A Connor McDavid trade to the Canadiens is the kind of idea that lives in the “fun to imagine, impossible to ignore” category.
It’s a fictional scenario, and the source makes that clear. Still, once the conversation starts, it’s hard not to look at what it would take to land the best hockey player in the world.
TSN reporter Ryan Rishaug believes Edmonton’s window with McDavid is now measured in months, not years, even though No. 97 still has two years left on his contract. Next summer, the thinking goes, could become a real turning point.
If the Oilers stumble through a disappointing season, McDavid could ask for a trade.
That’s the backdrop for a mock proposal from the Top Tier Hockey account, which put together an offer for every team dreaming about McDavid. For Montreal, the price tag was steep: five players and two picks.
And that’s putting it mildly.
The reaction, unsurprisingly, split fans down the middle in a big way. In a poll of nearly 1,600 people, more than 60% of Canadiens fans said no, arguing the cost was too rich. On the Edmonton side, about 31% felt the package wasn’t enough, while only 9% of voters said the deal worked for both teams.
The math is brutal, but so is the player profile. McDavid is 29 years old and just finished a 138-point season in 82 games. He also carries a $12.5 million annual cap hit, with two years left on his contract.
So the question hangs there, simple and massive: would you make this trade?
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