Hughes is listening to calls on pending unrestricted free agents, such as Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak, while also seeking a “Kirby Dach” like move, aiming for a forward in his early-to-mid 20s with high potential at a reasonable cap structure and term.
Evans, Savard news?
It is status quo for both Jake Evans and David Savard, as they will be the harder UFAs to move in the sense that they remain value pieces to the Habs’ locker room.
While contract talks have taken place with Evans, it hasn’t reached the point where Hughes has told teams that he will remain a Montreal Canadien, a situation similar to that of Arturi Lekkonen prior to the 2022 trade deadline, as it would take an impressive offer to part ways with the 28-year-old centre.
As for Savard, he currently sits as one of the more prized defensive trade chips left on the board, with the recent trades of Marcus Pettersson and Cody Ceci leaving the trade market over the weekend.
Teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are going to be ones to watch on the Savard front.
Like Evans, a significant offer would need to be handed to Hughes for a trade to be completed, as the 34-year-old veteran remains a cornerstone to the Habs’ defensive corps and in the room, especially with the injury of Kaiden Guhle.
Habs want young, high potential player
One thing Hughes has done every single year since taking over as the GM of the Montreal Canadiens has been acquiring a young piece to further complement the team’s rebuild.
In 2022, he acquired Dach at the NHL Draft. In 2023, he added Alex Newhook. This past summer, he acquired Patrik Laine.
Hughes has made it known he wants to do that again, ideally before the trade deadline, but if not, he will explore more options around the NHL Draft and over the summer. He’s willing to part with some of their abundance of draft picks and some of their many prospects in the system to help reinforce his team for the present and the future.
Potential names to look out for include Trevor Zegras, who was seriously linked to the Habs over the summer, Casey Mittlestadt from the Colorado Avalanche who could use a change of scenery – or any young forward who could use a fresh start; you name it, and Hughes will be in those talks.
What’s To Come
Montreal will play a back-to-back to wrap up their California trip starting tonight versus the San Jose Sharks, and tomorrow versus the Los Angeles Kings. They will then return to Montreal for a weekend of matinee games versus both the New Jersey Devils and the Lightning before enjoying a two week break because of the 4 Nations Face-Off. During that break expect chatter to pickup regarding the Canadiens regarding pending free agents and trade talk.