The Montreal Canadiens must remember why rebuilding NHL teams sell pending free agents at the trade deadline.
It would be poor asset management to watch players leave for nothing on the free agency front when they could get assets to help their future for years to come.
While the Canadiens re-signed pending UFA center Jake Evans to a four-year contract instead of trading him, he’s still 28 and fits in their competitive window.
But there’s an argument that Montreal should hang on to its veterans and pending UFAs to try to make a push for the playoffs, even the ones other teams may want. This writer could not disagree more with that philosophy.
Sure, the Canadiens benefit from playing meaningful games down the stretch while they’re only one point out of a playoff spot. If and when they trade defenseman David Savard, 34, and right winger Joel Armia, 31, they will still play meaningful hockey. That won’t change.
What could change is that the Canadiens have more kicks at the can at finding a gem at the NHL draft. Even if you believe they have more than enough draft picks as-is, they could get more assets to use in off-season trades that bring in players who will be more effective for the team in the long term. That sounds better than keeping players who are averaging less ice time than in recent seasons and are less likely to re-sign.
That’s what trading pending UFAs is all about – you’re doing your darndest not to keep assets but to increase assets.
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The Canadiens have overachieved this season, which is a promising development for their young core, but that’s not enough reason for management to take its eyes off the long-term picture. The team must grit its teeth and move on from players who don’t fit in beyond this season, because if the opposite were true, the trade deadline would have a mere trickle of available talent.
The Habs happily accepted the highs and lows of a full rebuild. It is a painful but necessary process that creates an exciting, stellar group for the long haul. Some rebuilds take longer than others, but it should pay off with a lengthy competitive window. While Savard’s leadership qualities are admirable, trading two depth players when the club still has other veteran leaders under contract won’t suddenly cause this team to fall into a losing culture.
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If the team believes these players are crucial fits for the long term, then Montreal should do what it did with Evans and sign them by Friday. Otherwise, the Canadiens must wish those players well, get the best trade return for them and either try negotiating with them again in free agency or move on. It doesn’t make enough sense for Montreal to keep pending UFAs who won’t be around for the long haul in the hopes it will make or break the team’s playoff hopes.
Canadiens: The Forgotten Pending UFA As we get nearer to the March 7 trade deadline, there will be a lot of chatter about pending unrestricted free agents. There’s already been a lot said and written about Jake Evans, Joel Armia, and David Savard. Very little has been written about Christian Dvorak, however.
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