The Montreal Canadiens look ready to end its rebuild and could be aggressive in the offseason to add more talent to the roster.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see Canadiens acquiring Mathew Barzal from the New York Islanders in a blockbuster that would happen in the offseason.
Canadiens acquire:
- Mathew Barzal
- 2028 third-round pick (Colorado’s)
Islanders acquire:
- Mike Matheson
- Michael Hage
- 2025 first-round pick (Calgary’s)
- 2026 second-round pick (Columbus’)
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Montreal would acquire a star forward in Barzal and a draft pick for an NHL defenseman, a top prospect, and two draft picks, including a first-rounder.
Barzal is currently in the second year of an eight-year $73.2 million deal with the Islanders. The star forward has recorded 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 30 games this season as he’s dealt with an injury. With New York potentially going into a rebuild, Barzal would be the team’s top trade asset.
In return, Montreal would deal Matheson who is a solid NHL defenseman. He’s in the seventh year of his eight-year $39 million deal. He would have one year left on his deal and could be flipped at the deadline for more assets.
The big part of the return would be the draft picks as well as Hage. Hage was selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL draft and is one of the best college hockey players. He could play in the NHL next season and be a future top-six forward.
Barzal Out Indefinitely With an Injury
Barzal has had a disappointing 2024-25 NHL season as he has dealt with injuries.
The star forward has been out with a lower-body injury sustained after blocking a shot on February 1. Unfortnately, Barzal had a minor procedure on February 6 and the Islanders are uncertain if he will play again this season.
“We hope, but I couldn’t answer that,” Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “We’ll see where the rehab will take us. We’re not going to push it, we’re not going to rush it. We’re not going to chance anything. He will be 100 percent completely healthy if he is to return.”
Barzal also missed 21 games earlier in the season due to a upper-body injury. Barzal is a three-time All-Star and has played his entire 500-game NHL career with the Islanders.
Canadiens Battling for Playoff Spot
Montreal is firmly in a playoff race which is a bit of a surprise this season.
The Canadiens have been rebuilding, but have played well as of late. Their hot surge forced Montral to not be a seller at the deadline, and GM Kent Hughes says he rewarded the team to continue their playoff push.
“I think that when you win, it’s always fun,” Hughes said. “From the start of the season, the plan for what we’d do today or in the week leading up to the trade deadline was to be dictated by the team and its play. Heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off break, we were on a down, so we were thinking we’d probably do what we’ve done in previous years and trade our players.
“But credit the team and the coach, they won five games straight and we’ve turned things around. I had promised the players in September in Tremblant that, for the first time since I’ve been in Montreal, we didn’t have a set plan at the start of the season; their play would influence what we did. So today, and this week, we rewarded them for their efforts,” Hughes added.
Montreal is 32-27-1 and one point out of a playoff spot.
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