Even though it’s too early to say if the Montreal Canadiens will be sellers at the trade deadline, it’s clear that Kent Hughes has his plan in mind.

He has evidently already started shopping ahead of the trade deadline.

One of his most sought-after players is likely to be, unsurprisingly, defenseman David Savard, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Canadiens’ GM will be listening to offers from his counterparts, and it seems Hughes was already working on a possible trade before the current season.

Two sources share insights on a potential trade involving Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard

As reported by the site HABSolumentFan, Marco D’Amico from the site RG.org received information from an NHL insider that the Canadiens tried to trade David Savard last year.

Wow.

«We looked closely at the David Savard situation last year but couldn’t pull the trigger. His additional year under contract, combined with our salary structure, didn’t allow us to make that deal. However, this year, since he’ll only be a rental player, it’s a whole different story.»

Indeed, the fact that he still had a year left on his contract made it harder for a team to acquire his services at that time. This explains a lot.

D’Amico also confirmed that the chances of David Savard being traded by March 7 are very high.

It’s known that the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars have shown interest in the defenseman.

The question now is what price Kent Hughes can get for his services. However, given that the rental right-handed defenseman market is relatively weak this season, it’s not too bold to hope for a first-round pick for number 58.