California is not a fun place for the Habs and this past week was no exception for Montreal as they failed to pick up a win. Things were a bit better for the IceCaps split a pair of games against one of the better teams in their conference. Plus, the World Cup preliminary rosters are out; my Final Thought discusses the most notable omission from the Canadiens.
The trade deadline came and went this past Monday. Technically the Habs were one of the more active teams making two moves but neither was of particular significance. Our writers offer up their thoughts on what Montreal did plus their lack of notable moves.
The Habs surprised many by packaging their two rental forwards in the same deal, sending them to Chicago for Phillip Danault and a 2018 2nd round pick. Having had some time to evaluate the trade, our writers offer up their comments on the move.
It was a quiet deadline day for the Habs but they did get a deal in before the closing bell, shipping winger Devante Smith-Pelly to New Jersey in exchange for winger Stefan Matteau.
In a bit of a surprising move, the Habs picked up some veteran depth on trade deadline day, claiming rugged right winger Mike Brown off waivers from the San Jose Sharks.
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.
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.