The Montreal Canadiens are off to a decent if unspectacular start in 2024-25, getting back to .500 after back-to-back victories over the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers this weekend.

As the 4-4-1 Habs continue to hang around the Eastern Conference playoff picture in the early going, general manager Kent Hughes wants to make the team even better.

“It's been widely reported the Canadiens are looking at defensive help, we can also add they've started peeking around for a forward too, particularly someone with edge,” Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada.

“There is caveat to this, one thing the Canadiens are telling everybody, they will not do anything that interferes with their long-term planning of their roster after this season. They are poking around with a forward with a bit of edge.”

Hughes and the front office have just over $5.7 million in cap space to work with; they're also loaded with draft capital, including two 2025 first-round picks, two 2025 second-round picks and three 2025 third-round picks.

There haven't been any specific players rumored in trade talks, but the Canadiens are likely looking to upgrade their middle-six. Both Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield have been excellent in the early going, while Juraj Slafkovsky is set to return from injury when Montreal welcomes the Seattle Kraken to the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.

But the offensive depth has struggled, with no other forwards chipping in more than five points on the campaign. That's probably exactly where Hughes is looking to upgrade — the club's secondary scoring — as the season goes on.

Canadiens looking to make it 3 straight at home

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The Canadiens are on a bit of a hot streak, coming out on top in two straight and picking up points in three of four. That includes a 4-3 triumph over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

“We're obviously in a much better place than we were on Tuesday against the Rangers” Habs defenseman Mike Matheson said after the win, per NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. “Just as I think we're realizing that we shouldn't get too low after that Ranger game, I don't think we can look at these two games and say, ‘Oh, we're all set, let's just keep going.' I think we still have areas to work on.”

The Canadiens were crushed 7-2 by New York on Tuesday, but rebounded well over the weekend. Matheson has managed five assists during a four-game point streak, while Suzuki extended his point streak to seven games — he's got three goals and 11 points in that span. Caufield is up to eight goals in just nine contests.

“Sometimes it's easy to focus in on points, but I'd say, [there's] much more to bring to the table to help the team win,” Matheson continued. “And sometimes a puck goes in off your knee, and you break a stick, and it goes to a guy back door. Sometimes those sorts of things happen, and usually they do when you've been doing a lot of other things well.”

The Canadiens will look to keep the positive momentum going at the Bell Centre against a Kraken team that has lost three consecutive games. Puck drops just past 7:00 p.m. ET between the cross-conference foes on Tuesday night.