If the Montreal Canadiens need one thing in its rebuild, it’s some raw talent up front. Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras could solve that problem for the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens have plenty of prospects on the blue line, but up front, putting together a really good top six has proven to be a challenge. General manager Kent Hughes is playing the long game. He’s not trying to build a winner instantly. Over time, he has shown his patience by acquiring promising young players who have yet to reach their ceiling.
We have seen that in the recent trades for Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. Especially Dach, when healthy. He can play in the Canadiens top six. However, the jury is still out on Newhook. He’s only been able to play 29 games so far this season.
The Canadiens’ top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky has proven that it can produce for Montreal. They would greatly benefit if the Habs had another menacing line that would force the opponent to use some of its top players to counter it. A healthy Dach would be the centrepiece of such a line, and Newhook could play on one of its wings, leaving one spot open on that second line.
According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, four or five teams are interested in Trevor Zegras. Montreal is one of those teams. But it is Montreal calling the Ducks and GM Pat Verbeek about Zegras, not the other way around.
Given how talented Zegras is, you can see why it makes sense for Montreal to inquire about him. Hughes tends to buy low on promising forwards who haven’t yet reached their potential. Should the Canadiens trade for him, he would be the fourth 2019 first-round draft class member to join Montreal.
Zegras is under contract for two more years after this season. He just signed an extension with the Ducks this past October after holding out as it was his right from training camp to negotiate a new deal as was a restricted free agent.
In his last two seasons in Anaheim, he gathered 61 and 65 points. This season is proving to be a little harder for him. Though it is no surprise that he missed most of training camp and has played in only 20 games for the Ducks this season. Zegras has just seven points, which would translate to 29 point pace in an 82-game regular season. He has been out since early January after suffering a broken ankle. So he still has two to four weeks left before being ready, according to the Ducks’ medical team’s prognostic.
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Once his contract is over, Zegras will be a restricted free agent, meaning he’d still be under the team’s control. Clearly, Zegras’ price tag won’t be cheap. He’s already proven he has plenty of talent and potential, so the conversation probably would have to include a first-round pick; the Canadiens have four over the subsequent two drafts. That is where the trade talks start.
The Ducks are likely to want more than that, and perhaps Hughes could interest them in a promising young defenseman; he did sacrifice Alexander Romanov in the process of acquiring Dach. Right now, the Habs’ blue line is already crowded. Next season, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher could be knocking on the door. Not to mention NCAA prospect Lane Hutson, who will reportedly be signing a contract once his season with Boston University is over.
It’s highly unlikely Hughes would accept to move Hutson. The organization is dying for an offensive defenseman, and they firmly believe Hutson could be the guy. Mailloux is having a great season in Laval with the Rocket, and perhaps he could draw some interest. The Habs do not have that many right-hand shot defensemen. Could they sacrifice him for some help up front?
It’s not out of the realm of possibility, especially if they feel Reinbacher will be a stud on the blue line in a really short time. Many Canadiens fans seem to think they could land Zegras by including Jordan Harris in the conversation. Harris will not be enough for Anaheim to trade Trevor Zegras.
As LeBrun mentioned, the Ducks are listening to offers, but they’re not dead set on trading him, which means the return would have to be really enticing for a deal to happen.
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