Duchene to pull the exact same move Tavares pulled last summer!?

The Toronto Maple Leafs made headlines last summer when they managed to sign coveted free agent John Tavares, whose childhood dream was to play for his favourite team growing up. 

Now, that same chance might come to the Leafs’ rivals the Montreal Canadiens, but this time with another coveted free agent in Matt Duchene. 

Duchene reportedly met with Habs general manager Marc Bergevin on Wednesday and is expected to meet with the Nashville Predators today. 

While the Preds, who cleared some cap space by moving P.K. Subban over the weekend, might be tough to compete with, one Habs insider Richard Labbe of La Presse believes nostalgia might play its part and push Duchene to sign with Montreal. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet also pointed out that Duchene's agent has been focusing on that as well. Here is what Duchene said back in April: 

"My family is all French Canadian and we grew up with the Habs. When I was a young kid, my Dad and my Grandpa loved the Habs."

Duchene and his family were huge Canadiens fans as he grew up in Ontario. He might be next to tweet out - just like Tavares did - a picture of him as a kid in Habs bed sheets after signing with his favourite childhood team. 

The veteran forward scored 31 goals and recorded 70 points for the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets this past season. He is coming off of a five-year, $30 million contract and expects to get a significant raise. 

One the Habs could have to make room to afford, seeing that they have about $8,7 millions in available cap space, according to Cap Friendly. 

Some insiders believe Duchene could get $9 or $10 millions a year on the free-agent market. 

But is playing for your childhood team priceless?