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6 defenders in the West: the CH is not acting like a team that will trade David Savard

Over the next week, the Canadiens will be in the West. The guys are currently in Edmonton for their game tomorrow night, then they will face Calgary on Saturday before facing Vancouver and Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The deadline, for the Canadiens, it’s in the West that it will happen… except for the managers.

However, when we look at the group that is currently in the West, there is something interesting: the club only made the trip with six defensemen. Usually, a team likes to have some depth for a trip… but in the case of the Canadiens, there are only six healthy defensemen who made the trip. We’re talking about Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, David Savard, Lane Hutson, Arber Xhekaj, and Jayden Struble.

And that becomes particularly interesting when we consider that among these six defensemen, there is Savard… who is at the heart of trade rumors.

This raises the following question: did the Canadiens voluntarily make the trip to the West with six defensemen knowing that they might trade one?

I’m not saying it’s impossible… but the CH is not acting like a team that will trade Savard in the next 48 hours. Really not, even.

There is a world where the CH already has guys from Laval who are ready to make the trip to replace Savard in the event of a trade, but they didn’t want to take a guy away from Pascal Vincent. That being said, we’re talking about the same team that literally did this earlier in the season with Logan Mailloux and Owen Beck, even if it put the Rocket in trouble.

It’s never say never, but all this gives me the impression that Savard can sleep easy.

This brings us back to Pierre LeBrun’s comments earlier tonight, which stated that if the CH sells, it will be either Savard or Armia who will leave, but not both. In fact, therefore, we can think that it “increases” the chances that it will be Armia who will be involved in a potential trade…

But again, Renaud Lavoie stated on TVA Sports tonight that he doesn’t expect to see Armia leave. He would be even more surprised if Savard or Dvorak left, in fact.

What we need to take away from all this is that the most likely scenario currently is that the CH will not sell before Friday. That doesn’t mean they will necessarily be buyers, but if the team travels with six defensemen (including Savard) and we don’t expect to see Armia leave, that doesn’t leave much to sell.

It could be a very quiet day for the Canadiens (as a seller, at least) on Friday, therefore.

In a hurry

– I wonder why the guys were making that face!

– 100%.

– I love.

– Ivan Provorov will not be traded before Friday.

– Same here 😅

– Hehe.

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Pierre LeBrun: Joel Armia or David Savard could be traded, but not both

Here, by announcing that it has agreed to a long-term deal with Jake Evans, the Canadiens have lost a trade chip ahead of the trade deadline. I say “lost” because they won’t be trading Evans, but it’s understood that in reality, they’re not losing out on anything.

So, in terms of trade chips in town, the name that keeps coming up is Joel Armia. There’s also David Savard, who’s generating some buzz… but beyond that, it’s pretty quiet.

Theoretically, Christian Dvorak is also part of this list, but will the Canadiens, who already have a fragile center line, want to let Dvorak go, who probably doesn’t have immense value?

So, it’s mainly Armia and Savard who will need to be watched until Friday… and last night, on RDS, Pierre LeBrun discussed these two guys:

It’s not the Canadiens’ intention to trade both of them. It’s possible they’ll trade one or the other […] but I don’t think they’ll trade both. – Pierre LeBrun

What we understand, then, is that if the Canadiens do make a move by Friday, the chances are very, very good that either Savard or Armia will still be in town on Saturday morning. It’s still possible that an unreal offer could change things, but the Canadiens, who are in the midst of a playoff push, don’t want to gut their team either.

That would be pretty demoralizing for the players, who would rather have some help, themselves.

That being said, there’s a world in which one of the two guys actually ends up leaving. LeBrun notes that the Canadiens are still on the phone about their two rental players and aren’t closed off to trading one of them.

The market is very favorable to sellers right now, and if we take Savard’s case, players with his profile are rare on the market. If the Canadiens have a chance to capitalize on that, they’ll at least listen.

We’ll see how everything evolves by Friday, but clearly, the Canadiens don’t seem to be aggressive sellers right now. And in the current circumstances, that’s a defensible decision.

