It can be said that one of the pleasant surprises this year in the NHL is Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

As reported by the site HABSolumentFan, the forward has already scored seven goals and registered 10 points in 25 games since the start of the season and has shown great skills as an enforcer, as demonstrated against players like Ryan Lomberg, Matt Rempe, and Arber Xhekaj.

Moreover, Mathieu Olivier will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and some experts have already linked his name to the Montreal Canadiens, most notably, a former NHL enforcer.

Mathieu Olivier to Montreal and departures for Michael Pezzetta and Arber Xhekaj? An intriguing statement by Georges Laraque

On BPM Sports, host Georges Laraque mentioned that he would love to see Kent Hughes sign Olivier as a free agent next summer, and he even suggested the names of two players the team could consider trading.

«For this guy, at $2.5 million, I’ll take him. If Mathieu Olivier is here, we’ll trade Pezzetta and probably trade Xhekaj too.

You can cash in Xhekaj for something good. With Mathieu Olivier, you’re good!»

– Georges Laraque

 

In fact, the arrival of Mathieu Olivier to the Canadiens’ lineup would almost render the presence of Arber Xhekaj or Michael Pezzetta unnecessary.

Even though some might not entirely agree with this argument, it is worth mentioning that Xhekaj has good trade value on the market, and the Canadiens’ general manager has been receiving calls about the sheriff’s services.

However, this scenario is still far from reality, and it remains uncertain how much a player of Mathieu Olivier’s caliber could cost on the free-agent market.