Felt weird to write that headline....

I must have started and deleted "Canadiens Need A Top 6 Center" three times before I remembered we have Domi, Danault, and Kotkaniemi. A near decade long need fixed in 2 years with a couple great trades and astute draft pick. Kudos to Bergevin for fixing the mess Gainey and Gauthier (all due respect) left us with.

Does Bergevin have another deft move or two in his pocket leading into the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline? I'm not sure, but from all the media types social media accounts we know he is always working the phones looking into all possibilities. In fact he is currently attending the Rangers/Devils game today in what must certainly be a scouting opportunity to try to pluck someone away from pennies on the dollar while other focus on names like Panarin, Stone, Brassard, Simmonds, and Ferland. The Rangers are actively shopping Zuccarello and Hayes, and if rumor mongers on social media are correct...

Folks....sorry for the delay....my sources in NYC have been blowing my phone up...The Rangers are looking to get rid of everyone & anyone making 6 figures +....lots of noise...Stay tuned.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) February 23, 2019

#PackYourShit is definitely going to trend well this deadline... Commodore is an internet gem.

OK so let's start with available LD..... There are no long term, good players advertised to be available. Some have pined for Anaheim's Cam Fowler but the cost for him is likely to be too much for Bergevin in the middle of the team "Reset".

The problem with drafting, and trading for, studs like Kotkaniemi, Suzuki, Poehling, Primeau, Brook, and Romanov is everyone wants them in a deal.

I MIGHT be open to moving Primeau if someone valued him as the main piece in a deal for say, a 7 year contracted Mark Stone... But we all know that while Primeau appears to be on a trajectory to be a quality NHL starter with elite potential, not many GM's would be willing to make a deal around a prospect goalie period, no matter the potential.

Any other prospect and a 2nd round pick or higher is likely on the table, but that won't land much until likely closer to deadline day when some GM's make previously unavailable players available or sellers are left with nothing as a rival GM makes a deal with another team.

Now, I did so no good LD were available but I have to think Chicago's Duncan Keith could be had... question is how much is reasonable for the elder D man.

Bergevin has gone to the Minnesota well a bit in his past and I wonder if Brodin could be had for a fair price.

So it's either long shots to happen or long in the tooth as far as what could be available for MTL on LD.

On RW there are options similar to the LD... cost is too high or player is passing his prime.

I would not put it past Bergevin to have his eye on a guy like Corey Perry in a cap dump trade. He probably wouldn't help the Habs but other assets that could be included might make it tempting

— Bob Trask (@rwtrask) February 23, 2019

Bob here had a pretty solid idea in my eyes (kudos to Bob!). Perry is a former superstar RW riding into his careers sunset and the 33 year old is coming off a knee surgery. Stop groaning and hear Bob and I out here. Perry has 2 years left at $8.65 mill cap hit. Anaheim is clearly heading to a near full scale rebuild here and the Ducks could be fearful of another injury down the road. Should the Ducks retain say $2.65 million cap for each season remaining on his contract for something in the range of a 3rd round pick/prospect value I would definitely be open to adding him for 2 years on the PP. After Gallagher on RW it's Shaw and Armia. The team can't score on the PP. Perry plays RW, can shoot, and drives the net like Gallagher but is grandfathered in the NHL officials eyes and gets to be a giant asshat in the crease and in scrums.

Perry is also a champion and fierce competitor who could see 2 years in MTL in a possible playoff environment as a great opportunity not only professionally, but in regards to negotiating his likely final NHL contract. The Habs help players make money either in Montreal or elsewhere. Plus, you get to play with Price and Weber and a bunch of talented youth. I think this should be a big consideration for Montreal.

The obvious dream would be to add Mark Stone on RW but here the Sens will be paid. Stone is as elite a winger as you can get at both ends of the ice. Nashville or Vegas will spend top dollar for this rental in my opinion and Ottawa might actually be commended for it.... Honestly, I hope they do because I feel bad for the fanbase. Rivalry disdain went out the window with Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman's incident. I feel for the fans because I know there are many who really care and I can't believe what has happened in Ottawa.

The next best option would be rental Wayne Simmonds but I feel like despite his offensive decline he will command a high price on this rental market. If Simmonds can stay healthy he would be just as effective on a playoff run as Corey Perry, but being a rental I wouldn't want to spend too much as playoffs odds aren't exactly solid just yet for Montreal and we only have a couple days to pick our poison.

It will be interesting to watch this deadline unfold with such a top heavy trade bait list and some old dynasty's (Anaheim, Chicago, LA) closer to rebuilds than playoff runs.

Feel free to comment about who you think the Habs could reasonable acquire at the deadline.

Oh, and the Habs play the Leafs tonight.... Do what you must to ensure a Canadiens win.

Go Habs Go

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