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Trade Deadline Primer: Montreal Canadiens

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens haven’t yet spurred their years near the bottom of the standings, but their successes this year suggest that time could be coming soon. Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson has provided a stellar spark behind Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The trio has been backed by promising young goalie Jakub Dobes, finally giving Montreal a sign of the future at every stop in the lineup. Even the Laval Rocket are surging, currently ranked on top of the AHL’s North Division with a roster led by young prospects Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux, and Adam Engstrom. The future looks bright in Montreal, and the upcoming Trade Deadline will give the club another chance to trim extra weight and build out what’s to come.

Record

25-26-5, 7th in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$7.45MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: MTL 1st, CGY 1st, MTL 2nd, PIT 2nd, MTL 3rd, VAN 3rd, NJD 3rd, MTL 4th, BOS 4th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th
2026: MTL 1st, MTL 2nd, CBJ 2nd, MTL 3rd, MTL 4th, NJD 4th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th

Trade Chips

Montreal is entering the Deadline with plenty of extra weight to shed. They have a long list of impactful veterans who could be on the block, led by surging centerman Jake Evans. Evans has posted 11 goals and 26 points through 56 games this season, good enough for fifth on the team in both categories. He’s only three points away from breaking his career-high 29 points set in 72 games of the 2021-22 season. That was one of only two years where Evans played a full NHL season, next to his 28 points in 82 games last season. That precedent makes his 40-point scoring pace this season all the more encouraging. Evans is posting those numbers with a cushy, third-line role and minimal power-play ice time. That’s sure to be an encouraging sign for playoff hopefuls looking to flesh out their bottom-six – teams like the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators. Recent reports suggest that Evans and Montreal could be at an impasse with extension negotiations, potentially making the center a cheaper buy as the deadline approaches.

If not Evans, Montreal could turn back to routine trade rumors. 30-year-old winger Josh Anderson has posted a modest eight goals and 18 points in 56 games this season. His 121 hits is also tied with Juraj Slafkovsky for the most hits on the offense. Anderson has been on the trade block for years now, but his lofty $5.5MM cap hit and minimal lineup role have been dissuading up to this point. To make matters worse, Anderson has two more seasons on his deal after this year – which could make retaining part of his salary a tough bet for the Canadiens. Though it’s worth noting that both Jeff Petry and Jake Allen will come off of Montreal’s retention slots when their contracts end this summer. But for a cheap price, he’ll stand as a physical option for teams in need of more heft. For teams looking the other way, Montreal could also make forward Alex Newhook available. He’s struggled through two years in Montreal, netting just 52 points in 111 games with the team. Newhook hasn’t posted the well-rounded presence Montreal has needed, but he’s added size with the Canadiens and stands as an interesting project on the open market.

The Canadiens can offer plenty of defense as well. Veteran David Savard joined his hometown Montreal in 2021, looking to stand as a consistent pillar behind a young lineup. But his solid presence has continued through the last four seasons, and Savard doesn’t seem close to slowing down in his age-34 season. He has a modest $3.5MM cap hit that’s set to end this summer, which could make him an attractive rental for teams in need of assurance on the blue-line. Savard may be aged and low-scoring, but his high-defense and high-physical presence could land a return that rivals Evans. Montreal also has a wealth of young defenders, including Jayden Struble – who could be seen as dead weight behind the team’s wealth of left-defenders. Struble has five points and a minus-10 through 30 games this season. But he’s in just his second NHL season, and is working to add more physicality to his style. Those could be attractive traits to build up, at a cheap price.

Team Needs

1) Future Capital – Montreal is entering the 2025 NHL Draft with a whopping 12 picks. That’s plenty for comfort, but with the 2024-25 season seeming a bit lost, there’s little more for the Canadiens to ask for. They’ll enter the Deadline with a true seller’s mindset, looking to drive the price up on each of Evans, Savard, and Anderson. Landing a first-round pick for either of the former, or any return for the latter, will be mark successful Trade Deadline for the Canadiens letting them open space for top prospects and really begin kicking off their future.

