The Canadiens are battling two other teams for the two big goalies on the market.

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens are battling two other teams for the two big goalies on the market.
Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

That's it: it's trade deadline day.

The last few hours have been intense. Conor Garland (Columbus), Sam Carrick, Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn (Buffalo), and John Carlson (Anaheim) all changed addresses overnight.

And in the case of the legendary Caps player, it really was overnight. He found out when he woke up this morning.

But now we'll have to see what this deadline day has in store for us. Will Robert Thomas and Matthew Knies be traded for each other? Who will be the biggest names to leave?

Of course, we'll be keeping a close eye on the Blues. They'll no doubt try to send Colton Parayko to the West, and several of their guys will be at the center of discussions.

Will the fact that the Blues probably leaked the “Parayko to Buffalo” story to put pressure on him upset the guys, forcing them to refuse to leave to punish their GM? Who knows.

That remains to be seen.

One name to watch is Jordan Binnington. He's capable of stepping up when a good team is playing in front of him (we saw that with the Blues in 2019 and with Team Canada over the past 13 months), so he's in demand.

The problem for the Blues is that the goalie market isn't the strongest. According to Nick Kypreos, it's hard to imagine the Blues' goalie (and Sergei Bobrovsky) being traded anywhere other than Vegas, Carolina, or Montreal.

Will the Blues and Panthers be too greedy? It's possible.

It should be noted that it would be surprising to see a rental goalie (Bob) arrive in Montreal. But it's possible that Samuel Montembeault (who is scheduled to play tonight, as usual) could be traded to the Blues for his Team Canada teammate.

Oh, by the way: the Canadiens are currently in Anaheim and the Blues will be playing in San Jose tonight. The Habs could very well play Dobes tonight and sit Binnington at the end of the bench in the event of a trade, you know. I'm not saying it's going to happen: I'm just saying that in terms of logistics, the presence of both clubs in California makes it possible.

Obviously, it won't just be the goalies to watch for the Canadiens. The priority is probably to get their hands on a right-handed defenseman in Montreal.

Zach Whitecloud's name is still being discussed, but the Habs know that several names are available.

The Habs won't force a trade just for the sake of it, but we'll also be keeping an eye on the offense. If a Robert Thomas or Nazem Kadri doesn't come to town, depth could be added—both for the Rocket and the Habs.

A.J. Greer is one player to watch in particular.


Overtime

Don't underestimate the possibility of the Canadiens trading someone. Patrik Laine is one name that quickly comes to mind in this regard.

But so is a guy like Arber Xhekaj, in fact.

It should be noted that Kent Hughes currently has $1.5 million in cap space. The additions of Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier have meant that the Canadiens' early signings have affected the team's flexibility.

But if (50% of) Patrik Laine's contract were to go, that would help.

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