Kent Hughes is ready to trade three players including David Savard
David Savard was in all the trade rumors before the deadline, but Kent Hughes ultimately decided to keep him, which turned out to be a smart move as his value continues to rise.
Indeed, even without playing for over a month, Savard's value is increasing, thanks in part to Chris Tanev of the Dallas Stars, who is a very similar player and performing strongly in the playoffs.
Kent Hughes is determined to add some scoring punch to his offense, but he won't touch his future top 4 on defense (Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson), nor Arber Xhekaj and the core forwards.
According to insider David Pagnotta, the Canadiens' GM has put the names of David Savard, Joel Armia, and Christian Dvorak on the trade market.
Without a doubt, Savard could be attractive and fetch a good return. Joel Armia, although invisible for several seasons, redeemed himself last year with 17 goals in 66 games, without playing on the power play. His $3.4 million contract is now less of a burden.
For Dvorak, it will be challenging to trade him, but if Kent Hughes managed to move Mike Hoffman's hefty contract last summer, he can likely do the same with Dvorak, who has greater value in my opinion.
"Montreal will explore its options, both at center and wing. They want to add another scorer somehow and have the assets to do so. Hughes will also float the names of Christian Dvorak, David Savard, and Joel Armia this summer—all three have expiring contracts.
Discussions are slowly starting to pick up around the league and on the trade market, and they will only intensify as the weeks lead up to the NHL Draft on June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. I bet the Canadiens will do something again. How big? We'll have to wait and see." - David Pagnotta, via TFP
Not only is Hughes putting veterans on the market, but he is also preparing something big once again for the draft.
Pagnotta isn't the first to say this. Elliotte Friedman, Eric Engels, and several other journalists and insiders agree with this statement.
| POLL |
21 MAI | 451 ANSWERS Kent Hughes is ready to trade three players including David Savard Do you think Kent Hughes will trade David Savard before the trade deadline? |
| Yes | 322 | 71.4 % |
| No | 129 | 28.6 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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