Extension

It’s been a while since the idea of the Canadiens being both sellers (for their rental players) and buyers (for longer-term help) has been making the rounds, and LeBrun’s comments fit into that. The Canadiens don’t want to gut their team, because apparently, they want to give their group a chance to make the playoffs.

But they’re still being cautious and discussing their rental players with other teams. It’s interesting to see that right now, there’s a lot of talk about the Jets for Armia, but also for Savard.

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The market is crazy: one has to wonder what the value of Joel Armia would look like

The Jake Evans file has (finally) been concluded yesterday, as he signed a four-year contract extension with the Canadiens.

He thought he was leaving, his boxes were already packed… But he found a way to agree with Kent Hughes because he wanted to stay in Montreal.

With Evans’ signing, it gives some additional clues about Hughes’ plan leading up to the NHL trade deadline.

The players want help and at that level, maybe the GM will make a move.

But we also know that before Evans signed, there was talk of him being traded… Like with Savard, Armia, and Dvorak.

Seeing one of these guys leave is still possible, but it’s logical to believe that the chances are smaller – especially given the Canadiens’ position in the standings.

However, it would have been interesting to see what value these players would have had on the market. Because in recent days, teams haven’t been afraid to pay a high price to improve themselves…

The trade market is starting to heat up, and seeing how it’s going, Kent Hughes probably would have been able to get some interesting pieces for his players.

The Predators got a second-round pick for Gustav Nyquist, who is 35 years old…

The Sharks got a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Mikael Granlund…

The Kraken collected two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and Michael Eyssimont for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand…

The Bruins got a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick for the services of Trent Frederic and Max Jones…

All this to say that teams aren’t afraid to pay right now.

And in the context where we’re talking about the possibility of the Flyers getting a first-round pick for Scott Laughton, a depth player, we have to wonder what the value of a guy like Joel Armia (who has a similar style to Laughton) would be:

But in all this, we know that the team’s recent successes are forcing Kent Hughes to revise his plan a bit.

Because we understand that if he had decided to sell, it would have gone over poorly in the locker room and with the fans.

Even if, in the eyes of some, the opportunity would be perfect to improve the bank of picks and prospects…

In a hurry

– Whew…

– The style!

– To follow…

– Beautiful goal.

– News from the MLB:

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Jake Evans confirms it: his moving boxes were ready

In short, either Jake Evans signed, or he was leaving. Right?

This is the rumor going around right now about the Canadiens’ center player, who agreed to sign for less than his worth. At $2.85 million per year for four years, he clearly wanted to stay in the city.

And today, he’s happy.

But he clearly didn’t always think he was going to stay. His heart spoke when he chose to take a pay cut to continue what the CH is building, but he still came close to leaving.

To what extent?

This morning, my colleague Maxime Truman wrote an article based on information obtained and shared on the Stanley25 podcast, stating that Jake Evans had warned his landlord (Joël Bouchard) that the apartment he lives in would need a new tenant.

And there, the main person involved, who has talked publicly about his contract, said things that go in that direction. How? By saying that he and his wife were so sure they were leaving that they had already packed their boxes.

Evans, who was talking about the Canadiens in the past tense last month, is happy to no longer have to rent and can finally buy something in the city.

The fact that he signed a four-year contract (even if it doesn’t have a no-trade clause) means that he now has the luxury of settling in the city for good in the coming years.

extension

I’m looking forward to seeing what Evans will look like on the ice for the rest of the season. After all, he’s clearly confident right now and no longer has the weight of his contract on his shoulders.

Now, he can just help the CH try to make the playoffs… by scoring more often than twice since the start of the 2025 season.

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Deadline: Canadiens players want help

The players of the Canadian team believe in their chances of participating in the playoffs.

They have won their last five games… And they seem to be on a mission right now.

This is also one of the reasons why several guys sent a message to Kent Hughes, saying they wanted to see the group remain intact.

But it goes even further than that.

The players do not just want Hughes to keep his team: they also want the general manager to be able to help them by Friday, the trade deadline in the NHL.

