“If Larkin agreed to play for the CH, he’d be at the golf tournament today.”

Marc-Olivier Cook
“If Larkin agreed to play for the CH, he’d be at the golf tournament today.”
Credit: Capture d'écran | YouTube

With the addition of Chris Kreider, the Canadiens are a better team than they were last week.

Kent Hughes found a way to add a forward who can help his team right away, and ultimately, it's a good move because the Habs needed a player like that.

But can this help Kent Hughes attract other players to the city?

It's possible, according to the GM… especially if the player in question has a no-trade clause. The addition of Kreider makes the Canadiens more attractive on paper, after all… and all signs point to the club having the resources to have a big season as well.

In the eyes of the players, that's no small thing. 

Hearing Kent Hughes say (in an interview with TVA Sports) that it's possible makes things interesting.

But that doesn't mean that ALL players will want to play in Montreal either: the case of Dylan Larkin is a good example… he hasn't been traded by the Red Wings yet.

And Renaud Lavoie put it well: if Larkin wanted to play for the Habs, we would have seen him this morning at the team's golf tournament. But… that's simply not the case.

If Larkin agreed to play for the Canadiens, he'd be at the golf tournament today. – Renaud Lavoie

So he still doesn't want to waive his no-trade clause. That's still the problem.

Nevertheless, it's good to know that the Canadiens are in this position today.

We saw it with Kreider, but we also saw it with Noah Dobson last summer: the Habs were among the finalist teams for the defenseman because he wanted a chance to win. He knew the team was young but talented… and that helped Dobson get a sense of what his future might hold.

And there are other guys who will go through that same process in the coming years…


Extension

In all of this, Martin St-Louis's presence is also important because the players know he's a coach who's well-liked in the locker room.

Word is spreading throughout the NHL, after all. And that, too, could help the Habs attract other players…

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