While the Montreal Canadiens are only three points away from being in the proverbial “mix”, the rocky start they’ve had to the season suggests they’re more likely to be sellers than buyers at the trade deadline.
After all, the Canadiens are only in the third year of their rebuilding process and you can never have too many good prospects. Unlike the last couple of trade deadlines, this year, GM Kent Hughes will have a few assets on expiring contracts to work with. Joel Armia, Jake Evans, David Savard and Christian Dvorak are all in the last year of their current deal.
According to RG.org’s Marco D’Amico, two NHL sources have told him right-shot defensemen will be in high demand in the coming months and the fact that so few of them are available can only make those who are more valuable.
He goes on to say that the list of available right-shot defensemen is a short one, listing Codi Ceci and Jan Rutta with the San Jose Sharks, recent waiver pickup Dante Fabbro with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Erik Johnson with the Phildelphia Flyers and, of course, Savard.
Furthermore, one of D’Amico’s sources believes it wouldn’t be surprising if Savard was traded earlier rather than later like Sean Monahan was last year. They also add the 4 Nations Face-Off break could create a bit of a panic effect on the market.
While I agree that Savard is highly likely to be moved, I’m not so sure of the sooner rather than later part. Hughes already traded a right-shot defenseman this off-season when he sent Jonathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils, likely to make room for Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux, but the former struggles to get in the lineup while the latter is not completely ready for the NHL.
The Canadiens are only just now finding some stability in their defensive game judging by their win against the Edmonton Oilers right now and until this kind of defensive performance becomes the norm for them, I doubt they’ll be ready to send Savard’s stabilizing presence packing, even if they do want to accumulate draft capital and young prospects and/or players.
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Furthermore, Savard has got plenty of experience, but this season, it looks like the weight of his age is starting to take its toll. He’s still giving it his all, but his efficiency is greater when he’s not overused.
I’m not saying Savard doesn’t have value, far from it, but I’m taken back to the last trade deadline when Hughes told the media the rugged defenseman’s presence with the team was more valuable than the return he could have fetched on the trade market. One year later (or a little less), will the fact that his contract is expiring bump up his value enough for Hughes to pull the trigger? Time will tell.
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