Last offseason, Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes was a busy man, acquiring a right-shot defenseman from the New York Islanders in Noah Dobson and sending Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for help up front in the form of Zachary Bolduc. This summer promises to be more of the same as the young Habs are still in need of reinforcements to be real Stanley Cup contenders.
The playoffs have exposed a few needs for the Canadiens: a second-line center, some depth on defense that Martin St-Louis actually trusts and a real top-four right-shot defenseman who would allow Lane Hutson to play on his natural side. Right-shot defensemen are not easy to come by; it took Montreal some time to acquire Dobson, and now, there still seems to be a need. David Reibacher is a right-shot defenseman, but it remains to be seen if he’ll truly be top-four material.
Advertisement
Canadiens Should Target Vegas Defenseman
Today In Canadiens History: The 24th Conquest
Canadiens’ Gallagher Has No Regrets As Agent Searches For A New Home
The Blues have a right-shot defenseman that they were willing to move and actually tried to move in early March in Colton Parayko, but he has a full no-trade clause and refused to waive it to join the Buffalo Sabres. It’s easy to understand why. While the Sabres were on an unbelievable run this season and were heading for the postseason, they hadn’t been to the spring dance in 14 years, and players often ask out of town. Would the 33-year-old defenseman be willing to go to Montreal? It’s a possibility that cannot be ruled out.
The Canadiens have just made it to the third round of the playoffs; they have a great young core of stars signed to very reasonable deals who intend to stick together for a long time and win more than a single cup, as per Ivan Demidov. Furthermore, they are coached by Martin St-Louis, who’s a big selling point given how well he gets on with his players and how great a player he was in his heyday. Perhaps the veteran defenseman would also like the opportunity to be paired with a budding star like Lane Hutson.
Parayko has a $6.5 million cap hit, but for what he brings to the table, that’s more than reasonable. This season, he saw his point production halve, putting up only 18 points in 77 games compared to 36 in 64 games, which may be part of why St. Louis would like to move on. Still, he’s a really big body at six-foot-six and 228 pounds, and he plays like it as well. He landed 95 hits (he would have been seventh on the Habs) and blocked 172 shots this past season (he would have been second in that respect with the Habs).
Advertisement
He’s a stable presence on the blueline, one with plenty of experience and leadership, and the arrival of the Blues’ alternate captain could help make up for the fact that the Canadiens will, in all likelihood, be losing Brendan Gallagher this offseason. Sure, he’s not as fast as he once was, but the truth of the matter is, Hutson has speed for two, and the way he controls the puck makes being his partner a pretty cushy job, even for a defenseman who is getting older. The four years left on his contract could also allow Reinbacher to take some time to develop and play a full season, hopefully without any injury. Alexandre Carrier only has one year left on his deal and could make way for Reinbacher next year as the Austrian progressively goes up the Canadiens’ depth chart.
Of course, there’s still the matter of what the Blues would ask from the Habs, but it’s at the very least a proposition worth exploring.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Advertisement
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens’ roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.
