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After a red hot stretch between mid-December and mid-January that saw the Montreal Canadiens return to playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, things have begun to go off the rails for Martin St. Louis' club as of late.
The Habs have lost six of seven games dating back to January 23, in the process falling to seventh place in the Atlantic Division and a full six points back of the final wildcard berth in the conference.
As RG's Marco D'Amico reported on Thursday, the Canadiens' front office is waiting to see how things play out closer to the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline before making any concrete decisions. But with the 4 Nations Face-Off set to pause the NHL schedule for 13 days, those decisions are going to need to be made soon. And as a source told D'Amico, Montreal could be looking to adopt a more unorthodox approach for the 2025 deadline.
“The Canadiens are looking to add a young center to their core, especially as they try and figure out what to do with [Jake] Evans and, to a lesser degree, [Christian Dvorak],” said the source. “Hughes and Gorton aren’t looking to be your prototypical sellers, they’ll likely be hybrid sellers, even if they fall out of the playoff race. They’ll look to ready themselves before the summer gets crazy. Guys like Zegras, Cozens, Mittelstadt will be good bets to go and grab now as the Ducks, Avs and Sabres look to make moves of their own.”
Although the chances the Canadiens will be one of the last eight teams standing in the East are not great, the roster is certainly approaching the end of the rebuild. The organization holds two 1st-round picks, two 2nd-round picks and three 3rd-round picks in the 2025 draft.
Multiple players have been linked to Quebec this year, including Buffalo Sabres' Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram, Colorado Avalanche's Casey Mittelstadt and Anaheim Ducks' Trevor Zegras. None of those players would come cheap, and the front office would have to consider sacrificing both draft capital and a good roster player in return.
“Montreal would likely need to include one of their 1st-round picks and a young player off their roster, and I’m not sure they want to do that right now,” a source told D'Amico regarding a possible Cozens trade to Montreal.
Canadiens need to string some wins together to stay in contention
Adding a player like Cozens, Byram, Mittelstadt or Zegras would certainly aid in the Canadiens' quest to return to the postseason — whether this year or next. With Ivan Demidov set to join the club in 2025-26, Montreal looks as close to playoff contention as they've been since losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
While the 2024-25 season still has 28 games left, it's going to take a herculean effort for the roster, as currently constructed, to get in. The way the team has played lately, it doesn't look good.
It'll be intriguing to see what Hughes and the front office decide to do ahead of the deadline, and how it will shape the outlook of the organization for years to come.
The Canadiens play a back-to-back set over the weekend, welcoming the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning to the Bell Centre on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. After that, the venue will host the first four games of the highly-anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off.
