Sean Monahan is therefore accompanying the Canadian on a trip to Carolina and Toronto in the coming days. This is probably the only, but slim, hope of seeing the CH conclude an interesting transaction by the deadline for trade in the NHL on March 3.
However, there are 15 days left until this deadline and Monahan is still not ready to return to the game, even though he has resumed training.
Fans could still afford to dream in December of a first-round pick for his services. Before falling in action, he had 17 points in 25 games on his record, including 11 in his last 12 games, at the center of a solid second line. He had played at least twenty minutes in the two games before his injury.
Even if he returned to action on Tuesday in New Jersey – in an optimistic scenario – he would have just five games left to prove his return to the top. If the Blackhawks no longer dream of a first-round pick for Jonathan Toews – placed on the injured list on Thursday – Montreal can’t hope for as much either.
His injury may be an opportunity for GM Kent Hughes to offer him a short-term contract so that he can enhance his value next season and also for the Canadiens to foster a smoother transition.
The other player at the heart of the rumours, defender Joel Edmundson, is still injured. And he didn’t have a great season. Unlike former teammate Ben Chiarot, who brought home a first-round pick last year, Edmundson has no offensive dimension and his lingering back pain will put other teams off, especially with another 3-year contract. ,5 millions. Unless he can make a quick return, this eventuality will have to be forgotten.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Joel Edmundson and Christian Dvorak
Rumors also evoke the possibility of seeing Josh Anderson, 28, change sides. Anderson has his flaws, his understanding of the game isn’t the most developed and he’s not a huge point producer, but his speed, toughness and a certain scoring instinct make him a rarer commodity within the squad. crew.
Although he may be in his thirties by the time the team reaches its peak, it may be deemed preferable to keep him than to receive a late first-round pick for his services. It will take an irresistible offer to redeem it.
Christian Dvorak? With the constraints of the salary cap, who will want a center of around thirty points per season under contract for two more seasons at 4.45 million?
Joel Armia, despite certain qualities, is in the same boat. He will receive 3.4 million per year for the next two seasons. It’s too much for a defensive end like him.
Finally, there is this trio of attackers sometimes unloved, sometimes tolerated: Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin and Evgenii Dadonov.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Evgenii Dadonov and Jonathan Drouin
All three are producing more these days. Hoffman has nine points in his last ten games; Drouin nine assists in six games and Dadonov seven points in his last ten games. But will this awakening come too late?
Who will want Hoffman, 33, whose last good offensive season dates back to 2020, with another year of contract at 4.5 million, and whose shortcomings in defense and his propensity for plays with low success rates are known? It will be necessary to give up a choice in the repechage to get rid of it.
Drouin’s and Dadonov’s contracts expire in July. It’s an advantage over Hoffman. But Drouin has been severely affected by injuries in all its forms in recent years, physical and psychological.
A formation that would like to obtain Drouin must still find a way to insert his annual salary of 5.5 million on his payroll. And that poses a challenge even if Montreal absorbed 50% of his salary, since the sum would still be close to three million. For a player whose reliability has not been the prerogative, rightly or wrongly, the financial risk is probably not worth the candle. Perhaps Dadonov could fetch a distant draft pick at best.
Unfortunately, therefore, the period of exchanges is not likely to resemble that of 2022 for the CH. Kent Hughes then managed to secure a 2023 first-round pick, a second-round prospect in Ty Smilanic and a 2022 fourth-round pick (Cédrick Guindon) for Ben Chiarot; a 2022 first-round pick (Filip Mesar), young winger Emil Heineman and a 2025 fifth-round pick for Tyler Toffoli; Justin Barron and a second-round pick in 2024 had been acquired for Artturi Lehkonen and finally Brett Kulak had brought in a second-round pick in 2022.
Unexpectedly, the Kulak trade may turn out to be the biggest of the lot. He allowed the Canadian to pick up a certain Lane Hutson at the end of the second round. Hutson, 19 since Tuesday, has 36 points in 27 games in his freshman season at Boston University.
Let’s console ourselves, the bank of hopes is already full, Montreal already has two first-round picks this summer, three fourth-round picks, two fifth-round picks, and an additional first-round pick in 2024 (or 2025) obtained with Sean Monahan, whose contract the Flames were looking to part with…
No Rick Tocchet effect in Vancouver
The Canucks are coming off a third straight loss on Wednesday against the New York Rangers. They allowed 17 goals in those three games and scored just 7. Vancouver has won three of its nine games since the firing of Bruce Boudreau and the arrival of Rick Tocchet. Two of those wins came against Chicago and Columbus, the worst clubs in the NHL. In the other seven games, they allowed 37 goals and scored 21.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Rick Tocchet
Tocchet lamented the poor physical conditioning of Canucks players last weekend. Despite a streak of four games in six days, he imposed on his men a rigorous training session on Sunday. Vancouver responded… with a stinging 6-1 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Tocchet is under contract for two more seasons after this one, at 2.75 million a year. A stormy marriage in perspective…