Three-team trade on the horizon as one team weaponizes its cap space!

While a long-term injury is devastating for a player and his organization, sometimes it can also bring some good news.
This may be the case for the Montreal Canadiens, who made the announcement on Thursday that forward Christian Dvorak will have surgery on a torn pectoral muscle and miss the rest of the season. The 27-year-old is dealing with yet another season being cut short as, last year, he underwent season-ending knee surgery after playing 64 games in 2022-23.

Dvorak’s loss isn’t great for head coach Martin St. Louis, who admitted that “ “D-vo is a guy who does more than one thing. We need to replace that collectively.” However, there might be a silver lining for general manager Kent Hughes.

According to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, the Canadiens could use the cap space available by Dvorak’s absence in order to facilitate a three-team trade and therefore land some good picks and assets in that transaction.

“The Montreal Canadiens, already active in the trade market with the likes of Jake Allen and David Savard available, announced this morning that forward Christian Dvorak will undergo surgery tomorrow on a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season. That could potentially free up an extra $4.15M in extra LTIR cap pace, and we all know the Habs aren’t against weaponizing their cap space as a third-party facilitator.”

The Canadiens could be called by several teams looking to add power to their roster ahead of the March 8 trade deadline as the current salary cap has been preventing many clubs from making the needed lineup changes. GM Hughes could hold some power and more options for his Canadiens as we get closer to the deadline, which is today nine weeks away.

Let’s see who comes calling in Montreal to get the Habs on board as facilitators in a blockbuster trade!

Recommended articles:

Three-team trade on the horizon as one team weaponizes its cap space!

Newsletter