Top Oilers Prospect Linked To Canadiens In Potential Monahan Trade

As rumours swirl as to which teams have interest in the Montreal Canadiens' Sean Monahan, the Edmonton Oilers have been a team that is said to for sure have interest in the centerman.

The Canadiens took on Monahan from the Calgary Flames last offseason and got a first round pick to do so. They have already benefited greatly from doing so and will gain more assets when they trade him to a contender before the deadline.

Dany Dube reported that it shouldn't be a surprise if the Canadiens ask for Xavier Bourgault from Edmonton in a Monahan trade. From the Oilers' perspective, this is a bad move. Bourgault is one of the team's top prospects and their 2021 first round pick (22nd overall). If the Oilers were to target a centre like Monahan to play in their middle-six, sending a draft pick back to the Canadiens would be much more likely.

Bourgault is two years ahead of what any draft pick in 2023 or later is and will provide the Oilers with reinforcements much sooner as they are in their window to win right now. An argument can be made that Monahan is immediate help for Edmonton, but he is a rental and Bourgault will likely help the Oilers out for much longer and have a larger impact in his career.

There are also better rentals the Oilers can go out and get if they were to consider trading away one of their top prospects.