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The Habs don’t see the start of the season as a deadline for improving their club

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 3:50 PM ET

Although the off-season is drawing to a close and the Montreal Canadiens have yet to add a top-6 player, that doesn’t mean we have to wait until the trade deadline. We know that the majority of trades in the NHL are completed at the deadline or during the off-season, but when it comes to the Canadiens, that’s not entirely true.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton like to make trades during the season, precisely before the December trade freeze. The latest addition to our list is Alexandre Carrier, who was acquired on December 18, 2024, just before the famous trade freeze. And needless to say, it was quite an addition to solidify the defensive brigade. But there were also the acquisitions of Patrik Laine on August 19, 2024 and Sean Monahan on August 18, 2022. But as Jeff Gorton once mentioned to Marco D’Amico, the Canadiens don’t see the start of the season as the deadline for improving their club.

This isn’t to say the Canadiens will not look to make a trade for a top-six forward before camp, they’re trying.

That being said, they don’t see the start of the season as the deadline to improve the roster. See Alex Carrier trade last December. – Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) August 31, 2025

[content-ads]It should be pointed out that the additions of Laine and Monahan were types of transactions that will most likely not happen in the coming months: acquiring a contract to lighten another team’s load.

Right now, the Habs are nearly $6 million over the salary cap, which would mean they’re certainly not looking to add a big contract to relieve another club’s financial burden. Obviously, placing Carey Price on the long-term injured list would put the Habs back under the salary cap, but to give themselves more wiggle room, the Habs could certainly trade Price’s contract to a team close to the floor.

And if that were to happen, it would be very soon, as my colleague Mathis Therrien recently mentioned, at which point the Montreal club would look deeper into adding a second center.Let’s wait and see how the market evolves to find out what happens next in Montreal. Overtime] – A happy birthday to one of the greatest legends in the history of the Habs.

On this day in 1931, a Canadiens legend was born. Today would have been Jean Beliveau’s 94th birthday a perfect occasion to reflect on the incredible legacy of one of the most iconic centremen in Habs history. Written by: Nick Lariviere #thesickpodcast https://t.co/UpgBQmZB0V –

The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 31, 2025

– Read on.

The costs associated with the next wave of expansion will be inordinate and out of reach. https://t.co/b6xwWLjL64

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) August 31, 2025

– Don’t miss the duel between the Blue Jays and Brewers