The Montreal Canadiens already have one of the most talented, deepest, and youngest rosters in the NHL. The club proved just how dangerous the team could be with their playoff run this past spring.
But one of the things the Habs lack at the moment is a true superstar. And if one such superstar could become available, could the Canadiens reel him in?
That’s what veteran NHL journalist James Murphy believes. During an appearance on The Sick Podcast, Murphy floated the idea that the Colorado Avalanche need a massive shakeup to get out of the funk they seem to be in. That shakeup could involve trading Nathan MacKinnon. And if that’s the case, the Canadiens could be in a position to pounce.
“I look at that Colorado Avalanche roster the last four seasons since then (2022), I think they should have won another. They, maybe, did not reach their potential. They should have made another Stanley Cup Final… They’ve kind of underwhelmed.”
The caveat in this conversation is that there is no evidence whatsoever that MacKinnon is on the market, or ever will be. However, Murphy points towards the fact that the Avalanche must extend Cale Makar. Makar’s extension will determine a great deal of the direction Colorado takes moving forward. Even if the Avalanche manage to avoid dismantling their team to pay Makar, the big question remaining is whether the Avs have somehow the team can win another Stanley Cup.
That’s where Murphy believes the Canadiens can take full advantage of the situation.
“If this ever happened, with this guy (MacKinnon) was available, I think the Montreal Canadiens are the most poised to acquire him. They have all the things that Colorado could use.”
There’s a lot to unpack there.
What Would Canadiens Have to Give Up to Land Nathan MacKinnon
So, the biggest question in this entire discussion is what the acquisition cost to land MacKinnon would be. On the surface, this trade could easily be bigger than the Quinn Hughes deal from last season. The Minnesota Wild gave up the equivalent of four first-round picks.
That’s where the conversation would have to start. The first piece would have to be a center who could take over for MacKinnon in Colorado. The Avalanche don’t have an heir-apparent to MacKinnon, and unless the Canadiens were willing to give up Nick Suzuki, the Habs don’t have anything along those lines.
The closest thing the Canadiens could offer is Michael Hage. That could be a good start, but it will take more than just Hage to get this deal done. The deal will also cost a high-end defenseman, potentially meaning Kaiden Guhle or Noah Dobson heading out West. Perhaps another interesting piece might be Oliver Kapanen, though the Avalanche might have their eye on Juraj Slafkovsky or Cole Caufield.
Lastly, the Canadiens would have to give up a couple of first-rounders, those they wouldn’t have nearly as much value, considering that the Habs don’t figure to be getting any top-10 picks anytime soon.
If the aforementioned pieces seem like a steep price, that’s just the start of the discussion.
What to read next:
Habs Face Major Hurdle in Potential MacKinnon Deal
Even if the Canadiens were willing to part with a package of, say, Slafkovsky, Hage, Guhle, and two first-round picks, the Habs would have to fit MacKinnon’s $12.6 million cap hit.
That hurdle might not be that hard to overcome considering the rising cap and the salaries moved out in the deal.
Since MacKinnon still has five more years left on his current contract, the Canadiens would have some cost certainty there. However, losing pieces like Slafkovsky and Guhle could require replacements. Unless the organization was confident that internal options like David Reinbacher and Alexander Zharovsky could make up the difference, the Habs may have some trouble rounding out the roster.
Still, the thought of rolling out Nick Suzuki and Nathan MacKinnon could be too much for Canadiens fans to resist.
The deal is unlikely to happen, but Murphy might have just alluded to a highly interesting possibility.
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