NHL Trade Rumors: Canadiens open to moving Alex Galchenyuk

Could Alex Galchenyuk be on his way off of the Montreal Canadiens? 

The Montreal Canadiens are desperately trying to bring home a Stanley Cup. They haven’t won one since 1993 and fans are starting to get rather impatient. To be fair, the Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups of any franchise, so their fans have every right to be spoiled. How far are they willing to go? Elliotte Friedman notes they might be willing to trade Alex Galchenyuk.

"I would like to stress this is my opinion: In what is going to be an intense week for Montreal GM Marc Bergevin, my sense is his biggest looming decision concerns Alex Galchenyuk.The shuffling between centre and wing show a player and an organization still struggling to find the right fit. Galchenyuk’s contract is up. He is two years away from unrestricted free agency and eligible for arbitration. Many of his peers are getting long-term deals in the $6-$7 million range. With 30 goals last season and 29 points in 37 games this year, he is going to get paid."

This boils down more to the cost of Galchenyuk than anything else. The Canadiens have no fewer than three players on very cheap deals. Two of them are Carey Price and Max Pacioretty. Montreal has to deal with extending both of their franchise cornerstones within the next two years. With Alex Radulov likely earning an extension and Tomas Plekanec not drawing interest, Galchenyuk could be an odd man out.

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Friedman notes one possibility in his article. Galchenyuk could be a part of a Matt Duchene trade.

"If you think you can have a more established Duchene at a potentially lower number for the next two years than Galchenyuk, does Montreal do it?"

Considering what the going rate for number one centers is these days, Duchene’s $6 million cap hit is pretty cheap. Montreal is going to be active at the NHL trade deadline, so it should be interesting to see how it all pans out.