Journalist Floats Trade Idea That Could See the Canadiens Land Star Center from the Ducks
Photo credit: NHL
Kent Hughes has made some very solid roster moves in recent weeks, but he has yet to solve the issue at the second-line center position. With the free agent market now quite limited at that spot, the Montreal Canadiens' GM will have to turn to the trade market if he wants to address it.
That works out well, because there's a team that just happens to have the perfect center for the Habs - the Anaheim Ducks and young Mason McTavish.
A perfect trade for both the Ducks and the Canadiens
As noted by Samuel Doiron of HabsolumentFan, the Habs and Ducks are the ideal trade partners to fulfill both teams' needs.
Indeed, the Ducks currently have a surplus of forwards, especially after the recent additions of Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund.
Even with the departure of Trevor Zegras, the team's offense remains loaded.
Not to mention, as Doiron points out, there have been recent rumblings of Mason McTavish being unhappy with the current state of the club.
The new additions to Anaheim's roster will undoubtedly eat into his ice time on offensive units.
It's also worth noting that the Ducks have prospects like Beckett Sennecke and Roger McQueen waiting in the wings.
So it begs the question - what exactly are the Ducks planning to do with McTavish?
What's interesting here is that the Habs have exactly what the Ducks need: a veteran defenseman.
Sure, they have Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba for leadership, but they could use more to properly guide young blueliners like Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau, and Olen Zellweger.
Is Mike Matheson not the perfect defenseman for the Ducks?
That's why Doiron proposes this trade:
To Montreal:
Mason McTavish
To Anaheim:
Mike Matheson (re-signed for 4 years), Kirby Dach, 2nd-round pick (1st-rounder if not enough)
Mason McTavish
To Anaheim:
Mike Matheson (re-signed for 4 years), Kirby Dach, 2nd-round pick (1st-rounder if not enough)
Michael
Matheson - the final piece to help the Habs land a center?
During Kent Hughes' press conference after free agency opened, it was made clear that Mike Matheson would remain in Montreal.
Journalist: "Many have linked Noah Dobson's arrival with a potential departure of Mike Matheson. From your perspective, do you see yourself continuing with Mike Matheson?"
Kent Hughes, without hesitation: "Yes."
Kent Hughes, without hesitation: "Yes."
That said, in my opinion and that of many others, he remains the final major trade chip the Canadiens have to acquire a center. The GM will need to be patient and play this card carefully to avoid wasting it.
The issue is that Matheson is a valuable piece for the Habs. But he now likely ranks as the team's #3 or #4 defenseman behind Guhle, Hutson, and Dobson.
Management will have to weigh whether his usefulness on the roster outweighs his value on the trade market.
Even though he took on more defensive responsibilities last season and performed well, he is aging, and in my view, the risk of his trade value dropping is significant.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 10 | 2164 ANSWERS Journalist Floats Trade Idea That Could See the Canadiens Land Star Center from the Ducks Would you trade Mike Matheson + Kirby Dach + a 1st or 2nd round pick for Mason McTavish? | ||
| Yes | 1242 | 57.4 % |
| No | 922 | 42.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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