NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens expected to pursue Matt Duchene

According to the latest 31 Thoughts article from Elliott Friedman, the latest NHL rumors have the Montreal Canadiens interested in signing Matt Duchene.

Though the start of free agency isn’t until July 1, teams are already gearing up for what should be a deep free agency class. According to the latest NHL rumors, the Montreal Canadiens, as expected, are going to pursue signing Matt Duchene should he hit free agency.

This report comes from Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts article. He also confirms Darren Dreger’s earlier report about the Nashville Predators trying to clear cap space to sign him. Also, Friedman dropped a nice nugget – the Habs tried to trade for him at the trade deadline, but fell short.

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Duchene would make sense for the Canadiens for a variety of reasons. First of all, Montreal needs more skill if they want to become Stanley Cup contenders. Signing Duchene would give them a bonafide top-line center and goal scorer.

It would make things easier for Phillip Danault, Max Domi, Ryan Poehling, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi as well. One of them (likely Domi since he has experience there) could switch to wing. Of course, given Duchene’s experience at wing, he could just switch over as well and play center whenever he’s needed.

Secondly, the Canadiens have the cap space to sign him as well. According to CapFriendly, Montreal will have about $11 million of cap space before factoring in the rising of the salary cap. Should it rise to $83 million, this would give the Canadiens $15 million of cap space to work with and 20 players signed.

Thirdly, Montreal is likely going to make some changes to their roster. They fell short of their goal of missing the postseason. So expect the Canadiens to address their scoring, which was a huge issue at times this season. Duchene would give them another player capable of scoring 30 goals, which would ease the burden on Brendan Gallagher and Domi.

Duchene, however, might not hit the free agent market. He’s still reportedly considering re-signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Duchene was traded to them at the trade deadline from the Ottawa Senators.

For years, the Canadiens have needed center depth. It’s already fairly impressive, but adding Duchene would give them something they’ve lacked for years – a franchise center. Even if Kotkaniemi, Poehling, and top prospect Nick Suzuki pan out, you can never have too many great centers.

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Expect to see the Canadiens go after Duchene. The fit is there and they have the cap space to make it happen.

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