Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens could be trade partners

There have been multiple reports stating that the Montreal Canadiens have been sending scouts out to watch Tampa Bay Lightning games. If these reports are true, is there a trade brewing?

The Montreal Canadiens are clearly falling down the standings and are looking to be sellers moving forward this season. With that in mind, there are quite a few players worth looking into if you are a GM of a playoff-contending team. That’s why news about Montreal’s scouts at Tampa Bay Lightning games are an interesting sight.

There are quite a few Canadiens players that are likely on the market that would provide immense value for the Lightning. The fact that they are scouting Tampa makes it seem as though a potential roster player on the Lightning could be going back the other way.

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With this upcoming off-season looming and upcoming RFAs looking like they could get paid big-time, it would come as no surprise of the Lightning look to ship off a depth player that has term left on his deal. To me, all signs point towards Cedric Paquette being dealt away.

Paquette re-signed this past off-season for a two-year deal worth $1.65 million against the cap. That’s a reasonable price for one of the better bottom-six centers in the league.

However, with the emergence of Mitchell Stephens and Carter Verhaeghe, the incredible production from Anthony Cirelli, and the recent acquisition of Blake Coleman, Paquette’s spot on the roster isn’t exactly guaranteed.

Paquette is expendable now for the Lightning, and they do have holes. They addressed their forward depth, though they didn’t have to, while still leaving their defensive core the same, despite injuries.

It seems as though they will be without Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta for a few more weeks, and my guess is they’re looking for a depth defender to patch things up. The Canadiens have a few. If the Lightning want to continue bolstering their offensive depth, then the Canadiens have some very intriguing pieces there, too.

Blueline Options

First, let’s start with the defense. Upcoming free agents on the Canadiens blueline include 21-year-old left-handed defenseman Victor Mete and 26-year-old left-handed defenseman Xavier Oullette. Mete’s cap hit sits at $748,000 and could be an emergency re-sign if the Lightning can’t re-sign their key FA defensemen. Oullette’s cap hit sits at $700,000, though he doesn’t seem like the guy for the Lightning.

Mete is an interesting option, especially at 21-years-old. He doesn’t produce a whole lot offensively, but so far this year he is on pace to surpass his previous career-high of 13 points, as he has recorded four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 50 games.

He doesn’t block many shots and he doesn’t play particularly physical, as he has 59 blocked shots and 20 hits this season. Mete also tries to do a little too much with the puck at times, with a takeaway-giveaway ratio of 8-35 (-27 differential). He doesn’t play much on special teams, as he is deployed primarily at even-strength. Despite all of that, he is a very good possession player, with a 53.5% CF%.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t mention Jeff Petry, one of the Canadiens defenders that have been very open on the market this season. For one thing, Petry is expensive, with a cap hit of $5.5 million that extends into next season.

Unlike Blake Coleman, there is no fall-back option in this upcoming off-season that can benefit them financially in order to bring back their RFAs. Second, the Lightning gave up a first-round pick and a top prospect in Nolan Foote to bring Coleman in, and the cost of Petry could be around that same cost. The Lightning don’t need, nor should they consider wanting Petry.

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Forward Options

Now, let’s look at the options the Lightning have if they want to continue building their offensive depth. Montreal’s upcoming free agent forwards include Ilya Kovalchuk, Nick Cousins, Nate Thompson, Dale Weise, and Max Domi.

We can cross Domi off the list, as the rumors surrounding his name were shut down by Elliotte Friedman. As for the others, there’s a possibility. Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar have also been out there in rumors, with their contracts having term.

Kovalchuk has been one of the top powerplay producers for the Canadiens since joining their squad via free agency. He doesn’t play much on the penalty kill, but the Lightning added Coleman to assist them there. That said, it would make sense for the Lightning to bolster their powerplay unit after doing so to the penalty kill with Coleman.

Kovalchuk has also been a very impressive possession player, which differentiates from Coleman as well. Based on what Kovalchuk offers and looking at what Coleman brings to the table, they bring two separate styles to the table and could easily find success together in different ways.

Cousins is also used mainly on the powerplay and at even-strength, as he doesn’t draw into the Montreal power-play units. He isn’t overly physical, but he is a good possession player and has had one of his better seasons with production, coming mainly at even-strength. He’s also smart with the puck, as he has gotten more takeaways than giveaways.

Thompson is a penalty-killing specialist, as he has played the third-most minutes on the PK on the Montreal roster. He could help form one of the best PK units on Tampa, now that they have Coleman on the team, along with the incredible performance of Anthony Cirelli in that area too.

Thompson has played for the Lightning in the past, so it would be a somewhat small homecoming for him too. He plays aggressively, already surpassing 100 hits this season. Think about BriseBois and what he has added since the Lightning got swept by Columbus. He has addressed the lack of aggressiveness with the additions of Luke Schenn, Patrick Maroon, Luke Witkowski, and Coleman. So why not continue that trend with a guy who has already played within Jon Cooper’s system?

Weise doesn’t play much on special teams, being used as an even-strength player more often than not. He’s having a down season in just about every area of his game, so he is not a very attractive option.

Danault and Tatar fall in the same category as Petry when it comes to them having term on their deals. Tatar being at $4.8 million almost completely eliminates him from being available for Tampa Bay, unless the Canadiens retain salary; even then, it wouldn’t be the best idea for the Lightning to go for. Danault seems to be the more likely of the two options, but again, unless Montreal retains salary on his deal, it’s almost a guarantee that he won’t put on a Lightning sweater.

So, Who’s The Best Fit?

If the Lightning want to address defensive depth, then the most realistic option would be Victor Mete. He’s cheap financially, he won’t cost the Lightning much in the way of assets, and he’d provide decent value on the bottom d-pair while waiting for Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta to return. After that, he would simply provide immense depth in case of injuries or underperformance of other options.

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If the Lightning wanted to add even more forward depth, considering Paquette would likely be going the other way, then Nate Thompson and Ilya Kovalchuk would be the most realistic options. It ultimately depends on how BriseBois wants to help his team; add more offensive punch or bolster their physical game?

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