2) Right-Shot Defense – If any position group appears shallow in Montreal, it’s their right-shot defense. The team has already made moves to address that hole this season, using a December swap of Alexandre Carrier for Justin Barron to boost up their top-four. They also have top prospect Logan Mailloux working his way up the minor-league lineup, and former top-10 draft pick David Reinbacher working his way back from injury. Both players could stand as strong options on the right-side in due time, but Montreal is hinging on Carrier and Savard to hold them up in the meantime. Finding another cheap veteran, or a promising young defender, could go far in rounding out the team’s lineup in the few years remaining in their rebuild.

 

Montreal Canadiens, Jake Evans Not Close On Extension

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Thanks to a 13-3-1 record from December 17th to January 21st, there was growing belief that the Montreal Canadiens may pull one of the top rental centers off the trade market and instead target an extension. However, due to a 1-6-1 record through their last eight contests, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes the Canadiens have repivoted toward trading Jake Evans at this year’s trade deadline.

LeBrun shared that Evans and Montreal exchanged numbers on a hypothetical contract extension but haven’t gotten close. He also hints that more teams have called the Canadiens regarding Evans’ availability since they began sliding down the Eastern Conference standings.

There’s no question that Evans would make a valuable rental candidate for almost any contending team. He’s only two points shy of reaching a career-high in points while being the leading center on the seventh-ranked penalty kill in the league. The Toronto, Ontario native also gained ample playoff experience during Montreal’s Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

Evans’ 11 goals and 27 points through 55 games this season don’t suggest he should be placed in a top-six role with a playoff team, but he’s an ideal third-line center for most clubs. The Canadiens may be able to create a bidding war, given his reasonable $1.7MM salary without any trade protection.

The Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets could all use more depth down the middle as they continue their push toward the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal should have plenty of flexibility to capture the best available return.

Canadiens Assign Owen Beck And Logan Mailloux To AHL

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Sunday: The team announced (Twitter link) that both Beck and Mailloux have been sent back to the AHL to allow them to play in the All-Star Game; neither played today against Anaheim.

Saturday: The Canadiens have added a bit of extra roster depth as they get set to start a three-game California road trip.  The team announced that they have recalled center Owen Beck and Logan Mailloux from AHL Laval.  It’s the second recall of the season for both players.

Beck is in his first professional season and has spent the bulk of it with the Rocket.  The 20-year-old played in two games with Montreal late last month and was held off the scoresheet.  Beck has had a productive rookie campaign in the minors, however, tallying 11 goals and 16 assists in 41 games, good for a tie for tenth in scoring among all AHL freshmen.

As for Mailloux, he got into five games with the Canadiens back in October.  He was productive in those outings, picking up a goal and two assists while logging 16:30 of ice time but struggled in the defensive zone.  He’s in his second pro campaign and has nine goals and 13 assists in 36 AHL appearances so far this season, putting him close to his offensive pace from his rookie year.

It wouldn’t be too surprising to see both players shuffled back and forth a bit over the coming days.  Beck and Mailloux are set to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday and Monday with that event being held in California where Montreal will be for a few days.  Accordingly, they’ll likely be loaned back down following Sunday’s game and then recalled back to the big club on Tuesday when the Canadiens are in San Jose.

Canadiens Reassign Rafaël Harvey-Pinard

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The Canadiens loaned winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to AHL Laval on Friday, according to a team announcement. They now have a pair of open roster spots, with PuckPedia reflecting that Emil Heineman was also transferred to injured reserve earlier in the week.

Harvey-Pinard, 26, made his season debut in Thursday’s shutout loss to the Wild. He posted zeroes across the board in 8:54 of ice time, recording one hit. Montreal was outshot 4-2 with him on the ice at even strength.

It was a quiet showing amid a quiet season for the 5’9″ winger. A broken leg sustained during offseason training kept him out of training camp and on the shelf until mid-November, when the Canadiens assigned him to the minors on a long-term injury conditioning loan. They opted not to reinstate him to the active roster when his loan was up and instead placed him on waivers to keep him in Laval long-term. That was a semi-risky move, considering he’s on an expiring contract at an affordable $1.1MM cap hit and had 14 goals and 20 points in only 34 games two seasons ago, but there were no takers on the wire.

Thirty-one other NHL teams made the right call. Harvey-Pinard has struggled since his late start to the season, scoring only four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 24 games with Laval. He’s on pace for easily the worst offensive showing of his five-year professional career, especially after he logged 31 points in 40 games in his last extended AHL stint in 2022-23.

