The summer of 2024 will already be the third in which Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will be at the helm of the team. And in reality, we can expect it to be much like the first two: the club is likely to focus on the draft and be rather quiet on the free-agent market.
The big signings of the summer could well be Juraj Slafkovský and Kaiden Guhle… unless the club intends to go after a forward on the free-agent market (Steven Stamkos? Jonathan Marchessault?) to solidify its line-up.
The other possibility, having said that, is that they do what they did the first two summers and trade up to get a young forward who is no longer in the plans elsewhere.
Like Kirby Dach in 2022 and Alex Newhook in 2023, basically.
Obviously, the possibilities are numerous, but in this TVA Sports article, we present two names that make a lot of sense: Jack Quinn (Sabres) and Alexander Holtz (Devils).
First of all, in Quinn’s case, the Sabres are particularly interesting. Although the club is banking on Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram and Owen Power at the blue line, all three are left-handed, and even if Power can play on the right, you’d think the club wouldn’t mind getting their hands on a true right-handed defenseman.
Logan Mailloux’s name could be part of the talks, I imagine, and while Mailloux shows promise with the Habs, Quinn collected 19 points in 27 NHL games last year. He’s not a celery stalk, and with the Sabres having around 197321074 quality young forwards in town, trading him would make sense.
On the other hand, Holtz is a high-quality goal scorer who, for whatever reason, didn’t get a chance to shine with the Devils last year. Lindy Ruff repeatedly benched him, and even when Travis Green took over following Ruff’s dismissal, things didn’t particularly improve for Holtz.
That said, he still scored 16 goals in 82 games last year, playing just a handful of minutes per game. He has the potential to score many more.
Both scenarios are intriguing, and with the Habs making no secret of their desire to get some offensive punch, Quinn and Holtz seem like obvious targets. Both will be entering the final year of their rookie contracts next year.
But if the Habs want their 2024 Dach (or Newhook), they’ll have options. Now it’s up to them to find the best option.
In bursts
– That would put an end to the rotation… unless Jim Montgomery tries to get inside the Leafs‘ heads.
– I don’t believe this one. The guys seem to doubt it, too.
– Attention all interested parties.
– Too bad.
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