The Hockey Writers Montreal Canadiens channel is looking ahead to the NHL Trade Deadline with a series of Mock Trades. This is a fun exercise, weighing the options of all the writers covering the Habs and what impact these trades might have on the team in the immediate and long-term future of the rebuild.
This season is a wash for the Canadiens as they are in the hunt for a top-five pick and not a playoff position. While that may upset some, others are pleased, as is general manager (GM) Kent Hughes, who needs a high pick in a deep draft to add significant skill to a prospect pool that has a lot of depth but no star power.
Related: Canadiens Mock Trade Deadline: Kravtsov Reunites with Gorton
For the Canadiens, part of the rebuild is adding as many high picks as possible, but they also need to shave off salary and find a way to add size and skill. While there is talk that the trade deadline will be a quiet one for Montreal, that was also what many expected in 2022, and Hughes’ first deadline was anything but quiet. That is why if the right offer comes along, Christian Dvorak could be sacrificed for the long-term future of the franchise.
Mock Trade Number: Christian Dvorak to Minnesota
Minnesota Wild Situation
Despite that Wild general manager Bill Guerin built a team that can play with grit and some skill, their cap situation, after buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, means that they will have $14.745 million in dead weight against their cap for the 2023-24 season, not leaving them much wiggle room to build on a playoff team over the next few seasons. In the summer of 2022, Guerin spoke of making the Wild a team that can compete every season.
The Wild have had problems matching their offensive output from last season when they ranked fifth in the NHL in scoring, with 305 goals for (GF). In their first 56 games, they scored 209 GF, placing them third in the NHL. This season, after 56 games, the Wild rank 25th in the NHL with only 161 GF. Such a steep decline doesn’t instill confidence that they can go on a long playoff run, let alone win a round, especially as they cling to a minuscule two-point lead for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
This season, the Wild have been relying on a rotating cast up the middle. With their top center prospect Marco Rossi playing in the American Hockey League (AHL), they have relied on players like Sam Steel, as well as players who are better on the wing like Tyson Jost and Ryan Hartman as their top-line center. Because of this, Guerin has spoken of the team’s need to improve up the middle.
“We’ve been consistently inconsistent. One night I feel like, ‘Oh man, we need a center.’ But then the next night, it’s like, ‘God, we’re just not scoring five-on-five. We could really use anybody to help us score.’ But again, I think that’s why I need to be really patient and just really give this team all the time I can to be consistently better.”
– Bill Guerin
This is why Christina Dvorak would be a good fit. Not because he brings a ton of offence, but because he can stabilize their center depth. His arrival would buy Rossi some time to develop, but more immediately, it would give Joel Erikson-Ek support on the defensive side, allowing him more opportunities to play an offensive role.
Erikson-Ek is locked up for some time at a team-friendly $5.25 million and has started to reach his offensive potential as he is on pace for a career-high in goals and points. A big-bodied, two-way center who fits the gritty style that Guerin has wanted from his team, Erikson-Ek has been successful offensively, despite having to shoulder the burden defensively, taking on the tough assignments against the best opposition while also playing on the top penalty-killing unit (PK).
The arrival of Dvorak would add a reasonably cheap ($4.45 million until 2025) middle-six center who can take on much of that defensive responsibility while adding around 40 points per season. This opens Erikson-Ek up to play more offensive minutes, taking advantage of the 26-year-old prime offensive years. Overall improved defensive play would also help support a struggling goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury.
Canadiens Return
Canadiens Return: Jordan Greenway + Vladislav Firstov
Montreal has some talented prospects, but many are of smaller stature. Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar, Riley Kidney, Owen Beck, and Joshua Roy don’t need to duck to get under a door frame. It’s not that a small player can’t make it or play a significant role on an NHL team, they can, but a Stanley Cup-contending roster won’t have as many “smaller” players as the Canadiens do, and they will need to find more balance in their lineup.
Everyone wants a power forward, and if the Habs do move Josh Anderson, they will need someone with the size and the speed to keep up with head coach Martin St. Louis’ fast-paced style of play capable of playing that role. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, the 25-year-old Jordan Greenway fits that role. The left-handed winger will earn $3 million per season until 2025, so Minnesota would need to move it to make space to add a center, and his time in Minnesota looks to be coming to an end – it has been confirmed that the Wild are shopping him.
While a 2023 first-round pick is what Hughes is looking for, barring that it is known that the Canadiens would rather add prospects over picks. A prospect that could fit that need is 21-year-old, 6-foot-1, 185-pound winger Vladislav Firstov. The former University of Connecticut scoring winger was a 2019 second-round pick by the Wild and signed an entry-level contract in March of 2022. Firstov moved to North America to help improve his chances of making the NHL, yet after just one game with the AHL’s Iowa Wild this season, Minnesota felt he was better served to continue his development in the KHL, where he has put up good offensive stats, with 10 goals and 23 points in 43 games, as a third-line player.
Firstov has the size the Habs could use, but more importantly, he has the skill to go with it. He has good hands, with solid puck skills as well as good vision to take advantage of those assets. On top of that, he has an explosive first step and can play at a high pace, which suits the up-tempo style Montreal is trying to build. While he will still need time to bulk up, he has a fast motor and work ethic that will make it more likely than not that he can become a middle-six NHL forward.
The loss of Dvorak will hurt the lineup as the Canadiens’ center depth would take a massive blow, leaving only Nick Suzuki as a legitimate/proven NHL center; however, a drop in the standings could help their roster down the line with a high-end prospect from this draft class. While Hughes wouldn’t be adding a first-round pick to his current holdings of 11 picks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, what he does add is a lower-tier power forward who could thrive in a new environment, a speedy and talented prospect that fits the direction the team is taking and opens up some flexibility under the cap in the short-term.