As for the Habs, we don't necessarily expect a lot of movement but with Kent Hughes, you can never be sure of a surprise.
And here is a player that no one expects to leave Montreal could be sacrificed by the Habs' GM.
As reported by Marc-Olivier Cook of Danslescoulisses.com, former NHL tough guy and now BPM Sports host Georges Laraque made a huge statement on air when he said that there is a serious possibility that Mike Matheson will be traded.
Laraque even went further than that when he said this:
Wow!
After being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling, the Montreal defenseman is having a great season with 14 points in only 24 games.
But why would Kent Hughes trade his veteran defenseman at the deadline?
According to Laraque, the Canadiens could potentially receive a first round pick in 2023 and with the quality of this year's draft, having a third round pick would be quite tempting for the organization.
However, Matheson still has three years left on his contract at $4.875 million per season and even if Hughes doesn't trade him this year, he could still be worth a lot in a year or two.
It will be interesting to follow this issue in the coming days and as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, you can never be sure of a surprise with Kent Hughes.
Knowing that the Joel Edmundson file may not come to fruition, will Hughes actually use Matheson to acquire another valuable 2023 first round pick? To be continued.
For details:
POLL | ||
MARS 1 | 557 ANSWERS Major: Surprise statement on a possible upcoming trade involving Mike Matheson Would you trade Mike Matheson for a 2023 first round pick? | ||
Yes | 238 | 42.7 % |
No | 319 | 57.3 % |
List of polls |