Kevin Bahl’s season-ending injury may have opened a door, and the Montreal Canadiens should be ready to walk through it.
The Calgary Flames confirmed Sunday that Bahl will miss the rest of the year after suffering a ruptured Achilles. Once that news landed, Darren Dreger suggested Flames general manager Craig Conroy could be in the market for a young defenseman. If that’s the route Calgary takes, Kent Hughes and the Canadiens ought to be the first team Conroy calls.
Montreal has the kind of defensive depth that could make a deal possible. Even after moving Jayden Struble to the Nashville Predators earlier this season, the blue line still looks crowded. Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom are currently holding down the third pair, but one of them likely gets bumped when Mike Matheson is ready to return from injury.
There’s more waiting in the wings, too. David Reinbacher is NHL-ready, but he’s stuck in Laval because there isn’t a spot for him in Montreal. Luke Mittelstadt is also in the mix, and he’s tied for the AHL lead in points with 18 through 14 games.
If the Canadiens do talk with Calgary, the target should be clear: Morgan Frost.
Montreal still needs help down the middle, especially for the second line, and Frost has been floated as a possible trade candidate. He’s in the final season of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after the year, but he’s also coming off the best offensive season of his career with 22 goals and 21 assists. This season, he’s kept it rolling with 12 points in 17 games.
The Canadiens have been operating with the expectation that Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky will be on the roster before the season ends, but Hage isn’t the kind of player who should be expected to jump straight into the top six and make an immediate impact this year. That’s why a move for Frost fits so neatly.
It would give Montreal a center who can help right away without locking the team into a long-term commitment. And if Frost performs well, the Canadiens can always work on an extension later. For Montreal, it’s the kind of move that checks a lot of boxes.
In Other News...
Canadiens Sent A Clear Message As Tension Rose Behind Closed Doors
A closed-door meeting after the loss to Winnipeg set the tone for what followed at Canadiens practice, where the focus shifted quickly from frustration to accountability. The next session had the feel of a team trying to reset in a hurry, with Cole Caufield among the players putting in extra work in a rebound-control drill as Montreal looked to clean up the details that had been costing it.
The response showed up in the standings, too, as Montreal came back to beat Toronto in its next game and give its season a better feel in the crowded NHL picture. For a group that had just been dealing with tension behind closed doors, the sequence was a reminder that sometimes the message lands best when it is followed by a sharper practice and a win that lets everyone breathe a little easier. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Have A Goalie Decision They Cant Ignore
The Canadiens have quietly reached a point where their goaltending picture can no longer be treated like a background issue. Rookie Jacob Fowler has handled road starts with poise, and Jakub Dobes has also been in the mix away from home, giving Montreal a pair of young options to weigh as the schedule keeps moving. For a team trying to sort out its long-term crease while staying competitive now, the next few games could matter more than usual.
Martin St-Louis may soon have to decide how to distribute the starts among Fowler, Dobes and Samuel Montembeault, whose status adds another layer to the discussion. Montreal does not need to settle the entire future of its netminding situation this week, but it does need a plan, and the way it handles this stretch could say plenty about which goalie is earning more trust as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Arber Xhekaj Just Added Real Edge To Canadiens-Leafs Again
Arber Xhekaj did what he has a habit of doing against the Maple Leafs: he turned a routine game into something with a little more bite. The Canadiens defenseman was left frustrated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Montreals latest meeting with Toronto, and he made it clear afterward that he believed officials may have gotten the call wrong. Martin St-Louis also took issue with the ruling, adding another layer to a sequence that already had the feel of a familiar Canadiens-Leafs flashpoint.
What bothered Xhekaj even more was what happened to Kirby Dach during the same sequence, when the play escalated into a two-on-one situation. For Montreal, it was another reminder of how quickly these games can tilt from competitive to combustible, especially when Xhekaj is involved and the Canadiens feel they have a reason to push back. The result is an unresolved little subplot that could easily carry into the next time these teams see each other. [Read more 🡒]