Tony Marinaro talked about it on his show today:

Wanting the team to stay intact and wanting help… These are two different things.

But it adds even more importance to the fact that right now, the players do not want to lose.

The players want to have the best chances of winning every night to improve their chances of participating in the playoffs, and if Kent Hughes can do something to help them, they will be satisfied.

Seeing the Canadian general manager take this path – even if we know he does not want to sacrifice his future to help the team in the short term – would also send a big message in the locker room.

This would add fuel and it’s certain that it would motivate the players to give even more on the ice.

There is a chance that this will not happen, however. Again, Kent Hughes will not panic and pay a high price to go get a rental player because it’s not part of his plan.

But if the general manager has the opportunity to improve his team without necessarily hurting his bank of picks and his bank of prospects, it’s certain that he will look at his options.

To be continued. And it will be interesting to see if Hughes will (again) please his players, after the signing of Evans yesterday…

In quick succession

– Cool!

– Ah yes?

– This is new!

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Gourde and Bjorkstrand to Tampa for two 1st round picks: It’s about to be confirmed

For several years, we have seen the Lightning pay a high price at the trade deadline to improve.

In 2023, the club gave up a first-round pick, a second-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and a fifth-round pick to acquire Tanner Jeannot…

The previous year, the Lightning gave up two first-round picks, Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddish to get their hands on Brandon Hagel… In 2020, they paid a first-round pick to the Devils to get Blake Coleman… You understand the principle.

But apparently, the strategy will not change in Tampa Bay.

Because according to the latest information from Elliotte Friedman, the Lightning is about to send (at least) two first-round picks to Seattle in order to acquire Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Again… The Lightning is not afraid to pay the high price to improve:

More details to come…

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Josh Anderson participated in training today

The Canadian took a plane yesterday to go to Edmonton.

He will face the Oilers tomorrow night to start the trip in the West and there was a training session planned for today to prepare the players.

From the start, it is relevant to note that Josh Anderson was there with the rest of the group. Renaud Lavoie reported it on X.

I don’t think I need to remind you that at the moment, the veteran is injured.

He no longer trains regularly with his teammates because he is too hurt to do so.

The fact that he is on the ice today is good news in itself.

It’s hard, at the moment, not to respect the veteran’s work.

After all, we all know he’s hurt and not at the top of his game. But we still see him giving it his all every night because he wants to help the team win games.

He’s always ready to go to war and that’s what makes him an important player for the Canadian lately.

It should be emphasized:

Note that it would still be surprising to see changes made to the formation for tomorrow’s game.

The Canadian has had the same lineup since Kirby Dach’s injury with Owen Beck replacing him at the center of the 2nd unit… and it’s working.

The team has won its last four games since Dach has been out.

Why change a winning formula?

Extension

However, we will have to monitor the defensive pairs, which have changed often lately.

And ultimately, we should expect Samuel Montembeault to start tomorrow against the Oilers.

The opportunity would be great for the Canadian to go get important points in the standings against a team that is not doing very well lately!

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“Not convinced that the Canadiens will keep Cayden Primeau”

Next year, Samuel Montembeault will be the Canadiens’ #1 goalie – unless news shakes the foundations of the Temple.

We also know that Jakub Dobes will be there, but in a role to be defined. If I had to bet, I’d say he’ll be the Canadiens’ #2 goalie. But that can change pretty quickly.

And Jacob Fowler? Logically, he’ll make the jump to the pros and logically, it will be with the Rocket. He needs to play and get ice time: Montreal is not the place for that.

Already, that makes three spots for the four regular goalies in Montreal and Laval. And we haven’t even talked about Cayden Primeau.

Primeau has confirmed to us, for the 2024-2025 season, that he is a “AAAA player”: too good for the minors, but not good enough to establish himself in the big league. He finds himself in a weird position.

And with Fowler pushing, it could force the Canadiens to make some decisions.

