Who is the Mystery player the Canadiens Nearly Acquired?
- Francesco Ferro
- Mar 9
- 6 min read
Canadiens fans will not let this go. Every member of the fanbase is dying to know who the mystery player is that the Habs went down to the wire on to facilitate a trade. With conflicting reports all over the place, let's try to figure it out based on what we know.
Kent Hughes Presser
Kent Hughes said during his post-deadline press conference on Friday that he went down to the wire on a deal for a "significant player", but didn't give much details as to who that player was, or even what position they play. He also added that this is something they can revisit in the summer.
This sent Habs fans into a frenzy of speculation online, discussing who the mystery player might be. The bulk of rumours centred around Blues forwards, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. These are "significant" players the Canadiens were rumoured to be interested in leading up to the deadline.
David Pagnotta Report
Insider David Pagnotta revealed on the Hello Hockey podcast that, according to his source, the mystery player that Hughes went down to the wire for was a right-shot defenceman. Habs fans are once again scrambling and trying to figure out who this defenceman is.
Now, let's dissect who this player may be, given the information at hand.
Criteria:
-Right-shot defenceman
-Contract with term
-Would've been a "big" and "significant" deal (not a depth piece)
-Ability to revisit in the summer (team that's still selling)
-Other team backed out last minute (...why?)
Unless Hughes sees prospect David Reinbacher as a bottom-pairing defenceman for the rest of his career, this player surely can't have too much term. Kent Hughes frequently preaches acquiring young players who can grow with the core, so is he doing that?
If he truly is going for a big-time player to grow with the core... maybe Reinbacher was the player going the other way. Let's explore the options and see if they meet our criteria.
Option 1:
Filip Hronek - Vancouver Canucks
Hronek is a 28-year-old right-shot defenceman signed at 7.25M AAV until 2032, and would certainly be a significant player for Montreal to acquire. In this scenario, David Reinbacher would likely need to be going the other way, as Hronek is a legitimate top-four defenceman who both fits the age range and the playstyle the Habs are searching for.
Hronek is an elite two-way defenceman with strong puck-moving capabilities, who can fit seamlessly into their top four beside Mike Matheson. The Canucks are headed into a rebuild, but they did say Hronek was a player they didn't want to move. However, if Montreal dangled the former top 5 pick in Reinbacher, they may be forced to listen.
Hronek fits all of our criteria, and even explains why they may have backed out at the last minute, given their intent to keep him.
Option 2:
Zach Whitecloud - Calgary Flames
The Flames acquired Zach Whitecloud in the deal that sent Rasmus Andersson to Vegas earlier this year. With Mackenzie Weegar also dealt to Utah, Whitecloud finds himself as Calgary's best defenceman, which may be a reason to back out of dealing him.
Whitecloud fits the criteria as well, being 28, and signed through 2028 ($2.75M AAV). But is this a big enough deal to be considered "significant"? Kent Hughes may have a different interpretation than we do.
While Whitecloud wouldn't command a large return, a player like Arber Xhekaj, who the Flames showed interest in, may have been part of the package going the other way. This may have been what Kent Hughes meant by a "big deal", as it would alter the roster's chemistry.
Option 3:
Devils Defenceman?
Three right-handed defencemen on the Devils' roster have been discussed as potential players going back to Montreal: Simon Nemec, Dougie Hamilton, and Brett Pesce.
First off, there is no way it was Simon Nemec. These rumours started as he is good friends with Juraj Slafkovsky, being a fellow Slovak. However, the Devils said they would dangle Nemec if an impactful forward came back the other way, which Montreal doesn't have the luxury of giving up. He would also block David Reinbacher, and doesn't fit the criteria as he isn't signed to a contract with term.
Dougie Hamilton, while expensive, may make sense at retained money for the Canadiens (Signed at $9M AAV till 2028). With a 6'6 frame and strong puck-moving ability, that is certainly enticing to Kent Hughes, as he also wouldn't be extremely expensive to acquire. Dougie fits the criteria and may be the ideal stopgap until Reinbacher is ready for a bigger role.
