As sellers going into the upcoming NHL trade deadline, the Montreal Canadiens have a handful of players they could part with in exchange for future assets.
At the top of that list is centre Sean Monahan, who has been both a steady offensive force and a valuable veteran presence for the Canadiens over the past two seasons.
Amid a comeback season (13 G, 22 A, 49 GP), the 29-year-old’s $2 million cap hit is attractive for many teams looking to upgrade their bottom six, or even fill roles in their top trios. He also boasts the highest faceoff win percentage (55%) of any Habs centre.
With reports surfacing of multiple teams being interested in the Montreal forward, the latest one in the mix on Monahan appears to be the New York Rangers.
During the latest Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, insider Elliotte Friedman discussed New York’s interest, noting that Monahan is on the Rangers’ radar, especially since the club recently lost third-line centre Filip Chytil to injury.
“I think one of the teams that people are looking at are the New York Rangers,” Friedman reported. “The Rangers were already looking for a centre, and now they may have to look for two.”
With the Canadiens’ reported selling price for Monahan being a first-round pick, Friedman also revealed that the business relationship between Montreal and New York isn’t the best, which could make an agreement more difficult.
“There isn’t a lot of love lost between the two front offices,” he said, adding that he wonders if that will result in this being a “complicated deal to do.”
It’s also worth noting that since Monahan’s one-year contract ends in July, Montreal could technically rent him to a contender over the next few weeks and re-sign him in the summer as a free agent, if he’s willing.