The Montreal Canadiens have begun to pull themselves out of their longest losing streak so far this season. Despite the great start that had fans drooling at the possibility of seeing their team host a playoff series this spring, that losing streak has dropped them out of a playoff position, the same problem they faced after 21 games played in the 2024-25 season. However, last season they were six points out of a wild-card spot; this season, they’re only two points out of first place in their division. It’s a vast improvement, but the Canadiens are still facing some of the difficulties they were dealing with last season.
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This means general manager (GM) Kent Hughes is burning up phone batteries scouring the NHL for some help in the Canadiens’ top six. He has provided as much as he can to the NHL roster using the team’s prospect pool; he now needs to push for outside help. They’ve been in the market for a centre since the beginning of the season for a reason, and the injuries have only made that more evident. The small roster moves Montreal has made in the last week seem to set the team up for that possibility. With the NHL holiday roster freeze (Dec. 20) coming up, Montreal is motivated to make a deal to keep themselves within reach of the top of the Atlantic.
Canadiens Make Moves to Set Up
The recent call-ups of Florian Xhekaj and Jared Davidson have given head coach Martin St. Louis players who can provide the bottom six an identity. They have played with energy and physicality and generated some scoring chances through their hard work. The bottom six being able to grind down opponents helps the top six, as it gives St. Louis more options to manage ice time for his top players.
This past weekend, Hughes made two moves, and neither was surprising. The first was signing Alex Texier to a one-year, $1 million deal. They added him without giving up any assets, and they structured his contract so it can be completely buried in the minors, which makes it a zero-risk move to add a bottom-six NHL-capable forward. It also helps backfill someone to fill in while the Canadiens wait for the return of any one of Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach or Alex Newhook.
The second move was the call-up of Adam Engstrom. That second one may be the one that has more impact for the club long-term, especially with them looking to add help at forward. What does the call-up of a defenceman have to do with the Canadiens shopping for help at forward? Nothing. Everything.
Moves made by team GMs aren’t always Machiavellian plots or four-dimensional chess; sometimes, they’re just plain checkers. Did Engstrom get the call-up so that Hughes and his management team can gather more information on his NHL readiness and organizational value? Yes. Is it to showcase him for a trade? Not really.
The main reason is the compressed schedule Montreal is facing until the holiday trade freeze. With only six proven NHL-level defenders, calling up Marc Del Gaizo from the American Hockey League (AHL) Laval Rocket as they have done before wasn’t going to cut it. He does have some NHL experience, but his call-ups so far were for insurance, break-glass-in-case-of-injury reasons. He wasn’t expected to play during those times with the Canadiens.
With Montreal on a Western road trip that includes playing back-to-back games against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche, help will be needed. That means whoever was called up will be expected to play in at least one game. Engstrom’s mobility and excellent play so far this season are a more effective fit to play on a third pair against those teams.
Canadiens On the Hunt
The Canadiens are turning over every stone to find someone who can fill their needs at centre. One name to keep an eye out for in the offseason is Belarusian center Vitali Pinchuk. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that “Several teams” have interest in him, one is most likely Montreal, after his season with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) comes to an end. It makes sense, the KHL 2026 All Star has good NHL size, too (6-foot-3, 203 pounds), is a point-per-game player (13 goals and 29 points in 29 games) and a left shooter.
Pinchuk is projected to be a middle-six forward with intriguing offensive upside that can produce on the power play. Also, he isn’t a total stranger to North American hockey. He was initially draft eligible in 2020 and spent that season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. He falls into the low-risk category as he turns 24 in January, so if he inks an NHL contract next summer, it means he is limited to a one-year, entry-level contract, then he becomes a restricted free agent. Montreal would be an interesting option for him due to the need for a left-handed centre, and the possibility of lining up with a fellow Russian speaker in Ivan Demidov.
But that doesn’t mean Hughes is going to wait. One sign is the scouting activity at the Bell Centre. It’s not unusual to see NHL scouts at Canadiens games, but it is unusual to see so many and several of them to also be at Laval Rocket games. Now that could be due to the upcoming Olympics and the finalization of rosters, but that explains seeing Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin in town for a Saturday night tilt between Montreal and the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, but not the 13 other scouts. According to Marco D’Amico of RG.org, it’s no secret that Montreal is actively shopping. His sources have stated that:
“Montreal is not done, that’s for sure. They’d like to add a centre or a top-six player to their lineup”
-RG.org Western Conference Source
Even with the trade market seemingly at a standstill, the scouts aren’t at these games by chance. Hughes wants to play “Let’s make a deal,” and the club is thin at centre. Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans, Oliver Kapanen, and Joe Veleno are the only “healthy” options right now. Even with the newly formed second line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Kapanen, and Demidov showing some flashes of their potential, it is still a line featuring two NHL rookies.
So far, it has been able to take some pressure off the top line, buying Zach Bolduc some time to find his rhythm on that trio. However, that won’t deter Hughes, who is looking for a more permanent solution. With a plethora of trade assets like their draft picks, prospects and the very deep pool of NHL left-handed defencemen, Hughes has the assets to build an attractive trade offer. This is where the Engstrom call-up becomes more than just a simple reward to a player. If Engstrom performs as expected or better, it provides Hughes even more NHL depth on the left side of the blue line.
That is where Engstrom’s call-up could have an impact. He adds depth and an option for a mobile player that can play either on the left or right side. Could it be a showcase? Sure, it can. But it could also be to see if he can replace someone else on that defence corps on a more permanent basis. He could make Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, Mike Matheson or even Kaiden Guhle trade bait.
While Guhle is obviously the least likely, Hughes will most likely need to move out salary and provide high-quality assets to land an impact forward who could immediately fill in as a top-six centre. Obviously, that is a low percentage scenario, but if Hughes is looking for more than just a mid-term stopgap, Guhle is someone who holds enough value to entice someone to move a younger centre that fits the current core’s age.
While the team battles to stay within striking distance of a top-three position in the Atlantic Division, Hughes has set himself up to make a move at any time. Montreal has been repeatedly linked to any centre that comes on the market. Hughes is likely in constant contact with his fellow NHL GMs in the hope that he can convince them to make a deal.
With the Dec. 20 trade freeze coming up fast, his history shows he is willing and capable of making it happen when his team needs it most. Due to the parity in the NHL, a bad week or a short losing streak could drop a team from being at the top of the standings in their division to being one to two spots outside of a wild-card position. So the time to make a move has arrived for Montreal.
