Photo credit: All Habs / NHL
The Montreal Canadiens may target a low-cost, reliable veteran to reinforce the roster without derailing the rebuild or taking on unnecessary risk.
But according to Eric Engels, that’s not what’s unfolding behind the scenes.
He believes Kent Hughes is aiming for something more discreet. An addition that costs less and stays consistent with the rebuilding plan. I completely agree with that.
On Tony Marinaro’s podcast, Engels explained that the Canadiens want to stay competitive without compromising their long-term plan.
Hughes therefore has to be careful with his young players and his money.
That’s why Engels believes a reliable veteran is the most realistic option right now:
“Depth. It’s a depth kind of move for an NHL-reliable, veteran-proven type of player.
You know, the waiver wire, when you’re a team like the Canadians, it’s not necessarily because you’d be so interested in a player. But like I said, when you have 42 contracts on the books, you’re looking at minimum salary type players, and you don’t have much to lose. You claim a player on waivers, you have to keep them on your roster for 30 days. It’s something to consider.”
– Eric Engels
He doesn’t see a path to acquiring a legitimate second-line center at this stage of the season.
“Right now, if people are out there saying, OK, they need a second-line centre, so are they going to get that second-line centre and this and that? I don’t think that’s happening right now. I don’t think the conditions are ripe to get that type of player, but you can get – I mean, we’ll see if you can get an NHL type of player that is reliable and has some veteran experience.”
– Engels
I share the same opinion. As he says, a “depth” player, especially with injuries, would be ideal.
An example that keeps coming up: acquiring Alex Carrier was a good move
Engels pointed to last year’s Alex Carrier acquisition as proof that smaller additions can still make a meaningful impact.
According to him, Kent Hughes could make the same kind of small trade again. A quieter veteran who comes in and helps the team without making noise.
In his opinion, it doesn’t derail the rebuild and it makes the locker room more solid. We’ll see in the next few weeks whether the GM decides to go in that direction.
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Eric Engels outlines the type of move Kent Hughes could be eyeing next
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