Injured defenseman: The Habs pulled out of two deals involving right-handed defensemen at the trade deadline

Mathis Therrien
Injured defenseman: The Habs pulled out of two deals involving right-handed defensemen at the trade deadline
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Right-handed defensemen are a rare commodity in the National Hockey League.

Generally speaking, it's easier to find a left-handed defenseman, which makes right-handed defensemen highly valuable on the trade market.

It is often a priority for many teams during the offseason and at the trade deadline to acquire a right-handed defenseman capable of playing on a top-4 pairing.

In fact, at the recent trade deadline on March 6, the Canadiens were among the teams potentially looking for a right-handed defenseman.

There were several rumors to that effect, and since then, we've been learning more and more about the deals in which the Habs were involved.

Pierre LeBrun, who was a guest on the Sick Podcast, confirmed earlier this week that Kenyt Hughes pulled out of two right-handed defenseman deals—those involving Rasmus Ristolainen and Connor Murphy.

LeBrun explained that the Canadiens ultimately decided against overpaying for either defenseman, considering it a risky move that could have been just as beneficial as it could have been regrettable.

I agree that the trades you don't make can sometimes be the best ones, but with Alexandre Carrier's recent injury, I'm sure Kent Hughes has to reconsider those two deals at least a little.

Since Carrier is right-handed, his injury means the Habs now have five left-handed defensemen (Hutson, Guhle, Matheson, Struble, and Xhekaj) on the blue line, and only one right-handed defenseman in Noah Dobson.

This isn't the end of the world, of course, but it can sometimes hinder the performance of left-handed defensemen who are forced to play on the right side.

If Kent Hughes had decided to overpay for Murphy or Ristolainen, the Habs' defense wouldn't have been so disrupted and altered by Carrier's injury.

Ultimately, Martin St-Louis finds himself in a bit of a bind, as he has to rely on Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble at the same time every night, which is clearly not ideal for the head coach, especially in the final stretch leading up to the playoffs.

In short, I'm not saying that Kent Hughes made a mistake by backing out of those two deals at the trade deadline, but I'm sure he must be thinking he'd be in a better position right now.

In the end, Ristolainen stayed in Philadelphia, while Murphy was acquired by the Edmonton Oilers at 50% salary in exchange for a second-round pick.

A second-round pick that Hughes might wish he had spent now that Carrier is sidelined for another few weeks.


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