Some players wanted to waive their no-trade clauses to come to Montreal.

Félix Forget
Some players wanted to waive their no-trade clauses to come to Montreal.
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The Canadiens, as we know, did not move today. The club spent much of the day working on a “major deal”&#…but was unable to complete a deal.

We feel like it was close…but nothing came of it.
That said, according to Kent Hughes, there is still one interesting point to note: the GM says that even though his team was on various lists of players that certain players refused to be traded to, the current state of the club meant that some would have been willing to waive their no-trade clauses.

What we understand, then, is that there were guys who were really ready to come to town… and that's a good sign for the state of the club's rebuilding process.

For what it's worth, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have full no-trade clauses, so they don't have lists per se. That said, it doesn't rule out the idea that they might have been willing to waive it for the Habs.

It should also be noted that the GM also spoke about his group's reaction to the deadline… and what we understand is that the players in town really didn't want to leave Montreal. According to Hughes, all the players wanted to stay.

The guys hung their heads when they saw him coming today because they were afraid he would tell them they had to leave.

In fact, it's an encouraging sign… but it may also raise the question of whether the GM is letting himself get a little carried away by his emotions. A bit like his predecessor, who was often criticized on that count…

But according to Hughes, the fact that the group is so close-knit will not prevent them from trading some of the players currently in town in order to bring in reinforcements. It's one thing to say it, but it's another to do it… even though we did see Emil Heineman traded last summer.

What we do understand, however, is that there is a strong culture within the organization. The guys want to be here, they want to play together, and they want to see the project through to completion.

And according to the GM, there are guys all over the NHL who are no longer as closed to the idea of playing in Montreal as they once were. That's a good thing.


In a nutshell

– That's a lot of goals.

— Colorado is equipped to stay up late.

— The question arises.

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