The Montreal Canadiens are being floated as a possible landing spot for Owen Tippett, and the early read from Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico is pretty clear: if Montreal really wants him, the price is going to be real.
On The Starr & D’Amico Show, the two broke down what a Flyers trade for Tippett might look like, and they didn’t see Michael Hage as part of the conversation. Starr made that point first, saying, “You know, I don’t think Michael Hage is part of this conversation, not for me at least. When it comes to a guy like, if they really set their sights on Owen Tippett.”
D’Amico agreed, and then got into the kinds of pieces Philadelphia would likely want back. He pointed to Alexander Zharovsky, Oliver Kapanen and Adam Engstrom as the sort of young players that could be in play, while also noting that a first-round pick could come into the picture. He also brought up Arbor Xhekaj as a player the Flyers would like, saying Philadelphia would want “young players that they can plug and play.”
From there, the conversation turned to what Montreal might actually be getting. D’Amico said Kapanen would be “an easy, easy player to go and get for them, like include in a package like that,” and added that Zharovsky fits the same idea. He also made the case that Tippett could be the kind of add that helps Montreal without forcing the Canadiens to rush their timeline.
“If you, if you get an Owen Tippett, do you need Zhoravsky?”
D’Amico said Philadelphia’s history of working on Russian players matters here, explaining that the Flyers spend a lot of time studying that market. He suggested that could give them strong data on Zharovsky and make that kind of player especially appealing in a deal.
He also pushed back on the idea that adding Tippett would somehow close off Montreal’s future. To him, it would do the opposite. “That would, that would, all that would make a ton of sense because again, I don’t think that we talked about it on, in the previous episode; I don’t think that, that would put a clock on the Canadiens’ compete window.”
D’Amico said it would simply extend that window because Tippett would bring a cost-controlled fit for the team’s timeline. And in his view, the production profile is exactly the kind Montreal should be chasing. He pointed to Tippett’s goal-heavy track record - 28 goals, 20 goals, 28 goals, 27 goals, then 23 assists, 25 assists and 22 assists - and said his career high is 53 points, a mark he believes Tippett would clear in Montreal.
“I feel like he busts right through that on a team like Montreal.”
Starr liked the goal totals too, saying, “I do, outside of the 53 points, I love the goal totals. Love the goal totals.”
D’Amico’s bigger point was that Montreal wants a finisher, and Tippett fits that description. “Well, and again, but you want a finisher on this team?
Like every time people keep saying they want a guy that doesn’t hesitate when they shoot. Owen Tippett does not hesitate when he shoots.”
He also sees the winger as bringing a physical edge, even if not in a punishing, hard-hitting sense. D’Amico described Tippett as a power forward in the same mold as Max Pacioretty, someone who can punish teams with speed and is difficult to contain once he gets moving.
“And I feel like he brings that build. You want to, you want to be more physical?
I’m not saying he’s a bruiser, not way, not in any way, shape, or form. But he is a throwback, like, power forward in the same way that (Max) Pacioretty was.
Where he can beat you with the speed. It’s very hard to contain Owen Tippett when he’s in motion.”
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