Countdown to TradeCentre: Canadiens set to sell?
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The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is approaching, and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell, and on which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Habs set to sell?
With the Canadiens in a tailspin entering the 4 Nations Face-Off, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette believes the team is in a "hard sell" position as the final sprint to the deadline begins.
Montreal went 1-7-1 in their final nine games before the break, falling six points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot with four teams sandwiched between them.
Cowan points to pending unrestricted free agent Jake Evans, Joel Armia, David Savard and Christian Dvorak as obvious trade pieces for general manager Kent Hughes. He doubts veteran winger Brendan Gallagher will be moved given his $6.5 million cap hit through 2026-27 and adds that, while Josh Anderson could draw interest, Hughes will not be giving away the 30-year-old forward.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported earlier this month that the Canadiens were not close on a contract extension with Evans after exchanging numbers with the forward. LeBrun stated a trade could be the likely outcome for Evans, with multiple teams expressing interest in the 28-year-old centre.
The Toronto native has scored 11 goals and 27 points over 56 games with the Canadiens this season, his sixth in Montreal after the organization selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. Evans is in the final season of a three-year, $5.1 million contract, with an average annual value of $1.7 million.
Armia, 31, has 10 goals and 24 points in 56 games this season while carrying a cap hit of $3.4 million,
Savard, 34, has one goal and 10 points in 50 games this season while sitting fifth among the team's defencemen in average ice time at 17:45 per game. He carries a cap hit of $3.5 million on his expiring deal.
Dvorak carries the highest cap hit of the expiring group at $4.45 million. The 29-year-old centre has six goals and 17 points in 56 games this season.
Savard was listed at No. 4 on the latest TSN Trade Bait board, with Evans at No. 12 and Armia at No. 3.
Will Utah stand pat?
The Utah Hockey Club remains in the fight for the playoffs, sitting six points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild-card spot with more game played.
The team has dealt with no shortage of injuries this season and general manager Bill Armstrong would like to see his club at full strength and to remain in the fight for the playoffs.
"Well, we're still in the fight. We made a lot of our trades, more or less in the summer or in the fall, so our team is built to some degree," Armstrong told the team's website. "We've got to see what they can do, but I'll probably have more to comment on as we come up to the deadline and see where we're at. It's a grind right now, but it's a good grind. This is exactly where we want to be."
Armstrong was unwilling to tip his hand with Alexander Kerfoot, Nick Bjugstad, Ian Cole, Olli Maatta and Karel Vejmelka among the team's pending unrestricted free agents.
"I'm not concerned about that," head coach Andre Tourigny said of deadline. "What I'm concerned with is winning games. Everybody in the organization wants to win so we decide — the coaches and players — what happens at the deadline. If we're in it, I know what will happen, and if we're not in it, well, they will have to make decisions.
"But if we come out of the break and we win our games and we're in by the trade deadline, or we're two points out, what do you think will happen? I know. The fans know. The reporters know. The GM knows. The owner knows. And it's like that on every team in the league. We just need to put our foot in the door, and then we know what will happen."
Armstrong noted the team could get injured forward Logan Cooley and defenceman Sean Durzi back in the lineup after the 4 Nations break. Utah has six games remaining before the deadline, a stretch that starts Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Practice resumes, will trades follow?
The 4 Nations Face-Off break ends for NHL teams on Tuesday, with practices allowed to resume at 2pm ET.
While no roster freeze has been in effect during the 4 Nations tournament, teams have largely held off making moves.
Tuesday marks 17 days until the trade deadline - the final stretch in a season that has already featured several big deals prior to the break.