Kent Hughes back on the phone in the Jake Allen case

At the moment, there’s only one certainty in front of the net for the Habs: Samuel Montembeault is currently the man they trust, and the Habs, who have offered him a three-year contract, have no intention of letting him go.

As Kent Hughes said, it would have been easier to trade him if his contract had expired.

But what about the rest? It’s hard to know exactly what the Habs’ strategy will be in this never-ending three-way battle in front of the net.

Obviously, Jake Allen is up for grabs. That said, it’s hard to know when that will happen.

Frank Seravalli (Daily Faceoff ) mentioned that, following the Sean Monahan deal, Kent Hughes has started making calls again to see what value the goalie might have.

#Flames Noah Hanifin is the new No. 1 on the @DailyFaceoff Trade Targets board.

Calgary has the market cornered on D. And as they await word on a deal from Hanifin, he’ll be atop the board until it’s signed.

Seven new names: https://t.co/MLsogBwwQT pic.twitter.com/6ZVD3HqGAK

– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 8, 2024

But does this mean the goalkeeper will be leaving soon? Not necessarily, no. After all, if Kent Hughes doesn’t have his price on the goalie, he’s going to keep him, plain and simple.

After all, at the moment, there’s no public squabbling over the ménage à trois.

It’s also worth noting that Jake Allen is helping Cayden Primeau develop in the NHL. And on that subject, Seravalli mentioned that the Habs “like the progression in Cayden Primeau’s game” this season.

Yet the club hasn’t played him in weeks… which makes me wonder about Seravalli’s statement.

What I also take away from Seravalli’s comments about Jake Allen is that the tipster seems to think that if the Habs don’t intend to save a salary retention spot for the next draft.

Why not? Because, in his eyes…

An important aspect of the Sean Monahan deal was not withholding salary, keeping a spot open for Jake Allen – or to use at the deadline as a third wheel in a trade. – Frank Seravalli

This morning, my colleague Maxime Truman talked about this very point: it would be surprising if the Habs decided to land at the next draft without a salary holdback on their hands.

And why is that? Because it’s often at the draft that the big deals are made. Why deprive yourself of such a potential opportunity to be the third wheel in a transaction?

Last year, Kent Hughes helped the Penguins acquire Nick Bonino from the Sharks by withholding 25% of his salary. That was fine last year, but this year, does the Habs need to sacrifice their third salary retention for a fifth-round pick and a 28-year-old suspect like Tony Sund?

The opportunity could be better at the draft.

Even for Jake Allen (who could just as easily be traded at the draft as on July 1 without it making much difference to the Habs), I don’t know if it would be worth it for Kent Hughes to “waste” his salary retention right now.

Having that asset at the draft would be interesting.

In gusts

– Well done.

– Too bad.

– Phil Kessel on the Canucks?

– Really?

– Nice read.

– Great idea.