Three players could possibly leave the organization this summer

Despite the fact that the Canadiens are currently in a rebuilding process, Kent Hughes has asserted that he wants to have a much more competitive team next season.

The general manager of the Tricolore has not hidden his intentions to proceed with a transaction like that of Kirby Dach to acquire a promising young player in the draft.

He also stated he is ready to take on a large salary to add an established player to his lineup and possibly get another first-round pick, as was notably the case with Sean Monahan last summer.

However, as of writing, the Canadiens only have $8.536 million under the salary cap. Moreover, Kent Hughes will need to offer a new contract to forwards Cole Caufield and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.


Fortunately for the Tricolore, they will be able to recover the $10.5 million granted to Carey Price when he is once again placed on long-term injured reserve.

However, according to Marco D'Amico, it would not be surprising if the Habs executives attempted to make some trades to free up even more money. Three players in particular have been put forward by the Montreal Hockey Now columnist as potential targets for the Canadiens' general manager.

These would be forwards Christian Dvorak and Mike Hoffman, and defenseman Joel Edmundson.


Joel Edmundson is probably the player most likely to be traded due to his value and his $3.5 million contract ending at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season. Had it not been for his injury this season, the veteran would probably have been dealt at the trade deadline, having been the subject of many trade rumors over the past year.

Although Mike Hoffman's offensive production has slowed in recent seasons, the forward is known to be a natural goal scorer. He could undoubtedly be an interesting option for a team looking to add depth to its offense. Moreover, with only one year remaining on his $4.45 million contract, Hoffman would not be a very risky bet for a team with cap space.

Finally, Christian Dvorak has been at the center of numerous rumors this season and the Canadiens' general manager could test the market to see if some organizations would be interested in acquiring his services. The forward had indeed had a very good season in 2021-2022, with a tally of 33 points in 56 games.

Credit: Montreal Hockey Now