The Habs recalled Harvey-Pinard last weekend as the Habs wanted an extra forward with Heineman on the shelf, but he sat twice as a healthy scratch before entering the lineup. His lack of NHL usage and disappointing minor-league play this season makes it unlikely that he’ll receive his $1MM qualifying offer from Montreal at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Heineman’s IR placement does not affect his return timeline. He hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury as a pedestrian in a traffic action on Jan. 13 while the team was in Utah and is expected to remain out of the lineup for around another week.

Canadiens Believed To Have Had Second-Round Pick Offer For Evans At Draft

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The Canadiens were believed to have been offered a mid-second-round pick back at the draft for center Jake Evans, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.  He adds that the Capitals may have been the team making the offer.  Evans is in the middle of what is likely to be a career year as he has 11 goals and 14 assists in 50 games while being the league leader for shorthanded ice time by a forward.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Evans has a very affordable $1.7MM cap charge this season and could plausibly double that on the open market this summer.  Montreal will have to decide if it’s worth accepting what’s likely to be a similar offer by the March 7th trade deadline or trying to sign him to a contract extension in the coming weeks.

Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle Out Indefinitely With Quadricep Laceration

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1:12 p.m.: Guhle sustained a lacerated quadricep muscle that was surgically repaired overnight, the team announced. He’s been released from the hospital but will be out indefinitely.

10:09 a.m.: In a corresponding move, defenseman Jayden Struble has been reinstated from his conditioning loan to AHL Laval. The 23-year-old lefty was held without a point and took two minor penalties with a plus-one rating in a pair of contests for the minor-league club.

8:10 a.m.: The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle has suffered a lower-body injury and will need further evaluation. Guhle sustained the injury in the third period of last night’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg when he fell into the corner awkwardly. He appeared to catch an edge on the play as he was trying to pinch in from the blue line, his right leg fell behind him and jammed into the boards, suffering the full weight of the impact. Guhle required assistance to get to the dressing room and did not appear to bear any weight on his right leg.

The 16th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is in his third NHL season and has become a huge piece of Montreal’s back end, averaging over 21 minutes a night of ice team and seeing the third most deployment at even strength on the team. Guhle has also been tasked with taking on some of the most difficult minutes in Montreal, starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone and taking on the toughest assignments.

Montreal does have some good young defensemen in the AHL right now, however, none will be able to make the jump up from Laval and handle the duties that Guhle has been taking on.

Montreal is in the thick of the Eastern Conference’s race for the Wild Card spots, and losing Guhle for an extended period would be a big blow to their playoff hopes. However, there is a break in February for the Four Nations Face-Off, which could allow Guhle some recovery time, should he need it.

Montreal could also look outside the organization for help as they have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft and will have almost $6.5MM in cap space to work with at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Canadiens Recall Rafael Harvey-Pinard

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Montreal has added some extra forward depth in advance of their game tonight against New Jersey.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard from AHL Laval.

The 26-year-old started the season on injured reserve, missing the first 22 games with a leg injury.  Following a conditioning stint with the Rocket, he then cleared waivers at the beginning of December and has been with them ever since.  Harvey-Pinard has played in 24 games with Laval this season, recording four goals and seven assists.

Harvey-Pinard has seen extensive NHL time in the last two years.  In 2022-23, he impressed as a midseason recall, ultimately collecting 14 goals and six assists in 34 games.  That helped earn him a two-year, $2.2MM contract in the 2023 offseason.  But things didn’t go as well for him last year as he was limited to just two goals and eight helpers in 45 appearances while also missing time due to injuries.

Montreal hasn’t had much success filling Emil Heineman’s spot on the fourth line since he was struck by a car in Utah last week.  Veteran Michael Pezzetta has been given several looks but has failed to clear five minutes of playing time in any of his last seven games.  Prospect Owen Beck received a two-game look but has since been returned to the minors and now it appears Harvey-Pinard will get a chance to reclaim his spot from last season on that line.

With the recall, Montreal’s active roster is now full.  Jayden Struble remains on the roster while on a conditioning loan to Laval while despite Heineman’s injury, they’ve elected not to place him on injured reserve just yet.

Canadiens Assign Jayden Struble To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Canadiens assigned defenseman Jayden Struble to AHL Laval on a conditioning assignment Friday, the team announced. He will remain on the active roster while suiting up in the minors but will need to be reinstated after two weeks. Otherwise, he’ll need to be waived to continue playing in the minors.

