The Canadiens didn’t land Kirill Marchenko, and that stings even more because Matthew Knies ended up in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ return. For Kent Hughes, that’s a tough swing to miss on after spending the summer circling one of the market’s top names.
Still, Montreal doesn’t have to force anything today. The bigger issue remains the same: the second-line center spot needs help. And if the Canadiens start shopping with that hole in mind, there are a few names worth keeping on the radar.
Mark Scheifele is one of them, and he could become available if the Winnipeg Jets decide to tear things down. Connor Hellebuyck’s situation is the one to watch first.
He requested a trade this summer and has refused to report, making it clear he won’t play again for Winnipeg. If the Jets move him, a rebuild could follow, and Scheifele would be among the players they might be willing to deal.
The fit makes sense on paper, even if there’s obvious age risk. Scheifele is coming off a career year with more than 100 points, but the question is how long that level lasts. Montreal does have a young core that should keep growing, so adding a veteran who can still drive a top-six role for a season or two might not be a bad use of assets.
Elias Pettersson is another possibility, though this one comes with a much bigger commitment. His production has slipped from 102 points in 2022-23 to 96 combined over the last two seasons, and any team trading for him has to absorb a contract that still has five years left after this season at an AAV of $11.6 million.
The key question with Pettersson is simple: is the dip on him, or on the Canucks? Vancouver hasn’t been very good over the last few seasons, and that matters.
In Montreal, he wouldn’t need to be the headline center every night. He could slide into a role with Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov and try to get back on track there.
Then there’s Ryan O’Reilly, who feels like the cleanest answer if the Canadiens want a bridge rather than a long-term commitment. Michael Hage is likely to join the roster before the end of this season, so Montreal may just need a veteran to hold things together until then. O’Reilly is in the final year of his deal, and even at 35, he’s still coming off a 74-point season.
He’d bring more than offense, too. O’Reilly has already won a Stanley Cup, played a huge role in the Blues’ 2019 title run, and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy. When you weigh the contract, the impact, and the likely trade cost, he stands out as the most natural fit on the list.
Shane Wright is the other rental-style option, though he’s more of a projection than a proven answer. His NHL production has been uneven, and after putting up 44 points in 2024-25, he dropped to 27 last season. That raises the same basic question as Pettersson: player or situation?
The appeal for Montreal is that the risk stays manageable. Wright is in the final year of his contract and will be a restricted free agent after this season, so the Canadiens wouldn’t be tying themselves to a long-term deal.
If it works, great. If it doesn’t, they could still trade his rights next summer and recover some value.
And just as important, bringing in Wright wouldn’t necessarily block Hage’s path to the NHL.
Montreal doesn’t need to rush. But as this season unfolds, these four names are the ones worth watching.
In Other News...
Oilers Face One Brutal Problem In Any Hellebuyck Trade Talk
Gary Bettmans latest comments about no-trade clauses landed with extra weight across the league, and not just for teams trying to shuffle veteran contracts. The commissioner said those clauses have grown beyond their original purpose, a reminder that player control can reshape the trade market in ways front offices have to navigate carefully. For Montreal, it also echoes a familiar frustration: when a deal depends on matching another clubs price in a very specific way, interest alone is never enough.
That kind of leverage is exactly why any chatter around the Edmonton Oilers and Connor Hellebuyck gets complicated fast. Winnipeg is in position to set the terms, and Edmonton does not have a deep pool of trade chips to work with, which makes the gap between rumor and reality feel especially wide. If a deal ever does get serious, the challenge will not be identifying a goalie of Hellebuycks caliber. It will be finding a package the Jets actually have reason to accept. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospects Are Starting To Shape Montreals Next NHL Wave
As Montreal looks ahead to the 2026-27 season, the organizations prospect pipeline is beginning to take a clearer shape, and a few names are moving from long-term ideas to real players worth tracking. Michael Hage remains one of the most important development stories in the system, while Alexander Zharovsky and Gleb Pugachyov are each at stages where their next seasons should say a lot about how quickly they can push into NHL conversation. Luke Mittelstadt is also part of that group, giving the Canadiens a mix of skill sets and timelines as the front office tries to line up the next wave.
For a team still building toward its next competitive core, the stakes are more than just prospect rankings. These coming seasons will help show which players can handle bigger roles, which ones can keep climbing, and which ones might eventually force Montreal to make room. The Canadiens do not need all of them to arrive at once, but the organization would love to see this group start turning promise into something more concrete before the 2026-27 picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Kent Hughes Went Further Than Fans Realized For A Top Forward
Montreals summer was busy enough to make it clear Kent Hughes is still pushing to speed up the rebuild, but one pursuit in particular showed just how far he was willing to go. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Canadiens made significant efforts to land a top forward from Columbus, spending real time on a deal that would have fit their long-term plans and added more punch up front.
The interesting part is how far Montreal was willing to get creative in order to make it happen, even if the Blue Jackets never bit. It was a reminder that Hughes is not just looking for smaller upgrades around the edges, and with the Canadiens already among the leagues more active teams this summer, future free-agent windows could bring more swings at impact talent. [Read more 🡒]