31-year-old Brett Pesce was another name floating around, being signed at $5.5M till 2030. However, this wasn't a player rumoured to be available, and his contract may be a little lengthy, possibly blocking Reinbacher from a top-four role. Both Pesce and Hamilton fit the criteria.
Elliotte Friedman Report
To add even more fuel to the fire, Elliotte Friedman, the most trusted reporter in the NHL, said on his "32 Thoughts Podcast" that Pagnotta was incorrect and that it was a forward.
Now, Habs fans don't even know what to believe. Friedman is usually the more trustworthy source, but the Canadiens need both a right-handed defenceman and a top-six forward, so is it possible they discussed trades for both?
Friedman said that he wouldn't discuss further, likely out of respect for both organisations... Kent Hughes doesn't like his secrets getting out.
Nicolas Cloutier Report
Cloutier backs Friedman's claim, and even doubles down by saying it was a young forward. To make it even more interesting, Cloutier said this (Translated to English): "There is a name circulating behind the scenes... and if you had heard it, you would probably have, like me, almost fallen off your chair. It makes you wonder why this team would even want to trade this player to the Canadiens."
This causes yet another whirlwind, as this means this could be a player that wasn't rumoured, a team in the division, or a team that wasn't even selling.
Marco D'Amico Report
On "the Starr and D'Amico show" podcast, Habs beat writer/insider Marco D'Amico backs this report, throwing out names such as Matthew Knies and Jason Robertson. D'Amico mentioned Robert Thomas again, but as we know, that price is far too high at this time.
Marco also said that the Canadiens definitely did try for a defenceman, but he said, "He doesn't have the liberty to say because he'd get in trouble for it. They had something that they thought was getting close that fell through, though I don't have a secondary source to confirm."
This backs the Pagnotta report as well, which only further confirms that they were in deep discussion on both positions. Marco also said on Twitter that the Robert Thomas discussions weren't over.
Forward Options
These are the names of "young forwards" that we discussed: Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Matthew Knies, and Jason Robertson. Most of these players fit the criteria mentioned, except for Robertson, who is searching for a new deal this summer.
The Blues players are well-known targets, but Robertson is interesting, as he is an RFA this summer, which could set the Canadiens up for a sign-and-trade, similar to the Noah Dobson deal this past summer. What makes this unlikely to be the rumoured deadline deal is the fact that the Stars are in the midst of a playoff race and a top Stanley Cup contender, so they would have no reason to deal Robertson in-season.
Knies is an extremely interesting name, as this would be an intra-divisional deal between bitter rivals, which would explain why Cloutier "nearly fell off his chair". This would be a very unlikely mid-season deal, given the details that would need to be ironed out for a complicated trade like this one.
Is Kent Hughes lying? Who do you think it is?
Frankly, with all these conflicting reports, it's safe to assume that the Habs were in extensive talks for two players, one at both positions. The Canadiens are a top-three team in the NHL when it comes to scoring, so my personal belief is that a forward was an unlikely in-season move.
The most likely outcome for me was option 2, Flames defenceman Zach Whitecloud. It's not the sexy, "significant" deal that many were anticipating, but the price for him would've likely been Xhekaj, a second-rounder and more late picks. That is still a "big deal" from a GM's perspective. But I wonder if it was even really that close. Whitecloud fits the criteria, the price point, and doesn't block David Reinbacher for very long.
All these big names being thrown out require a lot of thought, which would be far too difficult to decide on mid-season. Now, were these deals discussed? 100% they were, but I don't think these were as close to happening as Kent Hughes made it out to be, which is why he mentioned the summer. This way, Habs fans have something to look forward to and something to talk about. This also creates a distraction so that he isn't outed by the media for not making a move.
In short, I think he had discussions about players as he naturally would, but the "Close to a deal" thing was just to aid in the pushback he would've received from the media. No deal was really able to get done unless Patrik Laine's contract was dealt to make the money work. As we know, he wasn't dealt, so this tells us nothing was ever really that close.
Laine would've had to be dealt in a separate move, or as a throw-in to a trade like the Whitecloud deal mentioned, given that he is simply a cap dump.
Sound off on your opinions in the comments. I'd love to see what people think!👇
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