“I have it on good authority that Marchessault is open to the idea of playing in MTL”.

Jonathan Marchessault has a total of 41 goals this season.

That’s excellent, especially since we’re talking about a guy who’s never been drafted in the National League.

That said… The Golden Knights forward will find himself without a contract this summer for next season, as he’s currently running out the last year of his Vegas deal.

The scenario of seeing the Quebecer end up in Montreal has come up several times in recent months, especially in recent weeks.

Kent Hughes will have the opportunity to spend, and Marchessault could be targeted by the Habs’ GM… And what’s more, according to Marc-Olivier Beaudoin, the player would be open to the idea of playing for the Habs :

I’m not saying it’s going to happen because VGK might do some salary gymnastics and make him an attractive enough offer to stay in Vegas, but I have it on good authority that Marchessault is open to the idea of playing in MTL one day! #CH #Habs #Canadiens https://t.co/H56fplMuEM

– Marc-Olivier Beaudoin (@MOBeaudoin1) April 11, 2024

I’m all for Kent Hughes spending money this summer to improve the club.

However, it has to make sense too.

Jonathan Marchessault is 33 and is having the best season of his career in terms of goals scored. You know as well as I do that he’s going to be asking for a lot of money this summer… And at his age, he’s also going to want a contract spread over several seasons.

He’s in a position to ask for the moon after all, because his numbers are there. And if not in Montreal, he’ll get paid elsewhere because he’s proven himself.

Can the Habs really afford to offer a long-term contract to a player his age, even if we know how good a hockey player Marchessault is?

The question arises, because we’ve seen such bad signings on the free agent market in the past. The situations don’t necessarily compare, but it makes me think of the Karl Alzner signing in Montreal…

If not, would Marchessault agree to “play at a discount” in Montreal, to allow Kent Hughes to add other talented players to his roster?

Let’s not forget that Juraj Slafkovsky is likely to ask for a lot of money, too, while Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are already earning very good salaries…

In brief

– Noah Hanifin breaks the bank in Vegas. This could be a sign of Marchessault’s departure, by the way.

He’ll average $7.35M per season pic.twitter.com/ShL6VT2hEp

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) April 11, 2024

– Wow!

– Who can stop them?

Habs prospect Adam Engström’s Rogle team is on an insane run.

After sweeping Timrå in the play-in series, they swept the best regular season team Färjestad in the QF & today they just swept Växjö in the SF.

They’re on a 13 game winning streak heading to the SHL Finals pic.twitter.com/5KX4HJvbcn

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 11, 2024

– And yet, if there’s one agent who’s capable of going after the big contracts, it’s Boras…