Insider Frank Seravalli published his first Trade Target article and two Montreal Canadiens feature in the top 20 players who could be moved. Veteran blueliner and “big brother to young defensemen” David Savard is number 14, while center Christian Dvorak finds himself at number 18. Here’s a look at their situations.
David Savard
There was a lot of chatter about trading Savard at the last trade deadline, but ultimately, Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes didn’t pull the trigger. This is what Hughes said in his post-deadline media availability:
For us, David is a part of this team. He’s not someone we were actively looking to trade. His value to the team and to our young defensemen is very important to us. That doesn’t mean he’s untradeable, but it wasn’t our objective. […] Not everything we do can be strictly based on maximizing asset value – ultimately, we’re trying to build a hockey team. If a player has value to us in terms of what we’re trying to build by being physically present and part of our organization, then that’s going to trump trading him later for something a little bit inferior, because there’s value in his time with us.
As Hughes mentioned, Savard is valuable to the Canadiens. His influence on young defensemen’s progression is worth more than any trade offer Hughes received. This means that it would take quite a sizeable offer for the big defender to be moved before next season’s trade deadline. Until then, he will continue to be a great influence on the roster’s young players, especially those who are knocking on the NHL’s door like Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher.
While the blue line wouldn’t be without leadership if Savard were sent packing, mentoring doesn’t come as naturally to Mike Matheson. At 33 years old, Savard can still munch minutes like the best of them and relishes his mentorship role. This season, he averaged 20:14 of ice time, an impressive number for a player with a lot of mileage.
Having two veterans in the lineup isn’t a bad idea. They provide insurance should the team lose a blueliner during the game because of an injury (thinking of Jordan Harris here, from “‘I want to be more than a hockey player,’ Canadiens’ Jordan Harris says,” The Gazette, March 21, 2024) or if one is thrown out for extracurricular activities (looking at Arber Xhekaj here). Also, trading a right-shot defenseman would put more pressure on Mailloux and Reinbacher, who should be eased into the NHL. We’ve seen what can happen when a young defenseman is thrown into the deep end, as what happened with Victor Mete.
Furthermore, in 60 games this season, Savard put 24 points on the board, which put him on pace for 33 points over a full 82-game season. That offensive output would have been his best since he set his career high in 2014-2015 with 36 points. In other words, Savard is like a fine wine, he gets better with age. If Hughes wants to see his team fight for a playoff spot next season, Savard’s contribution could be crucial.
Christian Dvorak
After losing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes and Philip Danault to the Los Angeles Kings in free agency, former general manager Marc Bergevin needed to add a center, and there weren’t many on the market. The league knew what the Canadiens were looking for, so Bergevin didn’t have much leverage in the trade negotiations. He had to give up a first-round pick and their second-round pick in the 2024 Draft for a player who had never scored more than 38 points in a season nor played all 82 games in an NHL campaign. Still, Bergevin thought there was potential there and pulled the trigger.
Related: Canadiens’ Defensemen: Who Stays & Who Goes?
Dvorak has had a slew of injuries since he arrived in Montreal (like a lot of Canadiens in the last few years, to be fair), which likely derailed any progression he might have made. In 2021-2022, he scored 33 points in 56 games, which projects to 48 points in an 82-game schedule.
Dvorak also bounced around in the lineup, struggling to find regular linemates or any chemistry. While Hughes would gladly get rid of the American, it takes two to tango. Right now, there is no upside for anyone to trade for Dvorak. He’s been injured a lot, fell short of his expected ceiling and doesn’t bring anything special to a lineup.
Montreal needs to make room up front for their young prospects (Joshua Roy and Owen Beck come to mind), but Hughes is not about to gift Dvorak to a team. The only way I expect to see Dvorak moved is if Hughes adds him to a bigger deal. He’s in the last year of his contract, so that helps a bit, but I only see him moving in a deal involving one of the Canadiens’ surplus defensemen.
Perhaps Hughes can pull another great trade on draft day, but working out a deal involving Dvorak would be his greatest magic trick yet. Perhaps retaining part of his salary would help, but the Canadiens are already using two of their three salary retention spots on Jake Petry and Jake Allen. It wouldn’t be smart to use up the third one before next season has started.
The Canadiens have now reached a crucial stage in their rebuild, drafting the right prospects is one thing, but there comes a time when every team has to make room for them to grow and make the jump to the NHL. Unfortunately, Hughes inherited plenty of big contracts with term thanks to Bergevin, who signed Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Dvorak and Joel Armia. Making room won’t be easy, but Hughes is the right man for the job.
