Transaction: habs is (very) aggressive on the market, but…

This morning, colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois penned a text in which he asserts that this week is the most important of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton’s reign in Montreal. And in that respect, he’s right: if there’s to be a big deal, this is the week it’s likely to happen.

And if there isn’t, the club has two first-round picks at its disposal on Friday, plus another 10 to be used the following day in the other six rounds.

But ideally, we know that in an ideal world, the club would use at least one of these two picks to improve in the immediate future. Getting a second center, for example, is something the Habs could really use.

And that’s why it’s not particularly surprising to hear from Eric Engels(Sportsnet) that the Habs are very aggressive on the trade market… but the Habs’ reality is that it’s not easy to be a buyer.

Because in reality, apart from the Penguins, the other 31 NHL teams are at least partial buyers. And at least a dozen of them are looking for a top-6 center.

The Montreal Canadiens are one of many teams looking to improve their current roster and contend next season – which makes trading one of their first-round picks for an established player all the more challenging.(@EricEngels) https://t.co/LPUTOeFqEq

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 23, 2025

All of which means that, more and more, we should expect the Habs to use their two first-round picks on Friday… because nobody really wants them. Just about everyone’s goal is to have a better team on the ice in 2025-26, not 2028-29 .

And already this year’s 16th and 17th picks are worth less than usual this year…

What we feel right now is that the Habs are in just about every race. We know he talked to the Ducks about Trevor Zegras before the latter moved to the Flyers, but even then, the Habs saw him as a winger.

Because the reality of the market is that there are no center players to trade. It costs an arm and a leg to go out and get one, and the Habs aren’t necessarily prepared to overpay to solve that problem right now.

IF the club drafted 16th and 17th on Friday, which is the increasingly likely scenario, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying. The market just isn’t right for the Habs right now, and this is the first time the management duo has had to deal with that reality.

Overtime

– Enjoy!

– Your prediction?

Tomorrow we’ll know if Carey is a 1st ballot HOFer…!

– Daniel Richard (@DanRichard_RDS) June 23, 2025

– Gavin McKenna: it would come down to Penn State and Michigan State.

Friedman on 32TP says Gavin McKenna has had Zoom interviews with Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan and Denver, sounds like it’s down to Penn State and Michigan State, we shall see where he decides to go.

– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 23, 2025