The Montreal Canadiens technically didn’t need to re-sign defenseman Kaiden Guhle. With one year left on his entry-level contract, general manager Kent Hughes could have waited. Perhaps not until his contract expired, so as to avoid the threat of an offer sheet, but it wasn’t necessarily a priority for this 2024 offseason.
For the purposes of this piece, temporarily put aside the potential Guhle’s six-year, $33.3 million deal has to become a bargain, based on his all-around play and the spot at the top of the lineup the Canadiens seem to have earmarked for him. The fact that Hughes got that done as well as the extension of Juraj Slafkovsky, signed under similar circumstances, is a credit to him and a reflection of the high quality of his body of work.
Not only did Hughes wisely lock up both young players for arguably the prime years of their respective careers (up until Age 29 in each case). He also instead went bridge in the instances where it made sense, signing defensemen Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj, who had entered the offseason as restricted free agents, to near-matching, cost-effective two-year deals.
Hughes Capable of Making Splash via Trade (if He Wants)
Regardless of how you feel about the potential of either one to move up the lineup like Guhle and Slafkovsky have, those were the deals that absolutely had to get done from a sheer time-management perspective. Now that Hughes has, he’s got a month and change before training camp to potentially make a bigger mark this offseason, potentially via trade or free agency, even though, and this can’t be stressed enough, it was never a necessity.
Related: Canadiens GM Hughes Not Guaranteed to Make Big Offseason Splash
Some in the media may have anticipated Hughes making a big offseason splash/perpetuated the myth he would. However, like last summer, when he pushed over the first domino, trading Mike Hoffman (and Rem Pitlick) to the Pittsburgh Penguins to free up roster space, it’s more so a luxury than anything else. Oh, it was an impressive piece of wheeling and dealing on Hughes’ part. However, in retrospect, seemingly clearing space for Jesse Ylonen by trading Hoffman, didn’t work out as planned, as the Canadiens ultimately failed to qualify the young Finn after an underwhelming 2023-24 season. Regardless, the point is that Hughes only made that trade in early August, around the point we are now.
It wasn’t until Sep. 19 that he dealt Casey DeSmith, the goalie he had acquired in the initial Hoffman/Jeff Petry trade, that Hughes effectively got all his offseason business done (a day before training camp officially opened). So, Hughes has got time to make a move or two… if he even feels the need.
The Christian Dvorak Conundrum
Some may say the stakes are higher now. A year further along the rebuild, the Canadiens have more core pieces in place in need of ice time. If anything, the fact Ylonen panned out as badly as he did (while as a member of the Canadiens anyway) kind of shows how a player who had demonstrated middle-six potential at least can take a developmental turn for the worse without a place higher up the lineup to which to move. So, there should be greater urgency to move a player like Christian Dvorak, who so clearly doesn’t figure into the team’s future plans at this point, especially with Joshua Roy projected to make the roster.
Consider it the conundrum Hughes faces ahead of 2024-25. Alex Newhook successfully stepped in for the injured Kirby Dach at centre last season. Dach’s impending return from injury means there won’t be room for Newhook down the middle. If Newhook goes back to the wing, there likely won’t be room in the top six for Roy, despite him arguably having earned a spot there last season. And, based on how Ylonen failed to gain traction up the lineup or in the organization this past season, you’d want to put Roy in the best position to succeed as possible, considering how much he means to the organization as a potential top-six forward.
Trading Dvorak would theoretically solve all those issues in one fell swoop. That’s why it should arguably be considered Hughes’ final remaining priority for this offseason (albeit a low-level one), even amid rumours the Canadiens are in on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine.
Laine has a certain allure as a 26-year-old point-per-game player (in principle). Conveniently disregarding his time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program under the assumption he can regain his form, it’s clear Hughes should try his best to improve his team.
The irrefutable fact is, whether it’s by trading Dvorak or trading for Laine, he’s ahead of schedule, by virtue of all he’s accomplished this offseason so far. As alluded to at the start though, he’s technically ahead of schedule by a season. He doesn’t need to acquire Laine, especially taking into account what he would probably have to give up to get his hands on a former 40-goal scorer. Like he did with Joel Armia last season, he could also demote Dvorak instead of trading him. It would be less than ideal, considering it’s his last year under contract and you’d imagine Hughes would want to maximize his value and get something for him by the trade deadline at the latest, but it goes to show he has options.
There is no time like the present, admittedly. However, if you take a step back and objectively assess what Hughes has accomplished, that last sentence takes on a whole new meaning. It’s a great time to be a Canadiens fan, regardless of what transpires the rest of the offseason based largely on what already has.
