Sean Monahan: don’t expect a first-round pick

The Habs have a lot on their plate in the run-up to the trade deadline.

One of them? David Savard. The Habs have to decide whether Savard’s extra contract year means his best value will be this year, this summer or next year. Because yes, he should be traded.

Jake Allen? The goalie, who faces the Senators tomorrow, should be hard to trade the way he’s playing. Planting the Sens tomorrow wouldn’t hurt, but how late is too late for this year? #MoreContractYear

But whatever the stakes at the blue line or in front of the net, we know that one of the club’s best values (if not the best) at the deadline is Sean Monahan.

Realistically speaking, he should be the Habs’ biggest earner.

We know that the Habs have considered keeping him, but right now, we should expect the club to trade him. Kent Hughes will undoubtedly honour his promise to send him to a good team to finish the season.

I’d keep him because of what he brings to the table… but oh well.

At this point, the DG’s goal will be to determine when he leaves. He’s hamstrung by the fact thatElias Lindholm is obviously the teams’ #1 option at center, but still: Hughes won’t want to wait too long. Remember last year…

Note that this morning, as is often the case recently, Sean Monahan enjoyed a day off. Is this prevention? Who knows?

In other words, no matter how useful he may be for the youngsters (talk to Joshua Roy), we can expect to see Sean Monahan take the helm of a better hockey club.

But even if we know that several teams would be interested, the fact remains that we have to wonder at what price Monahan would be traded in a few weeks’ time.

Marc-Antoine Godin and Arpon Basu take a look at the subject.

According to the findings of their recent podcast (The Basu and Godin Notebook), Monahan’s maximum value right now is as a second choice.

If he really is a second choice, I wonder if his best value wouldn’t be in Montreal – with a contract extension on his hands. But a promise is a promise…

But at the same time, is it any wonder, given that a big club would surely play him as a third center?

It’s rare for a club to give a first choice for a third center. – Arpon Basu

In reality, it’s not impossible to think that the price could go up. It’s Godin in particular who seems to think it’s possible, since Basu seems very skeptical on the subject.

The Radio-Canada journalist recalled that, in 2022, Andrew Copp was traded from the Jets to the Rangers (with a late pick) for a conditional first pick, a conditional second pick and a fifth pick.

And in Alberta, Copp was a third center. He was a rental player at $3.64 million, which is quite a bit more than Sean Monahan’s contract. Remember that he earns $1.985M this season.

Let’s see how the matter is handled. But if Monahan keeps up his good work and Lindholm were to leave quickly, it would undoubtedly help the Flanelle’s cause.

In brief

– Corey Perry’s Edmonton contract is official. He should be at practice tomorrow.

– Has Patrick Roy ever been on the Blues’ radar?

– Shane Pinto: he couldn’t wait to play.