We reported earlier today that Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes wasn’t done for the Summer, especially since, as Elliotte Friedman said in the 32 Thoughts podcast, the Habs’ GM is never done.
Further information was released on Monday morning regarding potential targets for Montreal. In an article by Mario D’Amico, the RG.org journalist who first reported that the Canadiens were in deep talks with the New York Islanders to land Noah Dobson, states that the Habs are one of the 10 teams interested in signing free agent Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Considering he spent the last season in the KHL playing alongside Ivan Demidov, it’s pretty easy to understand why, a possibility we discussed at length in an article published on draft day. If you are worried about Kuznetsov’s past troubles, don’t be; the Canadiens will have done their due diligence, especially since Nick Bobrov has got contacts in Russia that would have given him the low-down on the player and the reason why the team and player agreed to terminate his contract.
Still, according to D’Amico, the Kuznetsov clan is currently mulling over offers, trying to decide which team would be the best fit. D’Amico adds that the veteran is looking for a winning roster. Does that rule out the Canadiens? I don’t think so; they took a step in the right direction last season, and they left no stone unturned during the offseason to try to improve their roster.
There’s also word around the league that the Canadiens have made an offer to Joe Veleno, who the Seattle Kraken recently bought out. The 6-foot-1 and 205-pound left-shot center could certainly help the Canadiens in the faceoff department. He’s for a 46% success rate in the course of his career, while Kirby Dach’s success rate currently stands at 36%.
The former Detroit Red Wings first-round pick and 30th overall at the 2018 draft could certainly use a new start, but one can wonder if his hometown would be the right place to do that. Montreal can be an unforgiving market, and there is a history of fans being particularly tough on local players.
Of the two options, provided they got the “all clear” about Kuznetsov’s past, I know which one I’d go for…
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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