Struble, 23, was scratched for the seventh straight game in last night’s loss to the Red Wings. He’s only played four times since Dec. 12 and has been subject to 15 healthy scratches during that span.

The 2019 second-rounder has firmly slipped behind Arber Xhekaj on the team’s left defense depth chart for now. There hasn’t been much appetite for head coach Martin St. Louis to make lineup changes amid a 13-4-1 surge since mid-December that has Montreal in the thick of a highly competitive Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Still in his development stage but no longer waiver-exempt, the Habs thus need to take advantage of a conditioning stint to get Struble some regular playing time. The Rhode Island native has been decently effective when given a chance this season, posting five points through 26 games while leading Montreal defenders with a 51.9 CF% at even strength, albeit in limited minutes (14:16 ATOI).

Controlling shot quantity hasn’t meant controlling shot quality for Struble this year, however. He’s posted a minus-seven rating and has been on the ice for just 1.7 GF/60 at even strength compared to 3.1 GA/60. He has been decently effective on the penalty kill, though, where he averages around a minute per game.

Still, by most definitions, this season has been a step back for the physically involved Struble. He earned a midseason promotion from Laval last season to make his NHL debut and ended up skating in 56 big-league contests, recording 10 points, a minus-three rating, and 57 PIMs. He finished fifth on the team with 121 hits and averaged 16:07 per game, so his minutes have been reduced by nearly two minutes this season.

The Canadiens only have seven defensemen on the active roster, including Struble. Therefore, expect them to use their open roster spot to recall a temporary replacement from Laval in the coming days. Struble had seven points and a plus-five rating in 13 appearances with the minor-league club last season.

Beck Assigned To Laval

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  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that center Owen Beck has been assigned to AHL Laval. The 20-year-old was recalled on Sunday and played in Montreal’s last two games, playing just over 15 minutes combined.  Beck is off to a solid start to his professional career in the minors, collecting 25 points in 37 games with the Rocket this season.  No corresponding recall is expected before their game in Detroit on Thursday.

Marcel Bonin Passes Away

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Four-time Stanley Cup champion winger Marcel Bonin passed away Sunday, according to an announcement from the Canadiens. He was 93.

Montreal was where Bonin was born and where he played his best hockey, but it wasn’t where his NHL career started. Acquired by the Red Wings in 1952 from the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Senior Hockey League, where he was briefly teammates with all-time great Jean Béliveau, Bonin made his NHL debut at age 20 that season.

He posted four goals and 13 points in 37 games during his rookie campaign with Detroit in 1952-53, splitting the year between the NHL and the Wings’ AHL affiliate at the time, the St. Louis Flyers. After spending nearly all of 1953-54 in lower-level leagues, he returned to Detroit full-time for 1954-55. Bonin was an impact piece, finishing sixth on the team in scoring with 36 points in 69 games and adding a pair of assists in 11 playoff games as he won his first of four Original Six championships.

That summer, Bonin was part of the blockbuster deal that sent Terry Sawchuk, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and future Hall-of-Famer, to the Bruins. He spent one year in Boston, recording nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 67 games on a Bruins offense that limped to a league-worst 2.10 goals per game.

Bonin returned to lower-tier hockey with his old stomping grounds in Quebec the following year before being claimed by his hometown Canadiens in the Inter-League Draft preceding the 1957-58 campaign. Reunited with Beliveau, then a perennial MVP candidate, and names like Henri Richard, Maurice Richard, and Bernie Geoffrion, Bonin resurfaced as a high-end complementary piece.

Bonin won Stanley Cups with Montreal in his first three seasons back in the league, recording 133 points in 182 games between the 1957-58 and 1959-60 campaigns. In year four, he recorded a career-high 35 assists and 51 points in 65 games. He was off to a good start in 1961-62, notching 21 points in 33 games, before sustaining a career-ending back injury in a game against the Red Wings in February.

He recorded 11 goals and 22 points in 34 games across four trips to the postseason with the Habs. All but one of those goals came in the 1959 playoffs, where he led the league with 10 goals in 11 games en route to Montreal’s fourth of five straight titles.

All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors offer our deepest condolences to the Bonin family and his loved ones.

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