NHL Rumors: Sean Monahan already Habs trade bait, and more Patrick Kane trade destinations
Anthony Scultore
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The second week of the new season is starting to wrap up and the NHL Rumors Mill is churning slowly as is expected this early in the year.
As Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun works his way back from the injured list, the noise around the league will be mostly surrounding players heading to unrestricted free agency.
One such player is Sean Monahan of the Montreal Canadiens.
NHL Rumors: Sean Monahan
The Montreal Canadiens were the beneficiaries of the Calgary Flames need to shed cap space after signing Nazem Kadri. Montreal acquired center Sean Monahan and a condition first-round draft pick in exchange for future considerations.
The conditions on the pick are extremely convoluted but you can read them at the Habs website.
Monahan, 28, has 1 year remaining at $6.375M and has provided the Habs with veteran leadership this season, along with 2 goals and 3 points in 5 games.
“I’ve got a lot to prove, and I think the biggest thing is I want to prove it to myself. I know I’m a great player. It’s been a rocky road, so I’ve been working really hard this summer,” Monahan said after the trade.
But with the Canadiens in the very early stages of their rebuild, it’s very likely that GM Kent Hughes will use Monahan as trade bait come the deadline in March.
Imagine getting a first-round pick just to take on the final year of Sean Monahan’s contract and then flipping it for another first-rounder ahead of this year’s trade deadline. I know Hughes must be imagining it. He likely was the minute he made the trade with Calgary this past summer.
Eric Engels, Sportsnet
Teams looking to stack up on center depth come the playoffs will be in on Monahan’s services. Although I’m not so sure if a first-round pick is a given, unless it’s a very late one.
Patrick Kane trade destinations
Kane, 33, has one year left on a deal that hits the cap at $10.5 million. He registered 92 points in 76 games 2021-22 and has 1 assist in three contests this season.
In a recent segment for TSN, former GM Craig Button laid out 4 teams (2 from each conference) that would be trade destinations for Patrick Kane.
In the West, Button believes the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings would be be great landing spots.
In the East, he believes Kane being added to an offensively loaded Pittsburgh Penguins team would be interesting. And of course, the most talked about destination is the New York Rangers.
Pierre LeBrun recently mentioned on TSN’s Insider Trading that either the New York Rangers or the New York Islanders would be teams to consider when Kane is eventually moved.
If and when Kane is traded, the Blackhawks are likely to get at least one first-round pick and a top prospect in return.
