The Canadiens are among the teams best positioned to make a hostile bid

Raphael Simard
The Canadiens are among the teams best positioned to make a hostile bid
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

It's shaping up to be an interesting summer in the NHL.

Even though the free-agent market is as dry as the Sahara Desert, the trade market shouldn't disappoint.

Despite the lack of top-tier unrestricted free agents, there will be restricted free agents (RFAs) eligible for hostile offer sheets. And in this category, the Habs are well-positioned.

The Habs are well-positioned, as they are among the teams that meet all the necessary criteria to submit a hostile bid.

For a team to make a hostile bid, it must obviously have the necessary funds available, but it must also have its own draft picks. As shown in the table below, the team has its four first-round picks in the next five drafts, as well as its second- and third-round picks in 2027.

So no matter which player Kent Hughes wants to target, he won't have to worry about his draft picks.

(Credit: The Athletic)

And among the players who will be eligible to receive hostile offers, The Athletic has identified a few who might be of interest to clubs.

Shayna Goldman (The Athletic) mentions Pavel Dorofeyev (Knights), Mackie Samoskevich (Panthers), Mavrik Bourque (Stars), Jack Drury (Avalanche), and Brandt Clarke (Kings). Hostile bids are rare in the NHL, and those that succeed are even rarer.

I don't think Kent Hughes will venture down that path this summer, but we know him well: he can always surprise us. In any case, he's in a good position to do so in 2026.


In Brief

– Patrik Laine has a new look.

– Worth a listen.

– Really?

– Good news.

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