Montreal Canadiens are inquiring about trades
Montreal Canadiens are looking into potential trades prior to February 29.
If you are a National Hockey League fan, you are well aware that the Montreal Canadiens are winners of 24 Stanley Cups. There is always pressure on them to win and if they fail in any form, fans demand changes. They have had many phenomenal players over the years and have the record of the most championships within the NHL.
The Canadiens won 18 of their first 25 games this season. However, they have won only five of their last 19 games. They have lost their starting goaltender Carey Price for most of the season, have had off the ice issues with Alex Galchenyuk as well as a tirade by defenseman PK Subban.
According to thefourthperiod.com, GM Marc Bergevin has different trade options prior to the February 29 deadline. Sources have told the website that talks are still ongoing between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Canadiens around forward Jonathan Drouin. Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman is reported as saying that he is alright with possibly dealing the forward to a fellow Eastern Conference rival. Yzerman is already facing another significant headache as he has unrestricted free agent hopeful Steven Stamkos to sort out. On July 1, he can write his own ticket to another organization for maximum dollars. If Stamkos leaves as a free agent, Yzerman and the Lightning organization end up with nothing to show for their former first overall pick.
The website is also saying that the Canadiens are checking in on forward Eric Staal, of the Carolina Hurricanes. If Staal were ever to be dealt to the Canadiens, he would have to approve the move to Canada.
The website also says that the original six franchise is kicking tires on the Vancouver Canucks Radim Vrbata and the Arizona Coyotes Mikkel Boedker.
The biggest need is an improvement in goaltending, since the loss of their superstar netminder Carey Price. It is still unknown if, or when, he will return. They have tried to avoid irrational trades. They have tried filling in with goaltender Mike Condon and recently traded Dustin Tokarski. The
obtained the young Tokarski in a trade. The
and the Canadiens recently constructed a deal in which forward Zack Kassian was dealt to the Oilers for goaltender Ben Scrivens.
The trade deadline is still almost six weeks away so rumors will continue. It can be a safe bet to assume that GM Bergevin will be proactive to improve his hockey club.