Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked about the strategy for the Montreal Canadiens moving forward. Pagnotta stated the Canadiens will continue to take calls on their unrestricted free agents and look to potentially go big again in the summer.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: What Will it Take for the Montreal Canadiens Not to Sell?
Host: “So unrestricted free agents of which the Canadiens have coming up here with David Savard, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Jake Evans, of course, maybe the biggest of those of those players. What do you think the Canadiens plans are going to be if they’re in a similar spot here come deadline time?”
Dave Pagnotta: “I think they continue to listen. I don’t think they take anybody off, maybe, if they feel confident that they can get Jake Evans locked up, then maybe they go in that, in that direction. But with respect to Savard, Armia and Dvorak, I think you have to consider, because, again, you’re seeing good signs now. And let’s say, for argument’s sake, in a month, they’re still in this kind of positioning in terms of placement in the standings. It’s a great sign, and awesome from a development perspective, but things can fall off the rails a little bit.
We saw the Philly last year, the surprise, and then came back down to earth. We saw Calgary, to a certain extent, great start. First quarter of the season, starting to dip a tiny bit, and will likely dip a little bit more. I think, from their perspective, you go out, you see what the options are, and you collect those assets.
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Buying Kent Hughes Time on Trade Market
And whether they’re young prospects or more draft picks, doesn’t matter. Collect those assets if you want to package them up and go out and explore other type of moves that you made, similar type of moves you made in the past, in the (Kirby) Dach acquisition, the (Alex) Newhook acquisition, by utilizing some of your draft picks and assets in that respect.
I think that’s what the Canadiens would like to do, whether they can do that over the next two months from a “buying side of things.” Obviously, we’ll wait and see, and Kent Hughes and his staff we’ll have to see what comes across their desk. But I think they maintain the course. They continue to listen to their pending UFAs, try to maximize the return, and then utilize those returns, package them up and help your roster.”
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