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Sell the old, Make room for the new |
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We ONE day away from another epic clash between Team USA and Team Canada for the championship of the 4 nations tournament in what has been, in my humble opinion, a huge success despite some early concerns when the idea was first announced last year.
We’ve seen some extremely competitive hockey from the best players in the 4 countries involved and if somehow the NHL owners and commissioner Gary Bettman were still wondering what the best way to make new hockey fans was, well, yes, these international competitions are the way. I simply cannot wait to see the players all back at the Olympics on an even bigger stage and more countries involved.
Now obviously this cannot become an annual competition for it to remain something special (I’m looking at you outdoor games!) but the NHL needs to keep these new ideas coming instead of going back to the plain old “nobody cares about it” all star games we’ve had in the past twenty years. Out with the old ideas, make room for new and innovative ways to show off our great game.
Speaking of getting rid of the old…
With 15 days left before the trade deadline, Montreal is sitting in 13th place in the eastern conference, 6 points behind the last wildcard spot with one less game to be played than the team currently holding it, the Detroit Red Wings.
While the most optimistic of fans will say Montreal remains close enough to keep things interesting (at least if they start playing better than they did in their last 10 games), I think it’s fair to see Kent Hughes is likely preparing to sell his assets on expiring contracts.
That doesn’t necessarily exclude the possibility of him adding players either in a good old “player vs player hockey trade” but I feel there’s a better chance of him doing that in the offseason.
Considering that, here’s my opinion on what will happen with all of Montreal’s future UFAs and what the return would be IF they are traded away and who will replace them moving forward.
Jake Evans
As the four nations tournament began, insider Pierre Lebrun mentioned the Evans’s camp and Habs management exchanged offers for a contract extension and unfortunately…. It seems they weren’t close on both the amount and the term. Now it’s completely understandable for Evans, at 29 years old, to want this contract to be the biggest in his career and he’s sure to gain a substantial raise from his current 1.7M per season salary. As he seemed poised to price himself out of what the Canadiens are willing to pay for a 4th line centre with great results on the penalty kill. That specialty of his on the PK seems to make him quite valuable in the eyes of certain NHL teams and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team give out a 2nd round pick for his services in a cup run. Best case scenario would be a late first but it seems too much for a player who, historically, doesn’t bring much offense in his game.
As for his replacement, well the obvious answer is Owen Beck. If anything, I think he’s a better player than Evans was at the same age and he brings a lot of “pro” elements in his game already.
Joël Armia
After suffering with consistency in his game for the vast majority of his NHL career with a low-point early in the 2023-2024 season when he was sent through waivers and played in the AHL for the first time since 2015, Joel Armia has been, in my humble opinion, an excellent bottom six player since rejoining the Habs lineup full time. His combination of size, puck protection abilities, heavy shot and effectiveness on the penalty kill alongside his partner Jake Evans makes him, in my opinion, the most valuable and most difficult player to replace in Montreal’s future UFAs list. We’ve heard rumblings early in the season (thanks for the info parking lot guy) of him being willing to take less money to remain in Montreal as he seems happy with both his play and life here. I think there is a possibility he signs a new contract with Montreal but I doubt Kent Hughes is willing to give him more than his current 3.4M salary. Just like Evans, you would expect Armia to be looking for some longer term on his contract and I think this might end up being the breaking point in negotiations between the player and management.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Montreal receive a late first round pick for Armia, especially with how well he performed in Stanley cup finals run in 2021. As for his replacement, I don’t see anyone currently playing in Laval that brings what he does on the ice, but perhaps a Jared Davidson could become an effective penalty killer with his speed and intensity with the possibility of becoming more of a threat offensively.
Christian Dvorak
I doubt there will be much interest in Dvorak when the trade deadline comes around as the only thing he truly brings to a NHL team is being good at taking faceoffs and being somewhat reliable defensively. It’s far too little to justify his 4.5M contract. I’m not even sure it’s enough to justify half of it if Montreal were to accept to retain 50% of his salary. I’m sure Kent Hughes will do his best to shop him but I doubt we can hope to receive anything more than a very late pick in 2029. I think he might stay until the end of the season because of a lack of interest from other teams.
There is, once again, no obvious replacement for Dvorak moving forward but with the addition of Ivan Demidov in the Habs top six next season, it seems more and more likely we could see Alex Newhook go back to centre on the third line.
David Savard
You get the feeling Savard would like nothing more than to stick around as the team’s “big brother” on defense and there is a legitimate argument in keeping him around instead of trading him at the deadline. On the other hand, if he does sign a new contract, it would need to be at a much lower cost than his current 3.5M contract and it simply couldn’t be for more than two years.
Considering his experience and his leadership, I’m sure there will be interest around the league for him and I think Montreal could get a third round pick in return, with a 2nd rounder being the absolute best possible scenario. You don’t usually see players get traded off at the deadline only to sign with their original team afterwards, but I think it’s a legitimate possibility here as it would be a win for both parties. David would get a chance at winning another Stanley Cup and would still get to play at home, near his family without having to move again for the last few seasons of his career.
If/When Savard does get traded, Montreal doesn’t have a ton of depth on the right side ready to step in. David Reinbacher needs time in the AHL as he’s coming back tonight from four months on LTIR, which only leaves Logan Mailloux as a potential replacement. I think Montreal would rather let Mailloux finish the season strong in the AHL and compete with Reinbacher for a spot at the next training camp. It would also allow them to give Struble some playing time, as the young defenseman has been scratched more often than not in the past two months.
Honorable mention to Michael Pezzetta who will also become a UFA this summer. This great locker room guy will no doubt be missed by his teammates, but it’s obvious the coaching staff doesn’t trust him enough to even let him stick around as a 13th/14th forward as they barely give him 5 minutes of ice time when he does get a chance to play.
What do you guys think? Are all these guys leaving? Does the return suggested here make sense or would you expect more/less for these players? Are you disappointed to see Montreal as sellers once again or are you salivating at the idea of another top 5 pick next draft?
Until we get some answers, enjoy the 4 nations final, it should be a game to remember.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
Hugo Brossoit (Scabeh)
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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