Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes is continuing to look for ways to improve his roster and with the club off to a so-so start to the 2026-27 season (4-3-1 in eight games), there's no question he'd probably like to do something sooner rather than later.
However, Hughes isn't going to rush into something for short-term gain, that's not the types of moves he's been known to make during his time at the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. If they identify a player that fits in age-wise with the core and can play a crucial role, then he'll pounce on that opportunity, as he did in the summer of 2025 with Zachary Bolduc and Noah Dobson.
One team that the Montreal Canadiens will likely be monitoring over the coming months is the Philadelphia Flyers, who currently sit dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 1-6-3 record through ten games entering action on Monday.
Could the Montreal Canadiens & Philadelphia Flyer Become Trade Partners?
While the Philadelphia Flyers have indicated that they're open for business whatsoever, if they continue on a downward path over the next six weeks in the lead-up to American Thanksgiving, General Manager Daniel Briere might have no choice but to make some changes to his team's roster.
If that ends up happening, there will be two that'll need answering - which players would the Philadelphia Flyers be willing to move AND are any of them of interest to the Montreal Canadiens?
Montreal's most pressing need at the moment is down the middle as they've been searching for a second line center for quite some time. The Flyers don't really have any suitable options for that role, other than Trevor Zegras who would be a really good fit in Montreal, although it's not very likely that Philadelphia will entertain the possibility of moving him.
That being said, Kent Hughes could shift his attention to adding a top-six winger instead. He tried all summer long to get Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets, before he ultimately landed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, so that shows Hughes is willing to go for a top-six winger rather than a centerman.
Two names that jump off the page are Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny. Tippett is under contract through the 2031-32 season with a cap hit of $6.2 million and is coming off a strong year where he tied his career-high in goals with 28. Meanwhile, Konecny, who is a couple years older than Tippett, had his fourth straight season with 60+ points in 2025-26 and comes with a $8.75 million cap hit until the summer of 2033.
It's a lot of money and term for both Tippett and Konecny, but both would immediately help the Canadiens' top-six. The cost to acquire either player is a bit of a mystery, mainly due to the fact that it isn't a guarantee that the Flyers even listen to offers on them. However, it's safe to assume that a first round pick and top prospect would need to be involved and for the Canadiens, that would mean either Michael Hage or Alexander Zharovsky.
Hage projects to be Montreal's second line center for many years to come, potentially slotting into that role as early as this spring after he completes his third season with the University of Michigan. That brings us back to our early note, that Kent Hughes isn't going to sacrifice the future for a quick fix. I personally can't see him parting with Hage for Tippett or Konecny, which would then require him to get a little bit creative if he wanted to bring one of those players to Montreal.
There's certainly a pathway to a deal between the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers, if the latter is willing to part with with Owen Tippett or Travis Konecny. We'll have to wait and see how the Flyers perform over the next six weeks, with the standings at American Thanksgiving usually giving us pretty good idea at who will be in the mix for the Stanley Cup Playoffs next April. Since the NHL went to a four division format in 2013-14, roughly 76% of teams in a postseason spot at American Thanksgiving end up making it to the big dance. If the Flyers aren't in a spot by then, don't be surprised if they look to make some moves.