Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta joined TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked about the Montreal Canadiens’ needs for a second-line center and right-shooting defenseman. Given the assets they have amassed, is it possible for them to be this aggressive?
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Host: “So, Dave, you say the Canadiens want a right-handed defenseman and a top-six player, and I say who doesn’t, right? That’s the problem here, it’s definitely a seller’s market. And if the Canadiens want to get one of those two things, if not both of those things, then we look at a trade, but maybe, it looks like, Cadien that seems to be what the market is saying right now.”
Dave Pagnotta: “And they’re in a position to do that, and I think they’re free to do that if they get the right fit. You look at a lot of teams out there that have stacked prospects and draft picks, they’ve done it for these goals. They’ve done it for the reason that we know we’re going to get to a point where if we gradually add up we can do our job, we’ll be able to do our deep bowl, we’ll be able to do our deep job, and we’ll be able to pay for our bowl. That.
If you look at some of these stockpiling teams, I think St. Like they’re going to use some of those, they’re still going to try to bring in the pieces that come out quickly as they go through their little transition from Doug Armstrong to Alex Steen as GM.
Steen has taken Robert Thomas off the trade market and is looking at other options with Jordan Kyrou (traded to Washington), Colton Parayko (off the board), and Jordan Binington. I spoke to a few players who were on the market in the league yesterday, they all want to know what will happen, because we are always watching, they are also watching, there is a lot of work out there.
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Of course, for teams like the Habs who have all these picks and prospects, that’s why they do what they do; that’s why you collect, because you can take those next steps. Chicago is in a similar situation. Many groups. Look what LA had a few years ago. They are considered the deepest pools in the league from I think 2015 to 2020 on that list, and not many of those people turn over, even before that, or say 2018 to 2022 there were a lot of top prospects at that time in LA, and they held on to almost all of them, minus a few here and there.
They came out, especially, they went, I follow, they came out (Rasmus) Kupari, who is now in Europe, but they had many others and many opportunities to put those pieces together to bring help quickly. They thought all those guys were going to hit. They won’t all hit, but they look good at the moment, so that’s why you collect, because it’s tempting to make those kinds of moves.
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Teams look at that and go, okay, those were mistakes we don’t want to repeat, so we’re going to take a shot now, take our swings, see if it works out. The Canadiens, too, are in a better position to do that, and if they pay less, because they give up more hope or more picks, the idea of Vegas-Florida, and now Carolina, too.
You bring goods that will be here for a long time. Same thing going back to last year with (Noah) Dobson, giving up the first two and (Emil) Heinemann, right? But he got Dobson eight years at his age. Vegas did the same with (Jack) Eichel, they did the same with a lot of their guys. Florida did the same here. Then you have Brady Tkachuk now for two years. Yes, you will probably sign an extension.
Guess what, he’s only 26 years old. You will be 28 years old when you sign that agreement. He will be 35 years old at the end of that contract. The window is there; the juice is worth squeezing. Teams are determined to squeeze it in, and the Canadiens are in a perfect position to do so.
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