Friday, the 2022-2023 National Hockey League (NHL) trading deadline, could reserve Montreal Canadiens fans their share of the action if recent years provide a glimpse of the rest.
• Also read: All transactions in the NHL
• Also read: Here’s why it’s positive for the Habs
Like last year, the Montreal team will fall into the sales camp as their chances of qualifying for the next playoffs are virtually nil. In addition, General Manager Kent Hughes is expected to be on the phone with some colleagues for the next few hours. Here’s a brief recap of the work of the Habs over the last five fateful dates of transactions.
– March 21, 2022
Confined to the lower end of the overall classification and having endured a period of upheaval with the arrival of Hughes, vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and head coach Martin St-Louis, the Canadian liquidated certain assets. He sent Brett Kulak to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman William Lagesson and two draft picks, but mainly traded veteran Artturi Lehkonen for Justin Barron and a second-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. The “Avs” quickly capitalized on their new addition en route to the Stanley Cup.
Hughes also helped his farm club Laval Rocket by getting his hands on Nate Schnarr and selling Andrew Hammond to the New Jersey Devils. The bet paid off as the branch advanced to the American League semifinals.
Thierry Laforce / QMI Agency
– April 12, 2021
In a 56-game-per-team limited season that saw the Habs manage to finish fourth in the North Section, GM Marc Bergevin wanted to add depth to the blue line. After bringing in Jon Merrill from the Detroit Red Wings the day before the deadline, he traded with the Philadelphia Flyers to bring on Erik Gustafsson.
The latter earned the seventh-round pick presented to the opposing team by playing 16 games during the team’s playoff run that reached the Stanley Cup Finals. He then signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
– February 24, 2020
Bergevin was clearly on the sell side and didn’t expect his club to make the playoffs at all…about five months later. The Canadian would have missed the playoffs if the pandemic hadn’t interrupted the regular season on March 12, 2020. So, a day before the deadline, he broke up with Ilya Kovalchuk, who was shipped to the Washington Capitals. The following day, the Bleu Blanc Rouge offered Ottawa Senators Matthew Peca while Nick Cousins landed at the Vegas Golden Knights for a fourth-round pick.
However, the replacement of Nate Thompson will have had a greater impact on the CH results. The veteran player was traded to the Flyers for a fifth-round pick. The following August, Thompson helped eliminate his old team.
– February 25, 2019
Some fans have criticized Bergevin for his decisions this winter, especially as the squad narrowly missed out on the playoffs despite having 96 points under their belt. It is true that the GM reinstated Thompson from the Los Angeles Kings and on February 11, 2019 got his hands on Philadelphia Flyers’ Dale Weise and Christian Folin. However, they were hoping for more than backup players, except for the organization settling on forward Jordan Weal, received from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Michael Chaput.
ARCHIVE PHOTO Martin Chevalier
– February 26, 2018
The day wasn’t easy for Bergevin, who unleashed elements of a formation practically barred from the playoffs. The change from Tomas Plekanec, who started with Kyle Baun to the Toronto Maple Leafs, against Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick (Jacob Olofsson) set the tone the day before. After that, the Canadian said goodbye to defenseman Joe Morrow, who transferred to the Winnipeg Jets, and welcomed defenseman Mike Reilly, who was transferred from the Minnesota Wild against a fifth-round pick.