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Sidney Crosby: Juraj Slafkovsky would be on the table if François Gagnon were GM
Jonathan Di Gregorio
Sidney Crosby: Juraj Slafkovsky would be on the table if François Gagnon were GM
Credit: Getty Images
With less than a week to go until the next NHL draft, many expect to see the Canadiens move to acquire a second center soon.

And among those expecting a trade, many would like to see the Habs attempt to acquire Sidney Crosby.

Although the Pittsburgh Penguins have not indicated that they are willing to part with the center, the team will have to start rebuilding, and the Montreal club has options and prospects to offer that could help speed up the process.

The Pens probably won’t be competitive for a few years, and it’s possible that Crosby will have hung up his skates by then, so if Kent Hughes makes an interesting offer to his counterpart Kyle Dubas, who knows what might happen.

However, François Gagnon, who appeared on The Basu & Godin podcast, wouldn’t hesitate to include an established young player like Juraj Slafkovsky to get his hands on Crosby.

That’s interesting, because Gagnon was discussing the habs’ untouchables, whose list includes only Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov (and almost Kaiden Guhle).

The rest of the players, including Slaf and Cole Caufield, could potentially be used as trade chips if the price is worth it.

I understand that you have to give to get in the trade, but barring a totally ridiculous offer, in my opinion, Slafkovsky and Caufield are also part of the core of the Canadiens’ untouchables.

In Slaf’s case, his status as the Habs’ only first-round pick in over 40 years could make the organization reluctant to trade him, only to see him reach his full potential with another team.

It wouldn’t look good.

In Caufield’s case, it’s his chemistry with Suzuki that makes him untouchable in my eyes.

Both players have taken several years to find their feet on the ice, and their level of chemistry is a big help to each other’s production.

Above all, the Habs are one second away from having two well-balanced forward lines for next season.

If we sacrifice a winger from our top 6 to go get a center, we’re left with a hole elsewhere in the top two trios.

Yes, a solid center line is possibly more advantageous and more important than the winger position, but if it’s possible to have both, why not do it?

And even if it means overpaying a little, I hope that the acquisition of a second center will involve draft picks and prospects, two commodities the Canadiens have in abundance.


Overtime

– What do you think?

– A possibility for Marner?

– Jays win.

– Mets open the scoring.

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