Six trade destinations to watch for Montreal Canadiens’ Sean Monahan

With less than two months until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline March 8, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, we look at potential landing spots for versatile Montreal Canadiens center Sean Monahan, enjoying a resurgence in a middle-six role.

2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 52 days

It wasn’t a conventional re-signing when Sean Monahan agreed to a one-year, $1.985 million extension last June. More like a do-over. After they acquired him from the Calgary Flames in summer 2022, he revived his career, picking up 17 points in his first 25 games and generating trade interest. Unfortunately, Monahan didn’t play a game after Dec. 5. As they had so many other times in his career, injuries stole the balance of his season. The Habs missed out on a potential rental asset to shop at the 2023 NHL trade deadline. According to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger, when Monahan re-upped with the Habs after that lost season, an understanding was in place that they would shop him to contenders approaching the 2024 Trade Deadline if they weren’t in the hunt.

Here we are less than seven weeks out. The Habs remain in rebuild mode. Monahan, 29, has played all 43 Montreal games, picking up 11 goals and 25 points in a middle-six deployment while winning 57.7 percent of his faceoffs. He’s positioned as an attractive mid-priced piece for any contender who can’t afford to chase a top-end rental.

“When you talk about signing a player to a one-year deal and convincing a player to come to a team that’s in a phase of building, as a player you evaluate and look at what the opportunity is and to be able to reset and be able to play,” GM Kent Hughes told reporters during his mid-season availability earlier this week. “It’s more of an open-ended situation with Sean: Come here, play and let’s where we are when we get to the deadline. And that’s still the case.”

Which teams look like the best trade fits for Monahan? Consider these six, listed alphabetically.

Boston Bruins

Why he makes sense: The Bruins could use another top-nine forward. David Pastrnak can only do so much heavy lifting. Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic are scoring at career-best paces but aren’t particularly safe bets to maintain their unexpected goal production. With no first-round pick and little in the way of high-end prospect capital, Boston might not have the horses to chase an ideal target like Elias Lindholm, so Monahan might fit their price range better.

What it might cost: While the Bruins’ prospect cupboard isn’t bountiful, they have a few players with decent promise, including Georgii Merkulov. If they’re really high on Monahan’s potential impact, they could aim higher with a Matthew Poitras or Fabian Lysell, but it wouldn’t seem wise for GM Don Sweeney to surrender one of them for a mid-tier rental.

Fly in the ointment: The fairest price for Monahan is probably something in the range of a second-round pick and/or a second-tier prospect. The Bruins don’t have any 2024 picks until Round 4. Also: there’s no love lost between the bitter-rival Habs and Bruins. Their last trade came 23 years ago. They’re probably each other’s last resort.

Colorado Avalanche

Why he makes sense: As Frank Seravalli reported in his Western Conference Trade Deadline objectives piece, the Avs need help at forward and must improve on Ryan Johansen as their No. 2 center. With Valeri Nichushkin entering the player assistance program this week as well, the Avs have serious holes to patch and could arguably use a higher-end piece than Monahan, but he would be a more affordable consolation prize. He’s usable in all situations, averaging 3:32 on the power play and 1:09 per game on the penalty kill. Especially encouraging is Monahan’s 18:26 of total TOI per game. That’s his highest mark since 2018-19 and a great sign that he’s feeling 100 percent.

What it might cost: The Avs have traded away their second- and third-round picks for 2024. They do own their first-rounder. If they feel that’s too much, they could dangle one of their middle-tier prospects. The Habs have indicated they want scoring, so Colorado could offer someone like Nikolai Kovalenko. They sent a top prospect and a second-rounder in Justin Barron to the Habs two years ago for Artturi Lehkonen, so they aren’t averse to sacrificing the future for the present.

Fly in the ointment: Colorado eventually needs to start breaking in some more players on entry-level deals as their stars’ cap numbers continue to rise. Is it worth surrendering prospects for a high-risk, medium-gain target like Monahan?

Edmonton Oilers

Why he makes sense: Based on team need and price range, the Oilers might be the ideal suitor for Monahan. They’re in the market for a third-line center. On a team with a loaded top six, Monahan would fit ideally as 3C who could handle some second-unit power play work.

