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Canadiens-Golden Knights Potential Trade: New Clue Suggests Something is Brewing

Originally posted on Habs Fanatics | By Elias Adaime | Last updated Feb 13, 2025 10:04 AM ET

The Super Bowl weekend was not ideal for Martin St-Louis' squad ahead of the Four Nations Showdown. The Canadiens suffered two consecutive losses against the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The team did not play high-level hockey.

As a result, the Habs entered the Four Nations Showdown break six points behind the Detroit Red Wings and a playoff spot.

With 26 games remaining in the season, the chances of the team climbing back into the playoff picture are getting slimmer.

Given this, one has to wonder how Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes will approach the trade deadline, which is set for March 7 this season.

The presence of scouts at the Bell Centre is being increasingly analyzed: A trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for Kent Hughes?

While we have no clear idea of the direction Gorton and Hughes will take, we can still speculate.

The presence of two Vegas Golden Knights scouts at the Bell Centre for both weekend games gives us plenty of room to imagine scenarios.

These two Vegas scouts are not just anyone.

They are Vaughn Karpan, the team's assistant GM, and professional scout Micky McCrimmon, who is also the brother of GM Kelly McCrimmon.

It is worth noting that Karpan knows the Habs very well, as he was the director of professional scouting before leaving for Nevada in 2016.

What could the Golden Knights be looking for?

As highlighted by X user HabsLinks, Vegas is struggling with its penalty kill.

With Joel Armia, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, and David Savard all set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has plenty of options.

According to PuckPedia, Vegas will have around $3.5 million in cap space at the trade deadline.

Montreal, which will have nearly $7.5 million in flexibility, could be an even more attractive trade partner for the team from Sin City.

By taking on some salary in return, Kent Hughes could squeeze an extra asset out of the trade. However, the question remains: who could McCrimmon move, given that no high-salary players are set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer or in the next three years..

It will be interesting to see how Kent Hughes maneuvers with his Vegas counterpart, as he aims for a hockey trade similar to the Alexandre Carrier deal.

This article first appeared on Habs Fanatics and was syndicated with permission.

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