Early Trading: Dreger - Habs trade opens door to other possibilities

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Gino Reda to discuss what other trade plans the Canadiens could have to bolster their roster, the Canucks' continued hunt for a defenceman, Kaapo Kakko's fresh start in Seattle and where things stand with contract negotiations between Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs.

Geno Reda: The NHL Christmas trade freeze kicks in tonight at midnight. So what's going on? To talk about that, let's bring in Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. Dregs, that's made a deal Wednesday to bring Alexandre Carrier to bolster their blueline, but could this be just the start of something even bigger in Montreal?

Darren Dreger: Well, I don't know about bigger Geno, but it could be the start of something. Look, Kent Hughes, the general manager there, has made no secret of the fact that he is open for business. Now, he's not selling off good young assets, even though Justin Barron, a talented young defenceman was part of the deal going to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Carrier, but the reason behind that is two fold. No. 1, we know what that Montreal Canadiens blueline should look like in the not too distant future. So you're going to see the likes of David Reinbacher, you're going to see Logan Mailloux occupying a full time position on that Montreal blueline. Alright, so they create a little bit more room there, but they also bring in the experience of Alexandre Carrier and that could help them kind of make their way to the future. But in the meantime, if someone were to make an offer on say veteran defenceman like Savard or Matheson, then this gives backfill to Kent Hughes to consider that between now and March 7th. So Kent Hughes is in a pretty good spot in terms of trying to bolster what he already has.

Reda: Speaking of blueliners, we've were talking about the Canucks looking for top four D-man on Insider Trading earlier this week. We're talking about it for a while. Seems like a Jackets could be a little hesitant to move in Ivan Provorov, so if that's the case, where are the Canucks looking now?

Dreger: Well, there's scouring the National Hockey League and nothing has changed there in terms of their priority. And that is, as we've reported, the top four defenceman. They need that piece hard. But the problem that the Vancouver Canucks are coming across as the freeze approaches is that it is still relatively early in the season. And yes, of course this is a soft deadline because of the roster freeze. But, teams aren't entirely sure that they're interested in giving up a top four defenceman unless a top player is coming back the other way. So there's been a lot of speculation around Patrik Allvin management of the Vancouver Canucks. Again, we know what the need is on that blueline in Vancouver. Just trying to find the right fit from a timing perspective, Geno, I think is the biggest hurdle that Alvin and the Vancouver Canucks are trying to overcome, but they're the buzz around the National Hockey League because as we kick tires going into the freeze, that's the messaging we're getting from other clubs. Check in on Vancouver because they're grinding away.

Reda: There's a buzz around the Rangers and right now that buzz is not good. They shook things up by moving Kaapo Kakko just a couple of days after he started making the noise about being a healthy scratch again. What have you heard around the league on the heels of him being shipped out to Seattle?

Dreger: I think people were a bit surprised that the deal came together so quickly, but you know again, if you feel that way and you're on the outside looking in, then you don't know Ron Francis, the general manager of the Seattle Kraken very well. Here's the GM that does not do his business publicly, so undoubtedly he had been in constant communication with Chris Drury of the New York Rangers. But the sense going up to that trade was it's probably going to stay quiet. Again, tons of speculation around Kaapo Kakko, that's not new. I mean, we can go back to the offseason with some of the talk around this talented, young forward. I think that this is a terrific opportunity for Kakko, given where he was drafted by the New York Rangers it makes sense that Chris Drury had to hold out to get what he needed and a good return coming back, but a lot of people around the league kicked tires on Kaapo Kakko when with the New York Rangers because they believed he has a lot more to give offensively. And clearly that's what the Seattle Kraken are counting on. Whether or not the Rangers are the right fit for Kaapo Kakko, breaking into the National Hockey League, I guess we can debate that. But now he's got the opportunity to prove that he can be kind of a hybrid version of a power forward in Seattle. Geno, you watch a lot of international hockey, the Kaapo Kakko that we see play for Team Finland is not consistently the player that we see or saw play for the New York Rangers and that's what Seattle is hoping that they're getting in him. Just an opportunity to have a little bit more there in terms of responsibility and ice time and all that goes into his want to be a better forward.

Reda: Listen, we were down at the owners meetings in Florida last week and Brendan Shanahan told us the Leafs are taking their time now in the Mitch Marner front. What's your take on what's actually going on behind the scenes? Because if they don't do something, Marner could walk as a UFA at the end of the season.

Dreger: Yeah, I mean, that's the threat, right? When you look at the big games like Marner, I think of Mikko Rantanen with the Colorado Avalanche. We don't have to talk about Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers anymore because that deal is now locked up. I think that Shanahan and company deserves some credit and how they've managed this process. So you know you've got Shanahan, of course, you've got the general manager, Brad Treliving, and by extension, head coach Craig Berube, who've done a real nice job of keeping the circus like atmosphere away from Mitch Marner. And then credit where credit is due. Mitch Marner vowed that his focus was on being better this year and helping his team win. He's been an incredible story for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Maple Leafs, they've had some inconsistencies, but for the most part, they've kept their spot atop the division in that battle with the Florida Panthers. But as we flipped the calendar, Gino, into 2025, even though I know there's regular communication between the agent Darren Ferris and Brad Treliving, I would think that the Maple Leafs are going to need some direction, maybe definition on exactly what the Marner camp is looking for. But they're not there yet. It's just playing nice with one another in allowing Marner to remain focused on being the best that he can be, which ultimately turns into the Maple Leafs being a better team.