More and more players would not want to play in Montreal
Seth Jones is on the trade market, Ryan Suter is available to all teams, so is Dougie Hamilton, and these names can be attached to Montreal. We can also add David Savard's name to the Canadiens-related rumors. However, none of them seem destined to land in Montreal during the off-season since this city is less and less attractive for players, compare to the others in Canada.
Elliotte Friedman reported that a general manager of the circuit said that the city of Montreal and Canada are becoming less popular destinations for several reasons. The GM in question is hearing more and more players say they wish they weren't playing in Canada. This is a real thing, he says, because of taxes, social media and severe health restrictions in Canada.
One of the players who might be willing to join one of the Canadian teams, with the Montreal Canadiens at the top of the list is David Savard. Savard is an unrestricted free agent at the time this article is written, so as of July 28, he will know his next destination. The 30-year-old defenseman knows the Montreal market, as he is a native of Saint-Hyacinthe.
However, is he still the type of candidate that the Habs are looking for? They want to replace Shea Weber, not add a third pairing defenseman, right? Savard has an excellent first pass, but in the last few years, he was more focused on his defensive game. He's not bad, but he's not the defenseman that should be at the top of Marc Bergevin's shopping list, let's face it!
In short, before falling into the negative about Canada's teams, let's wait for the results of free agency before analyzing everything.
