Trade Requests

With the movement of Steve Begin earlier today, and the general unrest of Mathieu Dandenault and Georges Laraque implying that they too would like to be traded, there seems to be an alarming trend of Canadiens depth players wanting to get out (the fact that they're predominantly French-Canadian will likely also get some press). While this is clearly (and somewhat understandably) the result of there not being enough ice time to go around with a large number of young players working into similar roles in the lineup this season, the public way in which these claims have been coming out kills any potential trade values these players would have (Begin was traded for somebody who has to clear waivers; a possible swap that could net the Canadiens nothing in return).

While I'm all for guys like Begin and Dandenault getting the chance to play somewhere else given that their talents were squandered in Montreal on account of depth, it's still a bit painful to see them hanging the team out to dry in terms of a potential return. Almost everybody who leaves Montreal (with Samsonov and Grabovski being notable recent exceptions) talks about how much they enjoyed their time with the Canadiens, so it's too bad that they wind up hurting that same team (and consequently limiting the quality of teams they themselves could be moved to) by publicly demanding trades so close to the deadline.

In other news, with so much 4th line grit and character wanting to leave the team, look for a move to acquire Ian Laperriere to be become a much more reasonable possibility. Also, with salary continuing to come off of the cap, other, bigger-name talent might also work its way into the Habs' deadline day discussions. As always, we'll keep you posted on any developments in this regard as soon as we have the information.