Two consecutive trade deadlines, two similar outcomes, but two vastly different contexts. For the second straight year, the Montreal Canadiens stayed quiet at the trade deadline, with captain Nick Suzuki infamously asking general manager Kent Hughes to stand pat in 2025.
Maybe too much was made about that private discussion. If his recent relatively muted comments made to the media, similarly suggesting the Canadiens also do nothing in 2026, are anything to go by, it’s hardly the stuff of legend:
“I’m honestly pretty happy with our group… I have full belief in all the guys we have already and I think pretty much everyone would say the same,” Suzuki had said a few days ago.
Ultimately, Suzuki said he didn’t know what management had planned, but implied if it were him he’d keep the team together, which is hardly earth-shattering for a captain to put out into the world. However, to his credit, the Canadiens did pull off the incredibly unexpected by making the postseason last season, when, heading into the deadline, they had been one point out (with one extra game played).
Canadiens in Better Position in 2026… Just Not to Make Trades
This time around, in 2026, one day after the deadline, the Canadiens find themselves (fairly) solidly in a wild-card spot, four points up on the ninth-place Columbus Blue Jackets. So, you might have expected Hughes to do something, anything. At least logic dictated he should do more than the absolute zero moves he made the day of, with an objectively better team that is arguably in a better position to do damage this spring. However, while he did tell the media after the deadline that one deal in particular went down to the wire (obviously to no avail), one that could theoretically be revisited in the summer, devoting assets at least to the acquisition of rentals makes little sense, when this specific edition has too many question marks.
Kent Hughes said Habs went down to the wire on a deal that didn’t get consummated today but could be done in the summer.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 6, 2026
Their goaltending specifically continues to leave a lot to be desired, an assessment Sam Montembeault only reinforced against the Anaheim Ducks last night after the deadline had passed. Not only did he give up five goals in regulation, many of which of the shaky variety, but he gave up another late lead, leading to a loss. He did the same last week against the New York Islanders and against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 24.
That one loss seemed to prompt the Canadiens to go with Jakub Dobes from that point forward, immediately after which the rookie went 3-0-1. However the one overtime loss, to the Minnesota Wild, also came after the Habs had given up a one-goal lead in the third period. And Dobes did little to instill faith in his efforts to be “the guy,” when he gave up six goals, including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal with less than five minutes to play against the San Jose Sharks a few nights ago. All that to say, in giving up leads with the frequency they do, with a team save percentage (.880) well below the league average (.896), the Canadiens have significant goaltending issues that wouldn’t exactly justify going all in this season of all seasons.
Related: 10 Stats that Define the Canadiens’ 2025-26 Season at Olympic Break
While there’s always a chance Dobes or Montembeault find their respective games over the next month and change, it would realistically have amounted to a waste of assets to address any one need outside of the net. And, with goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler expected to make the transition to full-time NHL duty soon, trading for help in net would also have represented a misstep on the part of Hughes that could have potentially added obstacles in the way of his development, when the team seems to have significant faith in his current career trajectory.
So, looking at what the Blue Jackets (Conor Garland) below them and what the Buffalo Sabres (Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley, Sam Carrick) and Detroit Red Wings (Justin Faulk, David Perron) above them did at the deadline, it might leave an empty feeling in your stomach. However, if the Canadiens weren’t going to improve their goaltending, any move for an unrestricted free agent in general likely wouldn’t have done much to improve the team’s long-term prospects, while sacrificing some of their actual prospects for little projected benefit.
Laine Stays with Canadiens for Now
This is a team that, as Hughes pointed out, continues to have NHL-calibre players sit out of games, because they’re filled to the brim with talent everywhere else across the lineup. That includes Patrik Laine, who still hasn’t been activated despite having returned to practice following an early-season injury. There doesn’t appear to be a reason to rush him back, because where would you slot him in, which is an odd thing to say about a 27-year-old 40-goal scorer.
The undeniable issues playing the defensively lax Finn at even strength notwithstanding, Laine could represent a viable weapon on the power play down the stretch, as he led the team in goals on the man advantage last season. That isn’t to say Laine is a trade-deadline acquisition the Canadiens didn’t have to trade for, because, despite his potential to make a difference, it’s unlikely the Habs see him in that light. However, if one deal would have been made, you’d have to think it would have been to trade him, to, as Hughes said yesterday, accommodate him.
Of note, Hughes didn’t use Laine as a scapegoat for his inactivity yesterday. As he told the media, Laine’s $8.7 million cap hit didn’t prevent him from making any separate moves. He just didn’t see the right opportunity that aligned with his mandate to continue building a team capable of winning in the long term, at the right price. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s everything right with that as a strategy, despite a general hope the Canadiens would have pulled the trigger on something to improve their chances at winning now… when all signs point to them not having the team to legitimately contend this season, because of their issues.
Hughes Makes Right Move Not to Make a Move
The truth is, with in-his-prime St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas having stayed put, especially without having gone to a division rival, there really shouldn’t have been any urgency for Hughes to make a trade. Going back to just last summer, when he acquired top-pairing-defenseman Noah Dobson, he hasn’t exactly shown an inability to make a big move, if the situation calls for it.
“We’re not afraid to [build through trades, as opposed to just through the Draft],” he said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to keep moving the needle forward if we find those deals, but by the same token we’re not going to transact for the sake of transacting so that everybody’s happy in the moment and then next year comes around and we’re all scratching our head as to why we did it.”
What should be the biggest takeaway is, despite any disappointment on the part of Canadiens fans, especially without having brought in any veteran help, this team remains one of the youngest in the league, one that continues to improve year over year. Their time for big moves to be made at the deadline will come eventually, even if it wasn’t this deadline.
“I certainly wouldn’t go into it thinking this year represents an opportunity for us that’s not going to exist in the future,” Hughes concluded his media availability. Maybe a different outcome next year.