With so many injuries hitting the Montreal Canadiens Lately, it’s become clear that general manager Kent Hughes would have to look outside the organization for NHL help, and that happened earlier this week when the Habs signed newly released St. Louis Blues forward Alexandre Texier. While some were happy to see reinforcements arriving, others found the acquisition a bit disappointing after a few weeks of speculation that saw the media talking about Ryan O’Reilly, Nazem Kadri or even Sidney Crosby in some cases.
According to Sources from Marco D’Amico of Research GroundCanadians aren’t done shopping. In an article published Tuesday morning, D’Amico explains, citing a Western Conference source, that the Canadiens are still looking for a center or a player among the top six.
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This isn’t surprising news, but it doesn’t change the fact that the market has been as stable as possible lately. However, American Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and eight times out of ten, if you’re in the playoffs for this holiday, you end up making spring dance. THE Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames are both below the 20 point threshold at present. At the same time, the Vancouver Canucks have decided to make some of their veteran players available, according to Elliotte Friedman.
These three teams could therefore be open for business sooner rather than later, with the roster freeze for the holidays approaching on December 20. The NHL trade market is often just a complex game of dominoes, and when a move happens, it can create a chain reaction.
As D’Amico points out, and as we’ve written before, Kent Hughes is not the kind of general manager to act out of panic; if he had been, he would have already overpaid rather than get low-cost short-term help in Texier. The general manager of the Habs knows how to bide his time; he has stuck to his rebuilding plan for years, and he will not skip certain steps despite the difficult situation in which injuries have put the Canadian.
Follow Karine on @KarineHains Blue sky @karinehains.bsky.social and son @karinehains.
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