Major trades are expected this summer: Kent Hughes will have to be (very) aggressive

Félix Forget
Major trades are expected this summer: Kent Hughes will have to be (very) aggressive
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The Canadiens are one of the last three teams still in contention in the NHL this season. The team is trailing in its series against the Hurricanes, but it has a chance to tie the series at 2-2 tonight.

Otherwise, they'll be in a precarious position.

That said, regardless of the series' outcome, the Habs' season has been a success. We've seen that the league's second-youngest team is capable of competing with the league's top clubs… even if there are still areas that could use some work. The sacrosanct second-line center, for example…

And what's interesting is that Pierre LeBrun, in an article for The Athletic today, chatted a bit about what's coming in the NHL. And what he explains is that we should expect major trades across the league this summer.

The reason? Everyone has money to spend (due to the salary cap explosion)… and there's almost nothing on the free-agent market.

What's clear is that if the Canadiens want to improve, they'll have to do it through the trade market. And considering that their young core has already shown such promise, the club needs to shift into high gear to get better now.

And once again, all of this brings us back to Nico Hischier.

Hischier, who is one year away from full free agency, couldn't be a better fit for the Canadiens' needs at the second-line center position. He's a left-handed center who scores goals, racks up points, excels defensively, and wins faceoffs.

And we already know that Kent Hughes is quite interested in his services, even if he's likely to come at a high price.

Of course, for that to happen, the Devils would have to fail to reach an agreement with their captain and be open to trading him. Remember that the team has a new GM, Sunny Mehta, who is a big fan of advanced statistics and is very likely to push hard to reach an agreement with him.

But whether it's Hischier or someone else, the Habs will have no choice but to try to improve and make a big move: if they stagnate while many other teams are likely to improve, they risk falling behind… and after a strong playoff run this year, that wouldn't send the right message to the team.


Quick Take

– It starts in less than two hours.

– Jaroslav Halak will be at the Bell Centre tonight.

– That has to change.

– That's true.

– (Nazem Kadri's cat) wants to see Mitch Marner win the Stanley Cup.

– Well done.

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