The Montreal Canadiens may still have something brewing, even if it hasn’t shown up yet.
That was the message from Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com, Full Press Hockey, and RG Media during an appearance on TSN Radio in Montreal, where he was asked whether fans should expect the Canadiens to make a move before camp.
Biringer said he does think deals will happen around the league, and Montreal could be one of the teams involved. But he made it clear this is not the kind of front office that rushes into action for the sake of appearances.
“Yeah, I think there’ll be some moves made. Look, with respect to the Montreal Canadiens, we’ve seen this before.
Kent Hughes takes his time. He’s scouring the market.
Patience, right? Jeff Gorton has talked about this too.
Being patient, being calculated. That’s what they did.
I mean, look, we expected, we had the big move. Everybody expected.
Maybe we were trained like wrestling fans to expect something big, a big surprise to happen at the Draft or July 1.
But the years that they locked up their core guys, it was later in the offseason that they did something. A couple of years ago, it was a Patrik Laine move.
Take a risk there. I do believe that they’re going to do something.
They just have to figure out what the best player is for them and the best salary to bring in. They’re calling, but again, it takes two to tango, as Kent Hughes has said.
And with other teams around the league, I think we have to wait to see what the market is for guys like Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard in Chicago, and what happens with Quinn Hughes in Minnesota. Obviously, Macklin Celebrini is due for an extension in San Jose. That’s something that they’re going to be watching.
But if you can go to a team that’s up against the cap, Dallas, say, Colorado, a team like that, maybe you can get a player that’s necessary, that can fit into your roster and fill a need, but again, it’s always calculated.
They’re just not going to make a move just to make a move because the rest of the division did something. Montreal’s in good shape.
You get another year of your young players. Maybe Oliver Kapanen takes another step.
Obviously, the Kirby Dach arbitration hearing is coming up. Do they get there?
Is that a piece that they move off of?
So I expect something from the Montreal Canadiens. When it is, it’s probably when we least expect it. That’s what I believe.”
Biringer also pointed to the wider market as something Montreal will be watching closely, naming the situations involving Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard in Chicago, Quinn Hughes in Minnesota, and Macklin Celebrini, who is due for an extension in San Jose.
For now, the Canadiens appear willing to wait, monitor the market, and see whether a deal opens up with a team that’s pressed against the cap, such as Dallas or Colorado. And if Montreal does make a move, Biringer’s view is that it will come on the club’s timeline, not the public’s.
In Other News...
Canadiens Face A Tough Call On Two Veteran Forwards
Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson are both heading into the final year of their contracts, which puts the Canadiens in a familiar spot: weighing present value against the long view. Danault has been one of Montreals most useful all-around forwards since arriving, carving out a role as a penalty-kill and faceoff presence, while Anderson has given the club speed, size and a steady dose of physical edge since coming over from Columbus.
The tricky part is timing. Montreals center depth is getting more attention, and any decision on Danault could hinge on whether younger options are close enough to push for bigger minutes. Andersons case is different, but no less complicated, since his role has been tied closely to the penalty kill and his offensive ceiling in Montreal has remained a moving target as the team keeps trying to balance veteran reliability with the next wave of talent. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Landed In A Scoring Debate Fans Know Well
The Canadiens keep showing up in the kind of trade chatter that usually follows a team with cap room and a growing need to turn promise into production. According to David Pagnotta, Anaheim is looking to move a veteran forward and is even willing to attach a second-round pick to the deal, which is the sort of extra incentive that can make a player with a pricey contract suddenly feel a lot more realistic for a club like Montreal.
For the Canadiens, the appeal is obvious enough. The player in question has a track record of putting the puck in the net, even if the recent numbers have been more modest than his peak years, and his deal runs only through next summer. Montreal has been mentioned as a possible fit because it can absorb money and because its recent progress makes this the kind of swing a front office at least has to consider, even if the final price tag is still the part everyone is waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]