Canadiens Look to Add AND Subtract at Deadline; 5 Names on Trade Block

Will the Montreal Canadiens be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? They're currently three points back of the last Wild Card spot in the East held by the Ottawa Senators, going into Saturday's play. But there are three other teams ahead of the Habs as well.

According to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Montreal will have eyes on both the present and the future at the deadline.

If they could do both (add & subtract) that would be the primary objective for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens... They're going to look at moving out some pieces, and collecting assets and potentially using those assets to fill holes in other areas of their club for a long-term addition.
They've made moves over the last couple of summers, bringing in Alex Newhook, bringing in Kirby Dach. If they can follow that model, and make a hockey-type trade where they're bringing in some younger NHL-caliber pieces, that's something I think the Canadiens would like to explore.

Pagnotta also lists five Montreal players that are out there as trade candidates that are generating interest around the league:

David Savard
Christian Dvorak
Joel Armia
Jake Evans
Mike Matheson

The first four on that list are impending unrestricted free agents, while Matheson has another year left, at a $4.875 cap hit. We discuss more on some of those names here.

Of the impending UFAs, Pagnotta labels Evans as the most interesting one, as he is having a breakthrough season, as the bottom-six center and defensive specialist is on pace to shatter his career highs on the offensive end. With 10 goals and 23 points through 38 games, he's on a 21-goal, 49-point pace, far surpassing his previous bests of 13 goals and 29 points, set three seasons ago.

The Habs would love to keep the 28-year-old Evans, but playing out the final season of his three-year, $1.7M AAV deal, his price continues to skyrocket as he continues to perform the way he has been. He had six goals and 12 points in 14 December games, with a plus-9 rating.

Do they try to sign him to a reasonable long-term extension, or do they try to maximize his value on the trade market?