In this edition of the Montreal Canadiens News & Rumors, general manager (GM) Kent Hughes has his work cut out for him as the rebuild continues. The Canadiens have options on how to proceed with improving the team. Rumors still swirl around the team trying to add to the roster, and could they entertain an offer sheet?
Canadiens Trade Rumor
According to a Slovak newspaper, Filip Mesar was included in a trade offer aimed at acquiring Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets. In addition to the 2022 first-round pick, Montreal also offered a 2025 first-round pick (one of either the Florida Panthers or Calgary Flames whichever one the Canadiens would own in 2025) and a young defenceman. The rumor is that it would be one of Justin Barron or Jordan Harris.
However, Winnipeg seems to be rejecting Hughes’ various offers for now. But I have a hard time believing that the Jets would not jump at an offer of Mesar, a first-round pick and one of Harris or Barron for McGroarty. It provides the Jets with an NHL defender, a top-six forward prospect to replace the one lost and a first-round pick. Some may argue that the above package is too low, but they aren’t factoring in the reason for the youngster being on the trade block in the first place. The Jets prospect won’t sign his entry-level contract with Winnipeg because they won’t promise him big NHL playing time. According to the Jets’ beat reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, Mike McIntyre, the frustration felt by the Jets would also be felt by the clubs talking to the Jets about the prospect.
This would keep many teams out of the sweepstakes as they wouldn’t be in a position to offer the playing time that he is rumored to be demanding. The Canadiens might be one of a small handful of NHL teams that could offer that. That reason alone limits his trade value. Because what happens if he does sign and can’t earn an NHL roster spot right away? Would he demand a trade? Would he become distracted if he was sent down to the American Hockey League? Because if he doesn’t want to play for the Manitoba Moose, he wouldn’t want to play for the Laval Rocket.
Canadiens Not Rushing Rebuild
According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic, the Canadiens struck out on big-name free agents. That being said, they weren’t banking on that option as the magic bullet to turning the corner and being competitive in a race to battle for the last playoff spot either.
“We weren’t going into this off-season saying: ‘Wow! We could get a player here and win the Stanley Cup. We went into the off-season thinking if we could do something to give the group a better chance … again, we want to build a team that can compete consistently for a Stanley Cup and not show up one year and then we’re back out of the playoffs a year after. But If we can do that for the group, I think that they’ve worked hard and they deserve that.”
– Kent Hughes
There isn’t a need as of yet to find the “missing link” via free agency. If anything, there is only a desire to add a temporary fill-in as they await the prospect pool’s maturation.
Related: 3 Remaining Free Agent Fits for the Canadiens
Recent media rumors linked Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas to the Canadiens as well as reports on McGroarty. With a strong core of young talent already in place, adding one or both to a healthy young core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský, Kirby Dach, and Alex Newhook would go a long way in adding more scoring punch.
But also adding an established top-six forward would help to increase a woeful offensive output from 2023-24. Armed with over $10 million in cap space, a deep prospect pool, several young NHL-ready defencemen, and a trailer load of draft picks, the Canadiens have the ammunition to take their shot at adding a more age-appropriate, established offensive talent via trade.
Canadiens Offer Sheet Option?
An interesting concept was brought up recently by Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler: could Montreal place an offer sheet on Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes? The undersized 22-year-old winger is coming off of career highs in goals, assists and points this past season in which he scored 33 goals and 67 points in 81 games played.
It makes sense that there would be speculation about this scenario considering the history between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes. In 2019, Sebastian Aho signed an offer sheet with the Canadiens for five years and $42 million, which the Hurricanes quickly matched. Two years later, Carolina turned the tables and signed Montreal restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1 million offer sheet, which the Canadiens opted not to match. However, that drama was fueled by the previous regimes.
With former GMs Marc Bergevin and Don Waddell no longer at the helm of their respective clubs, the bad blood is unlikely as hot as it once was. Perhaps it’s still there between the owners, which is why both clubs would prefer to avoid reigniting that feud and avoid another petty argument. A betting person may want to put $20 down on this happening, but that would just be a bonus payment.
With the NHL offseason progressing and the NHL Draft approaching an end, the Canadiens’ roster will face significant change. Keep an eye on our THW Podcast Network for all your hockey needs and THW’s affiliated podcast, Habs Unfiltered, for the latest Canadiens news, notes, and rumors.
