While the Montreal Canadiens have gotten off to an impressive start, they have only played eight games, and their division is proving that it will be competitive this season. The Canadiens are 5-2-1 and have gotten great goaltending from Jake Allen and impressive starts from a few of their players. Unfortunately, injuries have already gotten a hold of the team, and some players may just be off to hot starts and will begin to simmer down.
Despite the hot start to the season for the Canadiens, we will see scouts and general managers coming to their games and checking out players who might potentially fit on those teams by the trade deadline. One general manager, in particular, has already been interested in the Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois. As far as I can tell, he was there for the Canadiens, but the game was also against the Washington Capitals, who, at the time, were struggling.
We are going to take a closer look at the interest BriseBois would have in that game and who would fit into the Lightning lineup this season or in the offseason. By mid-season, the expectation is that the Lightning will be a playoff team and the Canadiens will have dropped out of a spot.
Lightning Thought They Might Need Goaltending
The Lightning likely came into this season very worried about their situation in net. Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent surgery that was expected to keep him out for a couple of months. It seems as though he is progressing well and could be on track to return earlier than expected (from “What Andrei Vasilevskiy is doing as Lightning ride hot Jonas Johansson”, Tampa Bay Times, Oct. 27, 2023). At the time, the Lightning didn’t know this was going to happen. What BriseBois did see was a 28-year-old goalie with 28 career starts holding the starting net for a good chunk of the season. The backup option behind Jonas Johansson wasn’t strong, either.
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The Lightning don’t have the type of defense core they used to, so there is an obvious need for a star in net to make up for lapses in play. That has been Vasilevskiy for a long time now. Johansson was unproven and started the season allowing 18 goals in five games and didn’t allow fewer than three in any of those games. Until he recorded back-to-back shutouts against the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks, I would’ve been scouting for a cheap option in net too. While the shutouts came after BriseBois scouted the Canadiens and Capitals game, that has to ease his mind a little bit now.
Things could always take a turn for the worse, and Johansson could either be forced to hold down the net for longer than expected, or he could really start to struggle. Vasilevskiy has played a ton since becoming the starter in Tampa Bay, so it is understandable why he didn’t look like himself in the playoffs last season and got injured. If BriseBois was looking at netminders, Sam Montembeault would be the obvious choice due to his very attractive cap hit and the high level of experience compared to Cayden Primeau.
Montembeault or Primeau weren’t the starters in that game, though. It was Jake Allen. The veteran has shown his worth this season, but unless Vasilevskiy is out for the entire regular season, there is no working around the cap to fit Allen in the Lightning lineup, even if 50 percent of his cap gets retained. Montembeault is in the last year of his contract at $1 million AAV, and there’s no guarantee he will get re-signed. He’s 27 years old, and despite being the better goaltender last season, his save percentage was only .901. It is the same this season, and he has been overtaken by Allen thus far.
Primeau is an interesting case. He now has to pass through waivers, so the Canadiens have held onto him to start the season so that they don’t lose him. There was a good chance that the Lightning were waiting for certain goalies to be available to them through waivers, and they didn’t choose to pick up any of the ones that did become available. Though I think it’s entirely possible the Canadiens roster three goalies all season, they could also be waiting for Vasilevskiy to come back for the Lightning so that there’s one less team that would be open to picking Primeau up if he’s then sent down.
Lightning Will Add Depth at Forward
The Lightning have lost valuable depth players over the past few years. This has caused the bottom-six to look worse for the most part. There’s no timetable for Tyler Motte’s return, Austin Watson has played 13 minutes this season, and Walterri Merela hasn’t done much in his first eight NHL games.
Even with injuries, the Canadiens have an excess amount of depth that they could move this season. Right at the top of that list is Sean Monahan, who is having a great start to the season. His cap hit would align perfectly with the Lightning’s lack of cap space to work with if 50 percent gets retained. This would benefit both teams, as the Canadiens were going to try and flip Monahan last season, but he was injured. His start to this season is even more impressive, and his cap hit is less than half of what it was. He is a very capable centerman but can also play on the wing seamlessly. He’s on the third line at the moment in Montreal and could slide right into the third line in Tampa Bay as well.
There will most likely be a bidding war for Monahan, so he might be tough for the Lightning to acquire. Another option is Tanner Pearson. With a $3.25 million AAV cap hit, even retaining 50 percent might not work to get a deal done. The former Vancouver Canucks veteran has started the season strong as well, with three goals and five points in eight games from the third line. If there is an injury, he should be someone the Lightning look at. There’s almost no way the Canadiens keep him through the season.
Related: 9 Canadiens Who Won’t Be Traded in 2023-24
What has started to make more sense for the Canadiens is trading Jake Evans. He is the fourth-line center and on a fairly good deal. He isn’t exactly anything special on a non-contender, and the organization has players that they could call up in his place. He has this year and next on his contract, would be inexpensive for the Lightning to acquire, and the cap hit would work with cap retention.
Lightning Looking at Young Options on Canadiens Defense
While both of the first two possibilities are more exciting in the short-term, there’s also the option that the Lightning and BriseBois are scouting ahead for the offseason. It is well known that the Canadiens have a very strong defensive prospect pool that now looks even better with the great play by Justin Barron in the NHL this season. Not only is the team filled with talented young defensemen, but there are more on the way they have to make room for.
The Lightning, on the other hand, don’t have a strong prospect pool when it comes to their defense. Four defensemen who are options for the team this season may not be next season, as Haydn Fleury, Calvin De Haan, Zach Bogosian, and Philippe Myers are all unrestricted free agents (UFA) in 2024. I’m going to assume that one of those four, at the most, will be back next season. The Lightning could use some young and cheap talent. Whether it be Jordan Harris, Johnathan Kovacevic, Mattias Norlinder, or another, it is something the Canadiens need to look into and entertain when another team comes calling.
The Canadiens are bound to make some moves this season to improve themselves for the future. The Lightning are a viable trade partner at some point this season, as they are in different stages right now. It will be interesting to see what is done with the Habs’ roster this season and the offseason. They aren’t long away from coming out of a rebuild.
