The Montreal Canadiens are always looking to make a splash.
General manager Kent Hughes admits as much himself, disappointed with how quiet a summer it was around the NHL, although he still found a way to bring in star defenseman Noah Dobson and young forward Zack Bolduc.
The last piece of business on Hughes and the Canadiens’ checklist was to acquire a second-line center. They’ve worked hard on it and done their due diligence, though thus far, nothing has come to fruition.
While it hasn’t happened yet, we shouldn’t expect them to stop their pursuit anytime soon. Dave Benson of Heavy Sports knows Montreal will continue to be aggressive, and he has proposed a blockbuster trade for the Habs to acquire Islanders star center Bo Horvat for a package centered around Kirby Dach.
Canadiens receive: Bo Horvat
Islanders receive: Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno, a forward prospect (Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, or Oliver Kapanen), and a 2026 second-round pick
“For the Canadiens, it finally puts to rest the deafening discussion about who will center their No. 2 line. The 30-year-old Horvat has been a consistent producer and team leader throughout his 12-plus-season career, and he would slide in very nicely behind Nick Suzuki in the Montreal depth chart,” Benson wrote.
“For the Islanders, it puts an emphatic stamp on new general manager Mathieu Darche’s commitment to rebuilding the franchise. Hired in May—a month after the team announced that Lou Lamoriello would not be returning to the position—the 48-year-old Darche significantly jumpstarted the turnaround with some draft lottery luck into the first overall pick and the Noah Dobson trade that added two more first-round selections. This trade would give New York another big push in its new direction,” Benson added.
Horvat has six years remaining on the eight-year, $68 million contract extension he signed with the Islanders following the trade from Vancouver in 2023. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Dach is entering the final season of his four-year, $13.45 million extension signed with the Canadiens in 2022.
The direction on Long Island
Benson’s proposed trade would be a huge deal and another big-time pickup for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens. The question is, what is the direction of the New York Islanders?
The Isles have loaded up their prospect pool over the last year, which obviously included winning the lottery to land Matthew Schaefer, and subsequently, they sent Noah Dobson to Montreal.
That led to speculation around some of their top veteran players like Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal, among others; however, those talks were squashed rather quickly.
Horvat is unlikely to be traded anytime soon, but if the Islanders are on the outside looking in and selling at next year’s deadline, teams will absolutely be calling, and the Canadiens will be one of the first to do so.
