Anticipating the 2024 trade deadline for the Habs

February 15, 2024

We are three weeks away from the 2024 trade deadline. By 3 p.m. EST on March 8th, we will have clarity about what General Manager Kent Hughes was able to accomplish to continue transforming the Montreal Canadiens into a consistent contender.

The management duo of Hughes and Jeff Gorton have already entered their seventh window of change since assuming leadership of the Habs. Before we anticipate what might go down in the next three weeks, here is a quick refresher on what HuGo has been able to pull off so far.

Hughes has already been active in this trade deadline window, and made the only deal we were sure he would make, dealing pending UFA Sean Monahan for a first round pick. If little else happens before the cock crows, that’s a tidy bit of business. But here are some deals that I’ll be looking for.

Hughes finding a new home for Jake Allen.

Hughes said this week on the Got Yer Back Podcast that he is prepared to wait until the summer, and that suggests to me that he has a potential offer or two on the table if nothing can get done before the deadline. Whether now or in July, Allen is not fetching a haul. If Hughes can get an offer that is anywhere close, Hughes will bite the bullet. But fans need to settle down – Allen was never fetching a significant return. The only way anything interesting comes back is if Hughes is willing to take an undesirable contract back.

What if the Colorado Avalanche wanted to deal for Adam Henrique, or another centreman, and what if they preferred to offload Ryan Johansen’s contract first. Would Allen and a guy like Jake Evans fetch a first round pick, or former first, if the Habs agreed to take RyJo? The Habs could use the veteran for a season and flip him next deadline.

Hughes has said he isn’t prepared to waive Allen. But perhaps he would waive another veteran goalie if he was sent back in an Allen trade, and perhaps taking that contract increases the return.

That’s where we’re at. The return for Allen is likely to be very modest unless Hughes chooses to get creative.

Hughes getting an offer for David Savard that he cannot refuse.

When asked about trading Savard, he gave the exact answer that he gave two years ago when he was asked about Artturi Lehkonen. He wasn’t looking to deal Lehkonen any more than he is to deal Savard, and there was and is no pressure on Hughes to make a deal. But when the right price point was hit, a fan favourite found a new home in 2022. When the right-shot defenseman market grows sparse, there will be a GM or two that remembers Savard. The only question will be if he hits the price point that Hughes cannot refuse.

Another GM discovering the merits of Jake Evans.

Evans is getting hot at the perfect time, with goals in consecutive games. But he’s more than that. He’s a hard working, faceoff winning, penalty killing, low maintenance, inexpensive depth centreman. What’s not to love? In a market that is not rich with pivots, I do wonder if a clever GM or two will come asking about Evans’ availability.

If Dvorak had been healthy, he would doubtless have been available. Since he is not, perhaps his time will come a year from now. In the meanwhile, Brandon Gignac is showing he can fill the 4C role in Montreal while kids develop. Evans should be available for the right offer – a second round pick sounds about right.

A wild card deal that no one saw coming.

I was expecting that a depth defender would be moved in a Kulak-type deal. Harris would have been my call before his injury, but unless his recovery is quick I’m less confident something will happen here. Perhaps Kovacevic will be on the move if Savard isn’t. With the number of defenders the Habs have in the system, a wild card deal involving one of them should not be shocking.

There are a couple of forwards who could be wild cards. Is there a Dadonov-type deal available for Pearson? Would Hughes use his last retention spot to get some value back for Armia?

What if Hughes chooses to move early rather than wait for the draft to move from his stockpile of assets for a young player who has become available? Trevor Zegras, Kent Johnson, and Casey Mittelstadt are all players that Hughes should be kicking tires on. There’s no rule that says he has to wait for the draft floor.

This deadline is already a success because of the first rounder that was acquired for Monahan, but Hughes is almost certainly not done. What is undetermined is how much he can get done in the next three weeks, and how the Habs will look when the seventh window of change closes.