The Habs saved their best week of the month for last, picking up five of six points and played much better overall. Things weren’t as good for St. John’s as their swoon continues. Things were even better for Paul Byron though; his new contract is the subject of my Final Thought.
While some teams prefer to acquire draft picks for their rentals, others prefer to pick up some younger players that might benefit from a change of scenery. Marc Bergevin went that route already on Friday but will he try to add another one by the deadline?
The Habs decided not to wait until the trade deadline to sell their rental players as on Friday night, forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann were traded to Chicago in exchange for prospect Phillip Danault and a 2018 2nd round pick.
There’s no denying that the Habs need help up front. Will they be able to accomplish that at the trade deadline or just deal away their remaining rentals? Our trade odds conclude with a look at Montreal’s forwards.
The Habs were in an uncharacteristic position of defeating the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night 4-3. It was a relatively rare road win for Montreal who have struggled lately with their last victory away from home coming on January 23 in Toronto.
There will be one less rental player on the market for the Habs come Monday’s trade deadline as on Tuesday night, the team signed forward Paul Byron to a three year, $3.5 million extension.
A few months ago, the thought of selling at the trade deadline would have been dismissed as loony. However, that’s where the Habs find themselves with several players expected to move. Which ones will go? Our odds start with the goalies and defencemen.
It was a tough week on and off the ice for the Habs and it was almost just as bad for St. John’s who lost a pair of must-win games. As always, we have the stats for the week (which aren’t the prettiest) plus commentary on the Subban-Therrien ‘issue’ and the upcoming trade deadline.
With the Habs expected to sell before the upcoming trade deadline, some of St. John’s forwards could be on the move to Montreal. Could some of them be on the move to other organizations as well?
The NHL Trade Deadline is now less than two weeks away which means it’s time to kick off our annual Trade Odds series. First up is a look at the IceCaps, beginning with the goalies and defencemen.