The Canadiens are still hunting for help in their top six, and Patrick Kane has suddenly surfaced as a name worth watching.
Bruno Gervais made the case on BPM Sports, arguing that Kane fits the kind of player Montreal should be chasing right now. More than that, Gervais believes Kane would actually be open to the idea of coming to Montreal.
That puts the ball in Kent Hughes’ court.
The appeal is obvious from Montreal’s side. Ivan Demidov, only 20 years old, is coming off a 62-point season, and the Canadiens could use another elite offensive presence to work alongside him. Kane, even at 37, still brings the kind of touch and vision that can change a game in a hurry.
Last season, he put up 57 points in 67 games, a reminder that the hands and the hockey sense are still there. Gervais emphasized that this is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with plenty left to offer, and the fit with a young scorer like Demidov is easy to picture.
There’s also a smaller but meaningful wrinkle: the shootout. Kane has long been considered one of the best shootout players in NHL history, and that kind of skill can quietly swing points over the course of a season.
Nobody is pretending he’s a defensive specialist. Kane has never been known for his work in his own end, but that isn’t the job Montreal would be asking him to do. The arrival of Derek Lalonde should also help on the penalty-kill side.
With the market for top-six forwards thinning fast, the timing makes sense. The price is expected to be reasonable, and Kane, at 37, is looking for one more real chance to make an impact. Montreal will have to sell him on that opportunity, and on the chance to do it next to Demidov.
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 Fans Are Starting To Wonder About Kent Hughes Again
With the offseason still unfolding, the Canadiens are again being viewed as a team that could wait out the market before making its next move. Jim Biringer, speaking on TSN Radio, said Montreal has shown patience in past summers and expects management to be calculated rather than aggressive for the sake of activity, with any deal tied to the needs of the roster and the conditions around it. He also pointed out that the broader NHL landscape can shape what becomes available, especially when other clubs are squeezed by the cap.
For Montreal, that means the next step may not come quickly, even if fans are already scanning for signs of action from Kent Hughes. Biringer suggested the Canadiens are likely to do something later in the offseason, but the timing could be the sort that catches people off guard. If the right player becomes available from a cap-strapped team, the fit could make sense, but for now the picture remains open and the waiting game continues. [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 🡒]