3 Montreal Canadiens Linked to Offseason Trade

Regardless of how the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs plays out, the Montreal Canadiens have some tough roster decisions coming this summer.

General manager Kent Hughes has limited cap space, Lane Hutson's contract extension's kicking in, and there's several players on the roster who could become cap casualties. For starters, goaltender Sam Montembeault mid as well pack his bags. With how well Jakub Dobes is playing and how much potential Jacob Fowler has, Montembeault has quickly become the odd man out. The 29-year-old netminder is signed for next season at $3.1 million AAV, and doesn't have any trade protection.

Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin feels there's two forwards who could also be included in the moves:

Emerging superstar blueliner Lane Huton’s extension kicks in next season, spiking his AAV from $950,000 to $8.85 million. Patrik Laine’s $8.7 million comes off the books, but Montreal also needs to extend RFA forwards Zachary Bolduc and Kirby Dach and RFA defenseman Arber Xhekaj. They have a projected $9.18 million for that, but GM Kent Hughes also needs room to add. Montreal still doesn’t have a true No. 2 center, especially with top prospect Michael Hage opting to stay in college another year. Jettisoning Anderson’s cap hit would help a lot. Brendan Gallagher is another option, but Anderson is younger and has been a lineup mainstay this postseason, so he has more value. There’s a use for his blend of size and speed somewhere.

As Larkin states, it makes a ton of sense for Hughes to try and move Anderson and Gallagher, and considering both their style of play, there's going to be a market for their services. Having Laine come off the books will help a ton as well, but considering how Gallagher's season has gone, he appears to be the prime target, along with Montembeault, as Anderson appears to be one mentioned that Hughes would prefer to hold onto the most.

Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images