The Montreal Canadiens are battling for a playoff spot, but this offseason should look to bolster their roster.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Canadiens acquiring Vladimir Tarasnko from the Detroit Red Wings in an offseason move.
Canadiens acquire:
- Vladimir Tarasenko ($1.8 million retained)
Red Wings acquire:
- 2025 third-round pick (New Jersey’s)
The proposed deal does make sense, as Detroit gets off of Tarasenko’s contract while the Canadiens add some more offense to their lineup.
Tarasenko signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal with Detroit last offseason, but he has struggled with the Red Wings. Montreal would take a flier on the two-time Stanley Cup champ to bolster their offense and be a middle-six forward while also adding some veteran leadership to the locker room.
Tarasenko won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and then won it again with the Florida Panthers in 2024. This season with the Red Wings, he’s recorded 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 70 games.
In return, Detroit would acquire a third-round pick in this year’s draft for dealing Tarasenko to a division rival.
Red Wings Looked to Trade Tarasenko at the Deadline
Detroit signed Tarasenko to add some offense and leadership to the locker room. However, the Russian has struggled to fit in.
With the Red Wings likely to miss the playoffs again, Detroit was looking to trade Tarasenko.
“I’ve heard there’s been some noise around him,” Friedman said on Saturday Headlines on February 22. “Red Wings have gotten much better, they’re in the race. A lot of the players have started to play better, but it’s kind of struggled to be a fit. I’ve just heard that in his particular case, there’s been some conversation around him.”
However, no deal was made, and Tarasenko has remained on the Red Wings roster. So, perhaps Detroit looks to explore trading Tarasenko again in the offseason when he has just one year left on his deal.
Canadiens Battling for Playoff Spot
Montreal is currently in a push for the final Wild Card spot in the East.
Entering play on March 29, the Canadiens are outside of the playoff spot, as they are tied in points with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but have played one more game. To get into the playoffs, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis believes they need to play better structured hockey.
“I think you see less and less turnovers, stubborn plays when there’s nothing there,” St. Louis said. “The teams are managing their risk way more, so there’s more deep pucks when there’s no numerical advantage. You’re still going to have the turnovers from lack of execution sometimes, a bad bounce or something like that, and off of that you might be able to possess across the line. But I feel the teams at this time of the season are very well structured, they play with low risk, that you have to count on your forecheck to go win pucks back and get the O-zone going.”
Montreal returns to the ice on Sunday, March 30, against the Florida Panthers.
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