Montreal will be a “picker” at the deadline, believes Elliotte Friedman

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Montreal will be a “picker” at the deadline, believes Elliotte Friedman
Credit: Vitor Munhoz/NHLI via Getty Images

The deadline for trades is fast approaching.

Kent Hughes will have decisions to make (particularly regarding Patrik Laine) and we will inevitably learn a little more about how he does things in the coming days. Will there be a lot of movement? Not necessarily. Even Nick Suzuki isn't afraid to say that he's not holding his breath right now, which speaks volumes.

In fact, few people believe that Kent Hughes will shake things up to add a big piece at this point.

Elliotte Friedman, in his podcast (32 Thoughts) today, said he expects the Canadiens to be what he calls a picker. So basically, if he has an opportunity, he'll take it… but he's not going to do everything he can to buy at any cost, you know?

Friedman talked about looking for players who fit in with what the club is trying to build. If a big addition is made, it will surely be to continue adding to the core.

Obviously, pursuing these opportunities won't be easy. We saw it last summer: top players who are available for trade are not easy to acquire.

Mathematically, the Canadiens currently have an over 85% chance of making the playoffs. Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are surely keeping in mind that, even if the window of opportunity is not about to close, you have to take advantage of it when you're in it.

It's not easy to manage all of this. We'll see how management handles it.


In brief

– Note.

– Interesting.

— Must read.

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