The Montreal Canadiens inquired about the availability of center Bo Horvat with the New York Islanders, and were told he is not available via trade, reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. According to LeBrun, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes “has not been shy about calling about guys who likely aren’t even available” in order to “get a full scope of the trade market, not just the obvious names.” Horvat, 31, scored 31 goals and 57 points in 68 games for the Islanders last season.
It has been widely reported that the Canadiens have entered the offseason with an aggressive posture towards upgrading their roster. The team took a similar approach one year ago, trading a haul of assets to the New York Islanders for defenseman Noah Dobson. Dobson had a strong first season in Montreal and his efforts helped the team, which has only recently emerged from a rebuild, make a run to the Eastern Conference Final. The Canadiens’ biggest need is a second-line center behind Selke Trophy winner Nick Suzuki, and it appears they are willing to even consider veteran players such as Horvat, not exclusively younger players of a similar age to the team’s current stars.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- LeBrun also reported that the Blue Jackets’ response to teams that inquire about the trade availability of star winger Kirill Marchenko has “been a firm no.” The 25-year-old has one year left on his $3.85MM AAV contract, after which he will be an arbitration-eligible RFA just one year away from being able to hit unrestricted free agency. While we previously covered a report that the Canadiens had inquired about Marchenko, the implication here is that Columbus is fully committed to retaining the winger into his UFA years and beyond, and won’t entertain trading him unless it becomes abundantly clear the two parties can’t reach an agreement on an extension.
- In one other note, LeBrun indicated that the Capitals are not done adding in what has been a transformative offseason for the team, and are “looking to add a blueliner come free agency.” The Capitals traded away star defenseman John Carlson at the trade deadline and did not replace him, and blueliner Rasmus Sandin will be out for an extended period after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL. While Washington’s additions have focused on forwards thus far, it appears that focus will shift to the blueline come July 1.
