The Montreal Canadiens sit in the bottom 10 spots of the NHL standings, making them a draft lottery team. Because of that, General Manager (GM) Kent Hughes will be a seller for the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Just because the team is a seller doesn’t mean he can’t add other valuable assets in a package with a veteran to sweeten a trade offer to attempt to add a piece that can be of long-term assistance.
Related: Canadiens Need to Trade David Savard to Maximize Value
By targeting an older prospect or young NHL player, he can fill a team need immediately. Hughes has shown a penchant for doing just that as he has traded for that type of player in the past, namely Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. Several players are struggling to get what they need to take the next step that Hughes can target.
Alexander Holtz – New Jersey Devils
Alexander Holtz would be a clear target for the Canadiens, who want to add scoring. Holtz has excellent speed, good mobility with lateral cuts, likes to go to the net, and is adept at finding open areas in the slot that he can dart in and out of, which allows him to set up and use his best weapons, his quick release and accurate shot. Ideally, these are all skills that Montreal is desperate to add to its top nine, including his ability to play a fast rush in transition. At only 22 years old, he fits with the age group of the Canadians’ core group and has the skills that complement players who are already in the system.
New Jersey’s deep forward group has made finding the Devils’ 2020 first-round pick consistent top minutes difficult. While he has shown flashes of his talents, he has struggled to maintain consistency in the NHL, which is why he plays an average of only 11:23 per game, and the vast majority of that time is on the fourth line. The depth of that forward group means he is unable to get what he needs now: top nine minutes. Also, he would benefit from playing with defensive-minded forwards with some playmaking skills. They could bail him out defensively, allowing him to focus on his offensive game, but they could also feed him the puck so he has more shooting opportunities.
The Devils are five points out of a playoff spot in the Metropolitan division behind a Philadelphia Flyers club that is without its starting goaltender. New Jersey has played well in streaks but has had to deal with defensive issues at times. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest needs the Devils face is to shore up their goaltending depth, as they currently own one of the worst team save percentages in the NHL. With the risk of losing a season due to a lack of quality or even average goaltending, Montreal could provide a veteran goaltender in Jake Allen. He could help to mask some of New Jersey’s defensive lapses. Allen’s numbers don’t seem too impressive, even though they are still better than anyone with the Devils. Allen has saved 3.8 goals above average, which places him among the top 20 goaltenders in the league, and he has done so playing for a lottery team and without the ability to play regularly as the Canadiens play a three-goalie system, eliminating any stability for him to build momentum.
The Devils have $8.3 million in deadline cap space, so taking on Allen’s $3.85 million contract is no problem for them this season. However, with a healthy Dougie Hamilton returning next season with his $9 million cap hit, there would be a need to shave off some cap, and for that reason, Hughes could retain 50% ($1.925 million). This provides more value if he hopes to land Holtz. More is going to be required; Montreal can offer the Winnipeg Jets’ 2024 first-round pick and even a young left-handed defenseman like Jordan Harris, who would improve them defensively as well. A deal like this helps New Jersey immediately improve in two areas while providing a pick to be used to address other needs. It leverages the value of a young player who can’t climb their depth charts. In Montreal, he would instantly be in the top six this season and play in an environment where the expectations are still somewhat low.
Kaapo Kakko – New York Rangers
The New York Rangers have had a somewhat unexpected style of rebuild. They started with a letter to the fans announcing the rebuild. Then they went on to win the NHL Entry Draft lottery, ending up with the 2019 second-overall (Kaapo Kakko) and 2020 first-overall pick (Alexis Lafreniere). Conventional wisdom would be that those two pieces became the cornerstones of the Rangers’ return to Stanley Cup contention, but they weren’t. Instead, free agents and trade acquisitions like Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, and Vincent Trochek led the way. Leaving the two players selected with lottery picks to be left to play on a third line.
Kakko has been unable to build on his career season of 40 points in 2022-23, settling for seven goals and 11 points in 39 games this season. Not at all what the Rangers were hoping for, especially with them sitting at the top of the Metropolitan Division standings and in win-now mode as their core group with Igor Shesterkin, Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider, and the players named above all in their prime years. Because of this, the priority for New York is to win now and not to spend time and resources to ensure Kakko is given the best opportunities to develop.
Kaako has 109 points in 247 NHL games and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility. While he is unlikely to be getting a large raise on his $2.1 million cap hit or a long-term contract in the next deal, he is likely to be looking for some form of opportunity to have a legitimate opportunity to win top six minutes. Not to mention, the Rangers are sitting very close to the salary cap ceiling, with only $4.4 million available in cap space at the deadline.
One of their bigger needs is on the wing, specifically the right wing, where Kakko hasn’t been able to move the needle. Montreal could build a package with the Jets’ 2024 first-round pick and Josh Anderson. While Anderson has been in a slump most of the season, a change of scenery, especially to a team going to the playoffs, would be the jolt he needs, as the Canadiens situation is enough to drain emotion and inspiration from a player like him. Surprisingly, he has been a more productive player than Kakko. This trade would also work under the cap as it adds $3.4 million, leaving New York $1.4 million to make any other move they can use the Jets’ first as a trade chip.
Anderson is a big, physical power forward who can play either wing. He has excellent speed on the wing, a punishing forecheck, and a knack for attacking the net. He also adds an edge to his game as someone who can defend himself or his teammates, and in a division that has the Rangers greatest villain, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, that would be a welcome addition. More importantly, Anderson is a proven playoff performer. He helped the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Canadiens crush the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff hopes in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and played a key role in Montreal’s run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. As a bonus for the Rangers, add a trade chip with the first-round pick Montreal adds to sweeten the deal and ensure that they don’t sacrifice their own first-round pick for 2024, nor any highly projected prospects like Brennan Othmann or Gabe Perreault.
Targeting young NHL players helps Hughes stagger the arrival of young players to the roster and stagger the arrival of larger contracts. Targeting these types of players allows management to speed up the rebuilding process, something the fanbase on social media is clamoring for, far faster than a late first-round pick who is 18 years old could ever do. This strategy would be a viable option to leverage Montreal’s non-core assets to fill needs immediately.