Kent Hughes offered six players on the market to complement Caufield/Suzuki

Now that the lottery has ended positively for the Habs, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton can prepare for the next draft, which will be the first for both men with the Habs, while preparing for the 2022-2023 season.

While the team is in a rebuilding phase and Hughes has toned down expectations for the free-agent market, Keven Mawn of Fanadiens.com reported on six uncompensated free-agent proposals, made by the team on RDS' L'Antichambre, that could sign with the Habs and play alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

With the exception of a few good games from Josh Anderson, no one seems to be the perfect addition to the Habs' top line.

Among the six proposals, there are two of the best forwards available, Johnny Gaudreau and Filip Forsberg, as well as Ondrej Palat, Andre Burakovsky, Bryan Rust and David Perron.


With the exception of Perron, who is 34 years old, all the others are in their prime and would be excellent wingers to play with Suzuki and Caufield.

I would love to see Johnny Gaudreau play on the left side of the Habs' two young players, but he could be very expensive and Kent Hughes' hands are already tied with the payroll. The same goes for Filip Forsberg.

But for the others, the price could be interesting and even if the team is rebuilding, it is important to surround the young players of the team, especially Caufield and Suzuki who are the leaders on the attack and the fact of playing with a solid veteran could raise their game a notch.

I'm just throwing this out there, but if Shane Wright were to become the Habs' first pick in the next draft, maybe some free agents might start considering Montreal as a potential destination.