Transaction table
MONTREAL – Several Canadiens supporters showed disappointment and even a touch of anger when the Habs confirmed at 3:00 p.m. Friday that it was not worth holding their breath.
That no other long-awaited, long-hoped-for transaction would fall from the sky!
The disappointment was related to the wish to see the Canadian get rid of a few veterans who are expensive and do not pay off big.
The anger was fueled by the fact that many believed the Habs would start winning instead of continuing to lose. That he would now start winning over the 21 games to be played by the end of the calendar to climb the rankings instead of slipping and thus minimize his chances of winning the lottery-repechage instead of boosting them.
Impossible to predict the outcome of the last 20 meetings. But by losing 3-2, Friday, in Anaheim, once morest Ducks who are better placed than him in the race for Connor Bedard, the Canadian reassured his fearful supporters. He offered them a defeat that feels good.
If the trend continues, the Canadian will lose once more Sunday, in Las Vegas, once morest veteran Jonathan Quick who might get a first start with the Golden Knights. If so, Quick will of course want to make a good first impression with their new team. He will want to prove that he is still a good goalkeeper. That he is much better than his personal stats indicate. That he will be able to contribute to the success of the Knights thus proving to his former bosses of the Kings that they were wrong by losing confidence in him.
And it will be perfect for the Habs who this morning occupy the 26th place in the general classification. As shown by the statistics, it is important that the Canadian make sure to remain among the clubs that will draft in the top-10 of the next repechage.
By losing as he did yesterday in Anaheim, by losing once more Sunday in Vegas, the Canadian will maximize his chances of remaining well camped with the last who will draft the first next June in Nashville.
And yes! It’s all that matters.
Edmundson: deferred transaction
When Kent Hughes assured on Friday that the Canadian would have liked to conclude one or two more transactions, it is clear that he was referring to the early departures of Joel Edmundson and Sean Monahan.
Why was Edmundson still patrolling the blue line Friday night in Anaheim? Why is Monahan continuing his recovery in Montreal instead of preparing for a possible return to play with another organization?
Because of the wounds that afflict them.
Because both arouse more concern than confidence that they might really help the clubs that took an interest in them, Kent Hughes had to settle for much lower compensation than the already timid ones who were associated with their name. We are talking regarding fourth and fifth round picks here. Far, very far, from the initial objectives of the staff of the Canadian who made Banco last year and who wanted to make some good moves this year.
The general manager of the Canadian has therefore decided not to give them.
He is thus betting that Edmundson will bring him more in a year, or before if he has a good start to the 2023-2024 season and that a formation quickly finds itself in need of an experienced defender.
Unlike David Savard, Joel Edmundson is not essential to the blue line of the Canadian. First, he plays on the left where the youngsters are already jostling for a spot behind Kaiden Guhle. Secondly, although he is a “good veteran” and he has stressed that he wants to be an actor in the reconstruction of the Habs, Edmundson does not seem to me capable of fulfilling the role of godfather as well as David Savard has fulfilled it since the start of the season.
The big question now is whether Edmundson’s back will be able to get stronger in the offseason and the defenseman will be an asset next year instead of quickly slipping down the liability column due to back pain. chronicles.
If that’s the case, Kent Hughes might have been better off taking what’s been on the table over the past few days, as it might be more than he’ll have next year.
Only time will tell if this bet will pay off or not.
Drouin will end the year in Montreal
Did Kent Hughes miss his shot on Friday?
Non!
When we look at what happened in the last day of transactions, no general manager gave in to panic. No DG has overpaid by telling himself that he had an obligation to move to imitate the clubs which fight with his.
Kent Hughes had players to sell, but nobody wanted to pay to buy them.
Many fans would have liked to see the Canadian traded and even give Drouins, Hoffmans, Armias and other unloved players to Montreal.
Kent Hughes was very diplomatic when he spoke of Jonathan Drouin’s contract, identifying his salary as a burden that prevented any transaction.
