The Montreal Canadiens have been keeping the NHL trade rumors chatter busy since the start with December with how bad the team has played. Current Habs rumors have the team looking to trade Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot and possibly Brendan Gallagher.
Pierre LeBrun was on TSN’s Insider trading and reports the Montreal Canadiens situation isn’t a traditional rebuild but more of a roster transformation.
LeBrun went on to say, he was told the Habs intend to be pretty aggressive in UFA market in the summer, they’d like to lure a big free agent or two. Potential options could be Filip Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Johnny Gaudreau, Kris Letang or Patrice Bergeron. If Martin St. Louis is signed to a contract extension, that may help in the recruiting process.
Montreal will still look to trade Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot at the trade deadline to accumulate draft picks and prospects, but Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton’s goal is not to do a full rebuild, but transform the team on the fly in the hopes of being a playoff contender next season. (this will all depend on if Carey Price comes back in full health)
