With a dozen draft picks in their possession and a free agent market full of talent, the Montreal Canadiens are expected to be busy this offseason.
And as Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has shown over the previous two drafts, acquiring the likes of Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, he is not afraid to pull the trigger on a trade early into the summer.
If he’s open to making more deals this time around, Montreal, who are three years into an ongoing rebuild, have a handful of pieces that make sense to move.
Christian Dvorak
Acquired for a first and third round pick back in 2021, forward Christian Dvorak has not looked great in his Habs tenure. And considering that Montreal already has Dach, Newhook, Nick Suzuki, and Jake Evans up the middle, his future here is uncertain.
Plagued by injuries for a good chunk of his tenure, the 28-year-old centre’s offensive production has come to a halt in recent seasons, netting nine points over 30 games in 2023-24.
With one year left on a deal that will see him carry an average cap hit of $4.45 million, fans shouldn’t expect a huge return in a Dvorak trade.
Nevertheless, if there is a buyer, it’s best to retain something for him while the Canadiens still can.
Joel Armia
Acquired during the Bergevin era, many fans are a little surprised to still see Joel Armia in the lineup.
The Habs reportedly tried to send the Finnish forward away in a trade last summer, but nothing came of it. A few months later, Armia was sent to the AHL, clearing waivers on his way down.
That’s usually a good indicator that a player possesses little to no trade value, but the 30-year-old turned his game around after being recalled to the NHL in late November.
Armia finished third on Montreal’s scoring leaderboard with 16 goals on the season. He also tied his season-high goal mark, reaching the feat in only 59 games this year.
While some are delighted to see such a major turnaround in his play, right now would be the optimal time to trade Armia.
Jordan Harris
Canadiens defenceman Jordan Harris was the subject of multiple reports ahead of the March 8 trade deadline.
That came as no surprise given the cavalcade of young defencemen in Montreal’s pipeline,
With lefties like Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, and Lane Hutson all looking to retain permanent spots in the lineup, the Habs may have trouble creating room for the 23-year-old, making him expendable.
Harris is an offensive defenceman. But with poor offensive stats and fewer opportunities than the year before, the 23-year-old struggled this past season, netting just three goals and 11 assists over 56 games.
David Savard
Aside from Sean Monahan, who was shipped off to Winnipeg in February, no Canadiens player had bigger trade expectations this year than veteran blueliner David Savard.
Things got especially close right around the deadline when the 33-year-old told reporters he didn’t want Montreal to trade him.
Acting as both a key defensive asset and an important veteran presence, Savard could fetch plenty of value on the market.
However, he still has one more season remaining on a deal that has him at an affordable $3.5 million cap hit. That means Montreal could wait another year to trade him without risking losing his services for nothing via free agency.
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