His salary doesn’t help that’s for sure. But Kent Hughes still had the possibility of making this contract less burdensome by keeping half of his salary. Like he did with Evgenii Dadonov to get Denis Gurianov from the Dallas Stars. As he did with Nick Bonino who went through Montreal to leave part of his contract there before going to Pittsburgh. An administrative sleight of hand that allowed the Canadian to get a 5th round pick and Swedish defender Tony Sund.
What Kent Hughes didn’t say, to his credit – he wants to be as respected and respectful a GM as he was as an agent – is that Drouin had no interest around of the NHL.
Like other other players that amateurs wanted to dump.
Jonathan Drouin, who has been playing better hockey since his return to the game and it has nothing to do with the fact that he finally scored his first goal of the season on Friday night, will therefore end his season and the last year of his contract. to Montreal.
Will he return with the Canadiens next year?
I very much doubt it.
He will have more chances with another club in reconstruction like the Arizona Coyotes for example by accepting a significant drop in salary.
A contract for Monahan
The case of Sean Monahan is interesting. The Canadian has already received a first-round pick as a gift when he agreed to take his contract that the Flames had to dump to afford to hire Nazem Kadri.
The injuries prevented a transaction from being completed that would have resulted in further compensation for his services.
In the last year of his contract, Monahan might leave Montreal through the free agent market on July 1.
Until then, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Kent Hughes trying to keep him in Montreal by offering him a one-year contract at a much more reasonable amount than the $6.375 million he currently occupies under the salary cap. .
The Canadian might convince Monahan to sign such a contract in order to take advantage of the next season as a springboard to a longer and lucrative contract therefollowing.
At 28, Monahan is still young. But the injuries that have plagued him for several seasons may prevent him from going to the bank on July 1st.
The Canadian would therefore offer him the opportunity to play an important role in Montreal next year to prove that he still has good hockey to offer.
With Kirby Dach likely backing up Nick Suzuki at center of the top two lines, with Jake Evans expected to fill the role on the fourth line, there would be congestion with Monahan and Dvorak at center of the third line.
It’s true!
But once under contract, Monahan would still offer options to the general staff of the Habs. And he is the kind of player who is far from harming your organization.
Possible recalls of Primeau and Richard
The Habs fired Raphaël Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylönen from their Laval school club before the 3 p.m. kick-off on Friday.
The two attackers were immediately recalled as part of this administrative procedure which will allow the Quebecer and the Finn to lend a hand to the Rocket by the end of the season and possibly in the playoffs.
After the recalls of Harvey-Pinard and Ylönen, the Canadian has two other regular recalls at his disposal by the end of the calendar.
One of these reminders should be used to allow Cayden Primeau to play a few games with the big club by the end of the season.
The other? It might allow Anthony Richard to get a second chance with the Habs this season.
The 26-year-old Quebecer scored one goal and added one assist in seven games played between December 19 and January 7. The Habs were then skating in the doldrums – one win in all seven of Richard’s games, part of the Habs’ three-in-16-game winning streak – and the staff might be interested in seeing what Richard might give then. that the team is playing better than before.
But beware! The Canadian does not want to harm his school club which is riding a good streak and undermine its chances of reaching the playoffs and experiencing success there. Which means that a possible recall of Anthony Richard might have the repercussion of causing Rafaël Harvey-Pinard or Jesse Ylönen to be sent back to Laval.
To the four regular recalls – two of which have already been used – are added emergency recalls that the Canadiens, like the 31 other teams in the League, might make to compensate for absences related to injuries that would leave them under the minimum number. attackers (12), defenders (6) or goalkeepers (2).
In case of emergency, the Canadian might meet his needs by drawing from the formation of the Rocket. He might thus reward a player who has distinguished himself this season and even give a try, while the emergency passes, to defender Frédéric Allard whom Kent Hughes acquired from the Los Angeles Kings. If urgent needs were at the blue line of course.