Canadiens plan trade to fetch 1st round-pick

A lot has happened in Montreal in the past week, and more is expected, so buckle up. The Canadiens cleaned up their management team, firing GM Marc Bergevin, assistant GM Trevor Timmins and Paul Wilson, senior vice president of public affairs and communications - on top of losing Scott Mellanby, who resigned from his role as the assistant general manager of the Habs.

While head coach Dominique Ducharme’s job is safe for now, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton could look to make moves on the roster, and Pierre LeBrun believes defenseman Jeff Petry will become an enticing trade bait. Rival teams are staying informed and could offer a lot to acquire his services. This is how LeBrun explained the situation on the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN:

“Ben Chiarot is a player who’s high up on some trade boards now. It’s way early, remember, the trade deadline isn’t until March 21 but the Habs are obviously out of playoff contention already. And so Ben Chiarot, who is a pending unrestricted free agent, I spoke with a few contending teams today who value him greatly and here’s a guy who can absolutely fetch a first-round pick given the dearth of rental defensemen available. He was terrific during the Habs’ playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final last year. Now, we have to wait and see what Jeff Gorton, who has just got the job this week, is going to do with this Canadiens roster. But contending teams I spoke with are acting as if Ben Chiarot will be available between now and the 21st. He has a 10-team no-trade list. It’s a ‘no’ list. That list was submitted last summer. Certainly it’s not out of the question they try and re-sign him, but he’s probably going to be dealt before the 21st.”

If Gorton is looking at a rebuild, he could make a lot of moves ahead of the trade deadline. And he won’t miss the opportunity to move a guy like Petry who will have contenders calling in Montreal.

On top of that, Petry recorded a goal and 25:39 of ice time in the Habs’ 4-1 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche last night : he keeps lighting up the boards - and the trade board.