Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Canadiens’ Guhle, Harris, Xhekaj Stepping Up… Early Trade?

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 10/21/22

The Montreal Canadiens are 3-2 to start the season and have surprised a number of insiders who were adamant the team wouldn’t be all that good this season. There’s still plenty of time for a young team to go off the rails and for the young stars to regress, but the pressure doesn’t seem to be getting to budding stars like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and blueliners like Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj are really showing their stuff early.

As the team continues to turn into the group that it wants to be over the next two or three seasons, what happens with players on the roster who won’t be a part of that equation will be an interesting story to watch. Are the Habs ready to make a deal now? Not likely; at least not while they are playing well. Will the winning last? That’s not likely either considering the inexperience on the team. Are they a playoff team? It may be way too early to tell.

What is known is that the Canadiens were retooling (on the verge of rebuilding) heading into the season and that hasn’t really changed. The club isn’t likely to be a buyer, but will still be selling and that makes players like Joel Edmundson, Sean Monahan, Jonathan Drouin, and Evgeni Dadanov intriguing names to watch.

Watch the Canadiens’ Blue Line Ahead of the Trade Deadline

On the blue line in particular is where the Canadiens might make a move. One, they would love to add a power-play quarterback. Two, with the seeming emergence of Guhle, Harris, and Xhekaj the team may believe they can afford to move out a more experienced body as these three get more acquainted and comfortable in the NHL.

Harris and Guhle are playing nearly 20 minutes per game. Harris is already a plus/minus +5 on the season. Both Guhle and Harris are killing penalties but neither is really an offensive specialist with Chris Wideman running the team’s power play. The Canadiens could be looking for a short-term right-shot d-man but the long-term play is still not to plan as though they’re winning the Stanley Cup this season.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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