A late-night move out of Nashville has only sharpened the spotlight on Kent Hughes and the Canadiens.
Luke Evangelista is now a New Jersey Devil, after the Predators dealt the forward for a first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. It’s a hefty return for a 24-year-old winger who looked like the kind of player Montreal spent the summer chasing.
Evangelista checked a lot of boxes for the Canadiens. He had his best NHL season last year, finishing with 56 points in 81 games, and his 44 assists were a career high. Through 253 games, he’s put up 142 points, and his underlying numbers have also drawn notice.
That’s why the price tag turned heads. Montreal, with one of the deepest prospect pools in the league, had the kind of assets that could have built a serious offer without touching its top young players.
Kent Hughes made it clear after the draft that he was frustrated by how things played out, saying he failed to land the impact forward he was targeting. Whether Nashville would have liked a Canadiens package better than the one it took from New Jersey is impossible to know. What is clear is that another offensive forward is off the board, and he’s heading to the Eastern Conference.
For Montreal, that’s the part that stings. Evangelista looked like exactly the sort of addition that could have helped, and with training camp coming up, every swing and miss only adds to the pressure on Hughes’ offseason.
In Other News...
Canadiens Pressure Is Rising As Trade Options Still Linger Before Camp
With training camp drawing closer, the Canadiens are still being linked to a handful of names that could reshape the conversation around the roster if anything actually comes together. Dylan Larkin sits near the top of the speculative board, while Rasmus Ristolainen remains part of the broader discussion as Montreal keeps weighing ways to add help before the season begins. Nothing on this front is close to confirmed, but the fact that these options are still being floated says plenty about the pressure building around the clubs next move.
Cutter Gauthier has also come up as a possible fit because of his contract situation with Anaheim, and Shane Wright is another name circulating in the same trade chatter. The common thread is obvious: Montreal is looking at players whose situations could make a deal more realistic than usual, even if each case comes with its own complications. For now, it remains a waiting game, with the Canadiens watching the market and the rest of the league trying to determine who might actually be available when the talks get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Sam Montembeault Decision They Didn't Expect
Samuel Montembeaults place in Montreal has shifted since Jakub Dobes arrived, but the bigger issue now is less about the depth chart and more about timing. Once the Canadiens primary goaltender, Montembeault is entering a contract year, which naturally puts his future under a different kind of scrutiny than it did a season ago.
The discussion around him has picked up because of turbulence elsewhere in the goalie market, with Connor Hellebuycks trade request in Winnipeg potentially setting off a chain reaction. If that happens, Montreal could be drawn into movement it did not plan on, and Montembeault may wind up at the center of a decision the Canadiens never expected to confront this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Have A Real Second Center Question To Answer
A suddenly familiar name has entered the Canadiens conversation at center, and it comes from outside their own locker room. Dylan Larkin, who is under contract with the Red Wings for five more years, has been tied to Montreal by TSNs Bryan Hayes as a possible fit for a club that could use more depth down the middle. The appeal is easy to see from the Canadiens side, especially with Larkins friendship with Cole Caufield adding a layer of intrigue to any theoretical matchup.
Still, this is where the idea gets complicated. Larkins no-trade clause gives him control over where anything goes next, and a deal would only happen if he decides Montreal is a place he wants to be. For now, the Canadiens have a real second-center question to answer, but the answer may depend on whether the player at the center of the speculation even sees Montreal as a destination. [Read more 🡒]