The Montreal Canadiens continue their roller coaster of a 2023-24 season as they win some and lose some more. Despite seeing several young players improve, the team is still trending towards a top-five pick in the upcoming entry draft. General manager (GM) Kent Hughes has his work cut out for him as he continues rebuilding the team roster and organizational depth.
Related: Canadiens Should Target Prospects Not Picks at Trade Deadline
With 23 draft picks in hand over both the 2024 and 2025 NHL Entry Draft, 11 of which are in the top 90, and one of the NHL’s deepest prospect pools, Hughes has the assets to fill gaps in the system. But could the cost of filling that gap mean Hughes could be forced to part with one of his young defensemen? Maybe even Jordan Harris? It is a real possibility.
Canadiens Trade Block
Sportsnet recently came out with its top 30 list of Trade Deadline candidates to be dealt with ahead of the March 8 NHL deadline. Harris, Montreal’s 2018 third-round selection, was one of four Canadiens, along with three veterans on the list. Goaltender Jake Allen, forward Tanner Pearson, and fellow defenseman David Savard. So, what are the chances the 23-year-old Harris gets traded?
Montreal currently has an embarrassment of riches on the blue line with more left-handed defenders than they know what to do with. Harris competes for ice time with other lefties like Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj. All of these players are going to compete for two roster spots behind Mike Matheson, who is currently the top defender in Montreal. This logjam is only going to get worse with Lane Hutson likely to sign late this season, something the Habs GM spoke about on The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test as being a thing that is likely to happen.
Why Harris and not someone else? While he is an excellent defender who skates well, is highly mobile, and has excellent puck-moving skills, he doesn’t have any one trait that stands out. His teammates, on the other hand, do. Guhle is projected to become a top-pairing defender who can do everything well. Hutson is seen as the next offensive weapon for the power play. Xhekaj is a behemoth who can intimidate and physically punish opponents and provide some offense.
Having a lot of good, young defensemen is a luxury most teams wish they had. But it isn’t without its problems. It makes it difficult to get everyone the amount of ice time they deserve or need to continue their development. Recently, Xhekaj, a fan favorite, was sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) for 17 games to allow him to work on his game and get the amount of ice time he needed to do so.
Canadiens Trading from Strength
Harris, a 23-year-old on a contract that pays him $1.4 million until the summer of 2025, has been in a rotation as a healthy scratch for a defenseman who is as comfortable and effective on the right side as he is on the left. With a team in dire need of adding scoring depth at forward, it may be time to trade from a position of strength, a left-handed defenseman, to fill their needs.
Harris is similar in age, playing style, and production as Columbus Blue Jackets defender Adam Boqvist, who is also the target of trade rumors. This shows there is a demand for young puck-moving defenders, which means their value is fairly high, but there may be a better comparable to provide a guide to his trade value to the Canadiens.
Montreal already showed their willingness to use their depth at defense to fill needs as they did at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft when Hughes dealt a former fan favorite, Alexander Romanov, to the New York Islanders for the 13th overall pick, that he then flipped to land centerman Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. While Hughes did trade Romanov for a pick, this time teams will need to offer more than a top-15 draft pick, they’ll need to be willing to part with a good young forward.
Canadiens Set High Cost
Just because Harris could be considered the odd man out on the left side of the blue line, that doesn’t lessen his trade value. That being said, the Northeastern University alumnus has been pushed down Montreal’s depth chart, only suiting up for 32 games this season, and logging just under 17 minutes per game on average.
Harris’ contract status makes him an attractive trade target, and with the logjam causing fewer chances for him to play, a change of scenery may be beneficial to him and, in turn, provide Hughes with something of value. It is no secret that Hughes thinks highly of the young defender, who is the former teammate and captain to the son of the Canadiens’ GM. So, he is likely to set a value similar to that of Romanov’s, but to get the scoring he desires, Hughes will almost certainly have to be packaged in a multi-player trade. With the trade deadline fast approaching, Harris’ name is an interesting one to keep an eye on for Canadiens fans.
