Three weeks into free agency, the Montreal Canadiens still haven’t added an outside NHLer, and Kent Hughes has also stayed quiet on the trade front. The result, at least for now, is a roster that looks a lot like the one that fell in five games in the Eastern Conference Final.
That doesn’t mean Hughes has failed to do the job. Quite the opposite, really.
He’s avoided the kind of big-money mistakes and bloated contracts that usually come with free agency, and that approach has worked for him over the last five years. But with several core players already locked into team-friendly deals, there’s also a point where the Canadiens need to give those bargains something back.
Maybe that answer comes later, once more prospects arrive and the cap room gets used to keep them around. In the short term, though, Montreal could use a stopgap.
That’s where Patrick Kane enters the conversation.
The 37-year-old still produced 57 points in 67 games for the Detroit Red Wings last season, which is no small thing. He may not be the cleanest fit defensively, but his hockey sense and decision-making remain elite, and that kind of skill set could fit neatly into Martin St-Louis’ style.
The real question is whether Kane would buy into a full 200-foot game. If he can, he looks like the sort of one-year swing that makes sense for a team that has not been able to land anyone else. Kane’s recent cap hits have also stayed manageable, sitting at $3 million last year, $4 million the year before, and $2.75 million three years ago.
He also brings something the Canadiens don’t have much of in the room: three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks and the experience of knowing what it takes to get all the way there. At the very least, he’s a name Montreal should be seriously weighing, especially if the idea is to put him on Ivan Demidov’s wing. That could be a real difference-maker.
In Other News...
Former Canadiens Grinder Just Got A Rare Stanley Cup Honor
Nicolas Deslauriers has always been the kind of player teams appreciate when the games get heavy, and that reputation followed him to Carolina after the trade deadline. Brought in for depth and physicality, the former Canadien ended up part of a championship run and later got to spend a day with the Stanley Cup in North Wildwood, where he drew a big crowd of fans eager to see the trophy up close.
The celebration came with a little extra significance for Deslauriers, too, because the Hurricanes also locked him in on a new two-year contract during the title festivities. For a player who played only one playoff game, it was already a memorable finish to the season, and the unusual way his name ended up connected to the Cup only added to a day that felt bigger than his role on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Have Found Their Closest Thing To Shea Weber
Kaiden Guhles new two-year deal with the Canadiens is more than a routine piece of business for Kent Hughes. Montreal is betting on a young defenseman whose game has already drawn comparisons to one of the franchises most imposing blue-liners, with analyst Matthew Ohayon pointing to the kind of physical edge and presence that once made Shea Weber such a force in town.
The comparison comes with an important caveat, because Guhle does not bring the same offensive arsenal or the kind of legendary shot Weber had. Still, when he has been on the ice, he has shown why Montreal values him so highly, and his strong playoff work last spring only added to the sense that the Canadiens may have found a defender who can fill a similar role in a different way. [Read more 🡒]