Canadiens Rumoured To Have Interest In Young Blueliner

While the Montreal Canadiens have been as silent as can be in both the free-agent and trade markets, at least when it comes to finalizing deals, GM Kent Hughes has been busy putting pen to paper with the team’s young players. There was no urgency in signing Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes on paper. They still had a year left on their deal, but taking care of those contracts a year in advance means the Canadiens no longer have to worry about them. Demidov wouldn’t have been eligible for an offer sheet next season, but Dobes could have been, and the situation the Anaheim Ducks find themselves in right now is a cautionary tale if ever there was one.

Their budding first-line center, Leo Carlsson, has signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers for an $18 million cap hit. Cutter Gauthier is an RFA, and while he cannot sign an offer sheet, he is no doubt closely monitoring the Carlsson situation. Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov is an RFA as well, but like Carlsson, he could sign an offer sheet, and several teams are reportedly interested, including the Canadiens, according to David Pagnotta.

Advertisement

Canadiens Players Are Not Taking It Easy
Top-Scoring American Players With The Montreal Canadiens
Shots Fired In The NHL, Canadiens And Hughes Safe In Their Culture-Built Bunker

That seems rather surprising considering that Mintyukov is a left-shot defenseman, something the Canadiens are definitely not lacking. Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj are all lefties, just like Adam Engstrom, who’s knocking on the Canadiens’ door and has seen enough AHL action.

However, it was clear in the playoffs that Martin St-Louis didn’t have much trust in Xhekaj and Struble. If the Habs can find a right-shot defenseman to play alongside Hutson, Guhle would go back to the left side, and neither of them would have to be used. But that’s proven to be a tough challenge.