As Kent Hughes keeps looking for a move that actually nudges the Canadiens forward, the reality of the market may force him to part with more than draft picks and prospects.
Montreal has already gotten through a good chunk of July without a major addition. Outside of re-signing Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes, Hughes hasn’t landed the kind of impact move that would change the look of the roster. He has stayed away from free agency rather than hand out money to players who probably wouldn’t have moved the needle much anyway, and while he’s been working the phones, the right deal still hasn’t come together.
The problem is simple: if a team wants to trade for help, it usually has to offer something that helps the other side right now. The Canadiens have some appealing futures, including Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky, but neither is expected to be in the NHL this season.
That can make them less useful in a deal for a team that wants a roster player. Montreal’s draft picks have also lost some shine now that the team has climbed in the standings.
That leaves Hughes in a familiar spot. If he wants to bring in a meaningful piece, he may need to put a roster player on the table.
Last summer, when he brought in Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, Emil Heineman had to be included. Mathieu Darche wanted a roster player even with two first-round picks coming back the other way.
That’s the price of doing business when the target is someone who can actually move the needle.
Heineman’s own path is a useful reminder of how these decisions get made. The Swede had a strong rookie year in Montreal, finishing with 18 points in 62 games.
That total likely would have been higher if he hadn’t been hit by a car in Salt Lake City, an incident that cost him 20 games and left him waiting for his wrist to heal. Even with that setback, he had shown enough to get the Islanders’ attention.
This season, Oliver Kapanen filled a similar role for Montreal. The 22-year-old Finn posted 37 points in 82 games and earned a spot on the Finnish Olympic team.
He didn’t get much ice time in Italy, but the selection still says plenty about how he’s viewed. Some will point to Ivan Demidov as the reason behind Kapanen’s 22 goals, but even with good setup, somebody still has to finish the play.
Kapanen’s value is helped by the fact that he plays center, a position that is never easy to find on the market. He faded a bit in the second half, which is hardly unusual for a first-year player, but he still looks like someone with real trade value.
And unlike a prospect who hasn’t played a game in the NHL, Kapanen already has that proof of concept. The Canadiens know he can play at this level.
That doesn’t mean he should be available for just anything. Montreal is not exactly overflowing down the middle, so Kapanen would only make sense as part of a package that brings back a serious upgrade to the top six. With so many teams pushing ahead in their rebuilds, the idea of landing impact help by dealing only futures looks increasingly unrealistic.
If the other side wants defense instead, Montreal may have to consider that path too. Kaiden Guhle is signed for five more years and brings a gritty style that could draw interest. He also has the kind of value that makes him more attractive in a trade than Jayden Struble, who has one year left on his deal, or Arber Xhekaj, who still hasn’t signed a new contract.
In Other News...
Another Atlantic Move Just Turned Up The Heat On Kent Hughes
Another Atlantic Division domino has fallen, and it matters in Montreal because every comparable contract helps shape the market Kent Hughes is navigating. Peyton Krebs and the Sabres have settled on a long-term extension, taking one more name out of the summer arbitration picture and giving Buffalo another piece of offseason certainty as it continues reshaping its roster.
For the Canadiens, the timing is hard to ignore with Kirby Dach still set for a July 30 arbitration hearing. Krebs recent production gives the deal some context, but the bigger takeaway for Hughes is how quickly neighboring teams are locking in their young forwards, which only sharpens the pressure on Montreal as its own negotiation clock keeps ticking. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Entered One Of Summers Biggest Money Stories
The first wave of NHL free agency has already produced a few eye-catching deals, but Montreals place in the conversation comes through Ivan Demidov, whose extension stands among the biggest commitments signed since July 1. The Canadiens have spent the summer watching the market get reset around them, with other notable names like Leo Carlsson, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Andersson and Nico Hischier helping define the early spending spree across the league.
For Montreal, the real significance is less about the headline value than the security it creates around a player the organization clearly wants to anchor its future. The deal does not begin until 2027-28, which means the Canadiens can plan well ahead while the rest of the league keeps sorting through a still-active market that includes several unsigned names, from Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko to Jason Robertson, Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Face A Tense Kirby Dach Decision This Summer
Kirby Dachs summer has taken a familiar turn for a young player still trying to establish his place in Montreal. He is the only Canadiens player to elect for arbitration, and his hearing is set for July 30, giving the club and the forward a narrow window to settle on a new deal before a third party steps in and decides the price.
For the Canadiens, the situation is about more than just one contract number. Dach filed after receiving a qualifying offer from Montreal, and the final figure could shape both his role on the roster and the teams flexibility if general manager Kent Hughes decides to explore trade options later on. For now, the clock is ticking, and Montreal still has time to work out an agreement before the hearing becomes unavoidable. [Read more 🡒]