Deal Concluded Between Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals: Defenseman Joel Edmundson Comments

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Elias Edmonson
July 7, 2023 (8:36 PM)

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At the same time that the free agency market was opening last week, the Canadiens announced that they had traded defenseman Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals in exchange for draft picks.

This Wednesday, the veteran addressed the media to discuss the transfer and his time in Montreal. In his comments, he admitted something that we all knew, the team management is looking to rejuvenate the roster.

"I had the feeling that this kind of development was going to happen. I saw how Montreal was building its team with the aim of making it younger. Obviously, there was the opening of the free agency market approaching and I thought that a possibility might arise by then. Now, my fiancée and I are very excited about the idea of moving to Washington." - Joel Edmundson

Edmundson therefore confirms, without really saying so, that the Canadiens are in full rebuild. It is visible when we look at the team's defense which will once again be one of the youngest in the league. Only David Savard (32 years old) and Chris Wideman (33 years old) are over 30 on the blue line, while Michael Matheson will turn thirty next February.

All other Canadiens defenders are 25 and under: Johnathan Kovacevic (25 years old), Jordan Harris (22 years old), Arber Xhekaj (22 years old), Justin Barron (21 years old) and Kaiden Guhle (21 years old). We also should not forget those knocking at the door, such as Lane Hudson, Logan Mailloux and the newcomer David Reinbacher.

In his interactions with the media, Edmundson also mentioned that Kent Hughes was very transparent with him. The General Manager wanted to trade him, and at a time when the return would be good.

To date, Mike Hoffman (33 years old), Jake Allen (32 years old), Brendan Gallagher (31 years old) and Joel Armia (30 years old) are the other players over 30 in the organization. One has to wonder if this transparency has also been made with some of these players, as it is now clear, the Canadiens are still in rebuilding mode.