According to what Mathias Brunet thinks, we will indeed see a Montembeault/Dobes tandem in Montreal and Fowler in Laval, which would not leave enough room to keep Primeau.

It’s worth noting that Primeau will be eligible for arbitration next year.

La Presse journalist, who answered questions from people live, has the same reading of the situation as me: Fowler will have a veteran from the AHL to support him in 2025-2026 with the Rocket.

Not convinced they’ll keep him. – Mathias Brunet on Cayden Primeau

Of course, the plan still has time to change – especially if Dobes doesn’t break anything in the end of the season in Montreal – several times again. But it’s logical to think that Fowler will go to Laval.

Primeau has been doing what he needs to do for the past two months to help himself this summer, but he’s still swimming in uncertainty.

Rapid Fire

– To note.

– Sheldon Keefe relieved of $25,000.

– Probably, yes.

– Indeed.

– News from CF Montreal.

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Canadian against Oilers: the team of the hour against a club in disarray

At the moment, in the National Hockey League, there is only one team that has won its last five games. It’s the Canadiens.

Since the return from the break, the team has been undefeated. The players have proven to Kent Hughes that they deserved to make a push to try to make the playoffs by not losing a game since the Super Bowl.

And Jake Evans’ contract gives a good idea of the direction the team will take by Friday.

However, before the trade deadline, the Canadiens will face the Oilers. This will take place tomorrow night and it will be against a team that has been completely lost for a few games.

In fact, in the NHL, only one team has earned just two points in its last five games: the Oilers.

Edmonton lost to the Ducks yesterday and if we forget the win on March 1 against Carolina, the team has only been losing. The last five games in February (7, 22, 23, 25, and 27 February) were all losses.

It doesn’t show too much in the standings because of the cushion the team had built up at the beginning of the season, but it’s still a bad streak. Only one win since February 6, that’s not a lot.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

Obviously, no one is saying the game will be easy. After all, the Oilers won’t give up just for the sake of it: they will fight for their survival.

How will Martin St-Louis’ men respond? We’ll see.

However, it’s important to note that even if the Canadiens lose, it shouldn’t affect the team’s plans for the trade deadline too much. I imagine Kent Hughes, at this point, knows what to expect.

To be continued tomorrow night.

In brief

– Transaction in the NHL.

– To note.

– Wow.

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Jake Evans did not put himself in Mikko Rantanen’s situation

Jake Evans can never aspire to be Mikko Rantanen. But there are connections to be made between the two.

I don’t know how much the former Avalanche player really expected to be traded in the event of a salary dispute with his old club, but it happened.

And since he’s been in Carolina, he’s… uh… is the term miserable too strong? A little, yes.

But you see where I’m going: whether it’s the fault of the club or the player, Rantanen has been put in a situation where he says he feels like his world has been turned upside down recently.

The trade hit him hard.

Jake Evans, I’m convinced, is aware that changing teams (and leaving an environment you love) is stressful. In recent weeks, it’s been weighing on him, from what we’ve seen.

So he decided to listen to himself and leave money on the table to stay in Montreal, a unique place to play hockey and an environment in which he was comfortable.

Be aware: I’m not saying Rantanen should have accepted any offer from his old team. But by force of circumstances, he’s in a tough spot right now.

What I’m saying is that in light of what he sees elsewhere in the NHL, Evans made the enlightened choice not to change addresses, not to touch a winning formula, and to stay in an environment he loves. And that’s to his credit.

Steven Stamkos (who didn’t have an offer to his liking from the Lightning, it should be noted) is another example. Since he’s been in Nashville, he’s not even a shadow of himself.

That doesn’t mean it would have happened to Evans elsewhere. But he didn’t want to take the risk, and that’s okay.

Meanwhile, Evans is one of the best players in his position and he won’t have to leave Emil Heineman and Joel Armia – for now, at least. As a fourth center and a specialist in numerical disadvantage, it’s hard to ask for more.

And for a seventh-round pick, it’s also hard to ask for more.

in rafale

– Speaking of the wolf.

– To read.

– It won’t be easy for Colorado in 2025.