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Could the Montreal Canadiens finally solve their long-standing need for a true second-line center?
In this episode of The Starr & D’Amico Show, we break down reports that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin may be unhappy and has reportedly requested a trade. Is there any realistic path for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens to acquire the dynamic two-way center? What would Detroit demand in return, and would Montreal be willing to pay the price?
We also examine the situation surrounding New Jersey Devils star Nico Hischier. Will the Devils lock up their captain long-term, or could he eventually become available? If Hischier were to hit the trade market, what would it take for the Canadiens to land one of the NHL’s premier two-way centers?
Most importantly, we compare both players and debate which center is the better fit for Montreal’s roster, timeline, and Stanley Cup aspirations. Would you rather add Dylan Larkin’s speed, leadership, and offensive production, or Nico Hischier’s elite defensive game and age advantage?
Let us know in the comments: Which player would you target if you were running the Canadiens?
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Fowler no way.He stays with Habs
Give them Monty
Let's move on from "parkin" Larkin in Montreal . We have bigger fish to fry.
Larkin isn’t coming to a Cdn team. Fla/TB/Vegas/Minn/Col/Utah are now NHL equivalent of Man City/ManU/Arsenal/Chelsea/Liverpool/Tottenham. Every other club will have to make good decisions and add the right type of players with a certain character. The US Olympian types are great players but aren’t coming north. We need to accept this new reality. Montreal should focus on developing Hage or a player like McTavish because of the logjam of players in Anaheim.
Lol there is no way they give up Hage for Trocheck or Kadri
Too many ppl only talking about the east (understandably so, it's who we see). But I'd focus on who's out west. There are some good options, and most of those teams, don't need a Hage or Zharovsky.
I would much much much rather overpay for Robert Thomas than to get Larkin or Hischier for a hefty price. Thomas is a legitimate top 15 center in the NHL, extremely creative, just insane playmaking skills that would complement Demidov so well. Larkin and Hischier are speedsters, off the rush guys that I'm not convinced are the perfect match for Demidov. If you overpay for Thomas, you basically get the best top 6 in the NHL for the 5 next years.. you have a lot of depth on the wing and anyone (Bolduc, Newhook, Zharovsky, Hage) you would pair with Thomas-Demi would end up scoring 30+ goals .
There are questions around Larkin and Hischier, there are no question in my mind that Thomas gives you a second 1st line and a second 1st PP … sometimes it's really ok to overpay to fix the problem permanently rather than to get a better paper deal and not really fix the problem entirely. People will get all emotional but you don't need Jacob Fowler playing 25 games a season for 2 years and then ending up trading him anyway because you can't keep both Doby and him… You can't play both Hage and Zharovsky on your top 6 if you get Thomas. Reino is a nice prospect but he's no game changer. It's fine to include Guhle in a trade. Kapanen, Beck, Pickford, picks.. you have ample assests to land Thomas and a solid righty D. Signing Greer doesn't cost you assets. You can really improve this team dramatically if you accept that you'll lose a trade on paper to get a prime Robert Thomas playing with your raw diamond in Ivan for the next 5 years.
Doesn't appear the Hab's have another power forward in the system other than Florian Xhekaj or Tyler Thorpe.
What can the CH get for Slavkofsky ?
I would kick the hornets nest and send an offer sheet to Adam Fantilli in july.
Colombus would probably match it but it’s worth a try.
Thomas is supposably off the market, Larkin wants to play in the US and Hischier doesn’t come cheap so my next target would be Mctavish who might not be in Anaheim’s good graces anymore.
Why not buy low on Petey? Ship out Gallagher + futures and 0 retention. It would probably cost us less assets than Knies!
I know everyone wants a 2C right now and see this as a must add for the Habs, I just don’t see the fit or the rush at the moment. Yes, I do think they should be willing to overpay if the proper player becomes available but in the current market I don’t see who that is. Larkin doesn’t want to come here, Hischier and Thomas aren’t available at the moment, McTavish has a lot of warts (especially skating), and none of them really address the need for snarl as well. I’m team stay the course and wait for another moment like the Dobson or Knies deal where the specific leverage the team has can come into play. If I was forced to choose, it would be Hischier because of his age and defensive acumen. When you’re ahead of schedule as a team, it isn’t the time to force the issue, it’s time to wait for the opportunity to pop up (and it will) to deal from strength.
I'd be fine acquiring an older player… but only if it doesn't shorten the cup contention window…
At the moment, the Habs probably have an 8 years window (i.e. before Suzuki starts slowing down, etc).. That 8 years may even be extended if ever we "miraculously" acquire a top young center at some point (or that Hage becomes that).
Acquiring a "Larkin" would be fine, but we still need to have enough assets to take Larking place in 4-5 years when he'd start slowing down.
4 or 5 years of contention may seem long… but you can face an injury one year, bad luck and early exit another year… etc.. and you end up empty handed. I was super high on a Knies trade (23 years old)… but quite less on Larkin, it will depend on the price.
I really want us to get back into the MacTavish trade talk. Seems like there is a little room to make something happen there compared to last year.
forget Larkin in MTL.
Good you guys are back.
Mctavish is the best option! Young and on and value has gone down.
Let's not discount fit tho, Larkin's actions here (and at the olympics ngl), his motives scream self-interest to me. I don't think he would be good for the locker room and fuck up team cohesion.
Hage will be our 2C in a year. In the meantime let's see if Demidov can be converted to a centre.
Please don’t trade Hage.
Hage On The 4 Line As Suzuki did On His 1st Year With Thompson Was Perfect ' I Think Add Greer Free Agent Would Be A Must Minimum
Love the dialogue, guys. 🙂 Just want to add, as a Montreal fan, it is fun watching our divisional rivals in Detroit, Ottawa and Toronto all having leadership challenges with captains who seem to want to jump ship (and all happen to be American…. 🤔). That’s all. 😎
When Robert Thomas was available so many Hab fan’s didn’t want to pay the price. That was an organizational mistake by the Habs! They would have been a cup contender for five years!
The only thing I dont like about Larkin is, he is not a plus player. Yes, he has good offensive numbers, but he s a negative 17, negative 21, etc. No playoff experience. Not interested IMO
I'm not saying that we should trade for Elias Pettersson, but of the few centers available on the market, he is both the one with the most upside potential and the cheapest one to acquire. It is at least worth considering.