The Montreal Canadiens had to get rid of a few veterans as the trade deadline approaches, but the state of health of its available players will likely have handcuffed general manager Kent Hughes.
The Habs made just two trades on Friday’s trade deadline.
The first added depth to the defensive squad… the Laval Rocket. The other added depth to the offense…of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Canadiens obtained defender Frédéric Allard from the Los Angeles Kings in return for forward Nate Schnarr. Allard, 25, has scored two goals and added five assists in 35 games with the Ontario Reign this season. The team indicated that Allard would report to the Rocket.
The Habs also earned a 2024 fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks and defenseman Tony Sund for withholding 50% of Nick Bonino’s salary in a trade that sent the support center to the Penguins.
Sund is 27 years old and plays in Sweden. The Canadian gave prospect Arvid Henrikson to the Sharks in the trade.
Unsubstantiated rumors
Defenseman Joel Edmundson was probably the most valuable player available. He returned to action Thursday in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
However, Edmundson had missed the previous 11 games due to a back injury. The 29-year-old Manitoban has been limited to 64 games the past two seasons due to a recurring back problem. He had four goals and eight assists.
His contract is valid until the end of the 2023-2024 season, and the defender has an impact of US$3.5 million on the salary bill.
The names of forwards Sean Monahan, Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin and Christian Dvorak have also come up in trade rumors in recent weeks.
However, Monahan hasn’t played since Dec. 5 due to a foot injury, while Hoffman, Drouin and Dvorak aren’t having great campaigns in terms of their offensive production.
The most important transaction carried out by Hughes was therefore the acquisition of forward Denis Gurianov from the Dallas Stars in return for Evgenii Dadonov.
Gurianov scored his first goal for his new team in the loss to the Kings on Thursday night.
The Canadiens also added center Chris Tierney last week on waivers.
The Habs will face the Anaheim Ducks late Friday night.