Deadline: Let’s not rule out Vincent Trocheck’s name in Montreal too quickly.

Marc-Olivier Cook
Deadline: Let’s not rule out Vincent Trocheck’s name in Montreal too quickly.
Credit: Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canadiens are one of the teams looking to improve between now and Friday.

Will Kent Hughes be able to achieve his goal? Will he be able to acquire a talented player who can help the team right away?

We'll have the answer to that question in the next few hours. What we do know is that the Canadiens' GM has his nose in a few deals…

Obviously, there's Robert Thomas in St. Louis. However, the Blues are asking for a huge return for the center's services, and it's reasonable to assume that Hughes wants to avoid including a young player like Michael Hage or Kaiden Guhle in a trade like this.

We also know that the Canadiens have spoken with the Flames about Nazem Kadri. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Habs may monitor the player's situation in Calgary to see if there is an opportunity to bring Kadri to Montreal.

And according to LeBrun (The Athletic), Vincent Trocheck's name in New York is also worth keeping an eye on. The informant would not be surprised to learn that the Habs have already taken steps to complete a trade with the Rangers…

I wouldn't be surprised if they (the Canadiens) also inquired about Vincent Trocheck's situation. – Pierre LeBrun

Vincent Trocheck's situation is a little more unique. He earns $5.625 million annually and his contract expires in the summer of 2029. He is in the fourth year of his seven-year deal and is 32 years old at the time of writing.

That said, what could potentially help the Habs is the fact that Trocheck would like to stay in the Eastern Conference. He has a partial no-trade clause and can compile a list of 12 teams to which he does not want to be traded.

In all of this, I really feel that Trocheck is the last “option” for the Canadiens because we're talking about a player who isn't the most physical on the ice. We know that the management in Montreal wants to get bigger, and Trocheck – as good as he is—can't help on that level. But Kent Hughes shouldn't panic either. He shouldn't make a move just for the sake of it: the GM needs to stick to his plan and be patient in finding the right formula to make it work.

And that's not likely to happen by making a last-minute move in a panic…


In brief

– Note.

— That's a lot of money.

Sources: Kiefer Sherwood has agreed to a five-year extension with #SJSharks carrying a $5.75M AAV

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 4, 2026

— He has the talent to do it.

— To be continued.

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