What it might cost: The Oilers still own their first- and second-round picks for 2024. They also have some mid-tier prospects who might fall into the appropriate price range for Monahan – such as Chambly, Quebec native Raphael Lavoie.

Fly in the ointment: As my colleague Frank Seravalli pointed out this week, the Oilers might be better off surrendering no assets, signing Corey Perry at league minimum and keeping Ryan McLeod at center on the third line. Also, even a cap hit as modest as Monahan’s is a tight squeeze with Edmonton near the upper limit.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Why he makes sense: The Leafs’ scoring depth is a major problem. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares alone have combined for more than 58 percent of their goals. Monahan actually could see meaningful minutes in a third-line role with the Leafs. He’d have some organizational familiarity reuniting with GM Brad Treliving, under whom Monahan enjoyed his best seasons and signed the biggest contract of his career, a seven-year, $44.625 million deal in 2016.

What it might cost: The Leafs own their 2024 first-round pick and hold a third-rounder acquired from the New York Islanders last winter. They might not want to part with their few higher-end prospects for a rental third-liner, but they could send affordable NHL talent Montreal’s way in someone like Pontus Holmberg, packaged with a pick.

Fly in the ointment: Even though the Leafs need depth, a forward acquisition feels like a secondary pursuit. Top heavy as they might be, they’re still a high-scoring operation. Their defense has slipped dramatically this season. Adding one or even two viable NHL blueliners should take priority over chasing any forwards. And would Treliving want to take the Monahan plunge again after he burned a conditional first-round pick to dump his contract from Calgary to Montreal?

Vancouver Canucks

Why he makes sense: The Canucks have been open about their intention to pursue a top-six forward. If they don’t have the assets or cap space to land a big-ticket name, Monahan could be a fallback given his versatility. He’s talented enough to hold his own with high-quality linemates and a bit of power-play work.

What it might cost: The Canucks own their first- and third-round picks at the moment. How aggressive are GM Patrik Allvin and president of hockey ops Jim Rutherford? Let’s put it this way. Even with their team in seller mode and out of the playoff hunt, they still traded a first-round pick before the deadline last winter (which worked out very well, as it brought Filip Hronek to town). When Rutherford is helming a team in the hunt? He leaves no stone unturned. Would that mean Vancouver is willing to put a prospect in play? Vasili Podkolzin hasn’t played in the NHL since last season and could use a fresh start. He’s old enough to be trade bait yet young enough to still have upside in a new environment.

Fly in the ointment: Monahan’s upside even on the high-octane Canucks might be deceivingly low. He is generating shots and scoring chances at the lowest rates of his career. He arguably doesn’t fit the bill of top-six forward on a contender at this juncture of his career. Middle-six is more like it.

Winnipeg Jets

Why he makes sense: The Jets, one of the season’s most surprising success stories, have earned the right to an upgrade thanks to their play. Even if GM Kevin Cheveldayoff wants to stay cautious after shipping out Pierre-Luc Dubois and buying out Blake Wheeler over the summer, it would send a rousing message to his troops to go from subtracting to adding in less than a year. Monahan’s all-round responsible game and veteran leadership would jive well with what is known to be a drastically improved Jets dressing room culture this season. Winnipeg also owns the lowest team faceoff win percentage of any team currently in a playoff spot at 46.8 percent. Monahan’s 57.7 percent sits ninth in the NHL among players with 100 or more draws taken, and his 60.4 percent mark in the defensive zone ranks 11^th. That one skill alone would make him a valuable addition.

What it might cost: The Jets own 20 picks over 21 rounds in the next three drafts combined, so it wouldn’t be too tough for them to rustle up draft capital. They have reasonable forward depth in their prospect pool, too. They wouldn’t want to surrender one of their top guys (Colby Barlow, Rutger McGroarty, Chaz Lucius, Brad Lambert etc.), but maybe someone from the next tier down such as Dmitri Rashevsky or Nikita Chibrikov?

Fly in the ointment: Cheveldayoff doesn’t typically like to kick prospects into his trades. If you look at his recent deadline acquisitions, from Nino Niederreiter in 2023 to Dylan DeMelo in 2020, he prefers to go the pick route. If the Habs want a prospect, does that scare Chevy away from the table?