On Monday, we examined the possibility of the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers potentially becoming trade partners due to the latter's slow start to the 2026-27 season.
The Flyers have a couple of intriguing players that could be useful for the Canadiens, as they continue to chase their third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the Flyers and Canadiens could eventually discuss a deal down the road, Kent Hughes will be keeping his options open and monitoring other possible targets for his club.
Three Potential Trade Targets for the Montreal Canadiens
The trade market is a bit quiet for now, but over the next six weeks, the rumour mill should start to pick up. Again, as mentioned yesterday, American Thanksgiving plays a key role in determining who will end up making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Roughly 76% of teams in a postseason spot on American Thanksgiving end up making it to the playoffs and for those who are well out of the mix at that point, they might turn their attention towards making deals.
Today, we're going to take a look at three potential trade targets that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes could take a look at between now and the deadline, which is set for Monday, March 1st at 3 pm ET/12 pm PT.
Jared McCann - Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are enjoying a pretty good start to the 2026-27 season, with five wins in nine games, good for third in the Pacific Division as of Tuesday morning. Will they be able to keep it up with teams like the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks breathing down their necks? We'll have to wait and see, but I'm not too optimistic about their playoff chances.
If the Kraken fall out of the mix, General Manager Jason Botterill will turn his attention to the trade market and with only a few pending unrestricted free agents that could draw interest, he might not be too busy. One name to keep a close eye on is former first round pick Jared McCann, who is in his sixth season with the Kraken.
McCann, 30, would bring some secondary scoring to the Canadiens' lineup, with five straight 20+ goal campaigns under his belt, including a 40-goal year with Seattle during the 2022-23 season.
The Stratford, Ontario native would be a rental for the Canadiens, if they were to be interested in bringing him to town. Given his age and what's coming in the pipeline, it's hard to envision the Canadiens signing McCann to a new deal before Canada Day, again, if they did acquire him via trade. McCann would likely slot in somewhere in the middle-six and could see time on Montreal's second power play unit. Two of his three goals so far this season have come on the power play.
Dmitri Voronkov - Columbus Blue Jackets
For the past two seasons, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been in the thick of the wild card race in the Eastern Conference, but have missed out in both years. Their last trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs came in 2020 and amid a tough start to the 2026-27 season, they're likely going to face an uphill climb to end their postseason drought.
One name that's been in the rumour mill for several months now is Dmitri Voronkov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who is in the final year of his contract and is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st. Voronkov's production has been a little bit of a rollercoaster since arriving in North America for the 2023-24 season.
In his rookie year, the Angarsk, Russia native had 18 goals & 34 points and went on to receive a fourth and fifth-place vote for the Calder Trophy. He followed that up with a 23-goal, 47-point campaign in 2024-25 before dipping down to 17 goals and 32 points last season. So far, Voronkov has appeared in five of Columbus' seven games and has been healthy scratched for the last two contests. In those five games, he's tallied just one assist.
Voronkov's age certainly fits in with the Canadiens' core and his big frame could be useful come playoff time. The Canadiens and Blue Jackets have made deals in the past and Kent Hughes was firmly in the mix for Kirill Marchenko before Toronto scooped him up. Perhaps we could see Hughes and his counterpart, Don Waddell discuss a potential Dmitri Voronkov trade in the coming months.
Bryan Rust - Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a bit of a crossroads. General Manager Kyle Dubas wants to keep the team competitive so they can have a chance at making the playoffs with an aging core featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. However, he also is looking to make his team a bit younger and that's where the Montreal Canadiens could step in.
According to The Fourth Period, the Pittsburgh Penguins could look to move on from wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust in order to help Kyle Dubas' efforts to get younger. Rakell ($5M) and Rust ($5.125M) both have one year remaining on their respective contracts and are set to become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2028.
"Forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, who owns an eight-team no-trade list, have been the subject of trade speculation dating back to last season as teams inquired about their availability. Both players have another year remaining on their contracts after this season." The Fourth Period said over the weekend.
Despite his age (34), Bryan Rust hasn't slowed down production-wise. The two-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off his seventh consecutive 20+ goal season and has registered 65 points in back-to-back years. This season, Rust has continues to prove that he has a lot to give as he's put up five points (three goals, two assists) in seven games with the Penguins.
If his production doesn't waver as we get deeper into the season, there will be significant interest in the Pontiac, Michigan native and it wouldn't surprise me if one of the teams in the mix leading up to March 1st is the Montreal Canadiens.