An Unexpected Turnaround About to be Announced for Denis Gurianov?

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Elias Edmonson
June 25, 2023 (4:44 PM)

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Acquired from the Dallas Stars in exchange for the enigmatic Evgeny Dadovov shortly before the trade deadline, Russian forward Denis Gurianov collected eight points, including five goals in 23 games with the Canadiens. Despite this honest production, many experts still doubt that Gurianov will be back in Montreal next year.

If he does not receive a qualifying offer from Kent Hughes by June 30, he will become an unrestricted free agent the next day and will be able to sign a new agreement with the team of his choice.

However, as reported by Cimon Asselin, from Habsolumentfan.com, one should not exclude Gurianov's return to the Canadiens next year.

There could be a major reversal in this case.

At least this is what journalist Marc-Antoine Godin says. According to his sources, he should not receive a qualifying offer from the Canadiens, him who was earning $2.9 million last year, but Kent Hughes may have a plan for his forward.

As of tonight, I'm told that even if he does not receive a qualifying offer from the Canadiens, Denis Gurianov's return to Montreal is not completely ruled out.

I think it depends on certain things that Hughes and Gorton will try to do in the days leading up to the draft."

Does this guarantee that Denis Gurianov will wear the tricolor uniform in 2023-2024?

Obviously not, but the fact remains that the Russian forward is a puzzle, not only for fans, but also for the Canadiens' top brass.

If we remember correctly, he had excellent playoffs during the Stars' run to the finals in 2020 with a harvest of 17 points, including nine goals in 27 matches and at only 26 years old, he should still have a few good seasons left in the tank.

That said, Kent Hughes will have to offer a new contract to Gurianov to bring him back to Montreal next season, but we still do not know which Denis Gurianov will show up at training camp,

The one from the 2020 playoffs or the one who was sometimes completely invisible during certain games of the CH at the end of the season.