Major trade Concluded by VCR: Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan is officially the center player targeted by many

PUBLICATION

Elias Edmonson
February 1, 2024 (11:24)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Vancouver Canucks surprised many Wednesday night by acquiring Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in exchange for numerous assets.

And this transaction that has just been announced will have direct impacts on the Montreal Canadiens.

This trade, which occurred quite early before the March 8 deadline, is somewhat a blessing for Kent Hughes. He now knows the market value of Sean Monahan, which is significantly high when you see what the Flames received, and he now has a clear path to receive bids from his counterparts, as Monahan is now the best center player available on the market.

Comparing the two players, besides being the same age, they have quite similar statistics this season. The new Canucks player has accumulated 32 points (including 9 goals) in 49 games while the CH forward has accumulated 35 points (including 13 goals) in as many games.

Hughes can therefore base on what the Flames acquired for a future transaction involving Monahan. He could even hope for a bit more since Monahan's salary is much smaller ($4.85M VS $1.985M).

One small hiccup, and this is where the Lindholm trade helps the CH the most, is Monahan's injury history. Kent Hughes can take advantage of the fact that he now has a clear path to proceed with a trade and receive a bid before the main party gets injured. Waiting until the trade deadline would be very risky for the Canadiens.

Therefore, it would not be surprising if Kent Hughes trades his veteran sooner rather than later. The GM has already shown, with the Tyler Toffoli trade, that he is not afraid to make a trade well before the trade deadline.

The next name Kent Hughes might keep an eye on is Adam Henrique. The Ducks' forward, who is making $5.825M this season, could also leave his team. The CH must now, having an idea of the value of their center player, trade before it goes down through a Henrique trade, which would remove another team from the bidding.

Be warned, you haven't heard the last of Sean Monahan's case!