Although the majority of people did not see the Montreal Canadiens in the playoff portrait, it must be said that few people expected to see them languishing in the depths.
Only the Chicago Blackhawks are behind the Habs, while the San Jose Sharks complete the bottom-3 of the league.
Yesterday’s game was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many fans with a poor, if not horrible, performance.
The guys completely gave up.
There must be change, especially since Patrik Laine should return shortly, as will Rafaël Harvey-Pinard who is currently in Laval for conditioning purposes.
All this means that the CH has a few too many players at the top at the moment and the congestion could be too great.
This is good, because four teams have recently shown interest in the CH with regard to a possible transaction, according to The Fourth Period.
Indeed, the Anaheim Ducks, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers have indicated their interest in this subject.
Not only are the Canadiens likely to have to deal with a surplus of forwards when Laine and RHP return, but five of them will become unrestricted free agents this summer.
And some of these five players should no longer be with the CH next year.
So, we might as well trade some before the trade deadline, right?
D’abord, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Michael Pezzetta et Lucas Condotta seront UFA this summer if they do not extend their contract with the club.
Condotta could return to Laval without problem, having been named captain of the farm club before the start of the season.
A guy like Pezzetta is not necessarily worth trading for what he brings to CH. He is the perfect 13th striker who brings energy and robustness when necessary.
So that leaves us with Armia, Dvorak and Evans as the forwards most likely to leave this season.
The case of Evans is special, because he would definitely bring something interesting for the CH and there is no guarantee that the CH will be able to extend it.
However, he is one of CH’s favorite players this season, he who gets the job done more often than not, and even more.
As for Armia, he is too inconsistent to attract an aspiring team, even with 50% of the salary retained.
Being a team that aspires to major honors, I wouldn’t go for a guy as inconsistent as Armia. You can’t afford to rely on him in the playoffs.
Nothing prevents a team from turning to Armia as a “backup” plan, at (very) low cost.
Moreover, the CH has another salary retention place this season.
Finally, Christian Dvorak, one of the unloved in Montreal, weighs $4.45 million on the payroll and trading him will definitely not be easy.
At 50% of his salary, he may still be of interest to teams looking for a fairly reliable fourth-line center in the faceoff circle and defensively.
However, it should be noted that Two has a no-trade list that includes eight teams.
Among the teams mentioned in the text of The Fourth PeriodEdmonton and Los Angeles would be logical destinations for the Dvoraks, Evanses and Armias of this world.
And all that is without mentioning David Savard who is already in the eye of a few teams.
The Oilers could definitely benefit from the services of a veteran defense like Savard and I’m willing to bet the return would be interesting.
All this will be to follow between now and the deadline, but until then, Kent Hughes’ phone is likely to ring regularly.
In burst
– Quite surprising for a guy who just fractured his fibula.
– To read.
– Well done.
