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The 2026 NHL Draft has come and gone, but the Montreal Canadiens weren’t about to make a move just for the headlines.
On this episode of The Starr & D’Amico Show, Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico break down Montreal’s approach to draft weekend and why Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton refused to force a trade that didn’t fit the long-term plan.
Was there a missed opportunity? Were the Canadiens close to landing a top-six forward or top-four defenseman? Or was standing pat the smartest decision available?
We discuss:
🏒 Why the Canadiens stayed patient during draft weekend
🏒 The trade market and why prices may have been too high
🏒 The type of player Montreal is still targeting
🏒 Why Hughes won’t sacrifice assets just to “win” the offseason
🏒 What’s next for the Canadiens this summer
Should the Habs have made a splash, or was patience the right play?
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
👍 Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you never miss another episode of The Starr & D’Amico Show.
#montrealcanadiens #nhl #hockey
Marchenko would be awesome ..but it will b a huge haul …i bet it would cost us Hage , Guile, a first and prob another good prospect …thats alot ..i just hate to see Hage suceed in another uniform …
Did not know who Gleb P. was but feel it’s a good pick with upside fit for team need. Good work ethic and fits team culture
Edge of my seat ALREADY!!!
Marchenko deal would cost Guhle and perhaps Bolduc. IMO.
Stop making excuses for Kent. The Canadiens need a lot of things, not just a center. They need grit, they need toughness. They need a tough defenseman. They need a potential wing. They need a centre. They need so many things and I refuse to believe that there isn’t one of those things available right now. They don’t have to make the big splash, but they should try to improve one of the parts of their team that needs it. To do nothing is absolutely crazy to me. It’s almost like he needs to do a big splash or nothing at all.
Habs nation should feel good for not overpaying for middling talent that does not push us forward in a meaningful way..
Did the price for McTavish surprise you? Feels like Habs could've matched or exceeded the equivalent value without really feeling it. Maybe the Ducks asked the Habs for more?
An Ivan demidov extension dropping on July 1st would be a treat for Habs fans
Ethan Belchetz was there for the taking, trading for 16oa, makes the 2c easier. Does not solve the puzzle, but makes it easier.
The Habs were smart to sit back and be patient. In a few years teams will look back with regret for some of the knee jerk panic overpays with some of these trades.
Good Draft For Habs 💪
The only reason I can make this comment is because I have been watching this channel for a year or so (due to your coverage of Salary Cap and the business end of it, which is this channel's strength)…5:31 Shawn's question and Marco's response makes me think that the Habs are not likely to make a trade within this over-inflated (or recession) economy that players and teams have created with their assets. I would be OK with it, and still believe they probably have most everything they need to win a cup already in their system: top 6 forwards, defense, and goalies seem to have existing solutions if we can be patient, and the only thing left is to ensure we have a bottom 6 of "gamers" (as Shawn says), and those are probably much easier to come by (e.g., Texier, Blais, Veleno, were easy to acquire on the cheap). I believe in this economy it is best to grow our own non-greedy, team-oriented players than to trade for some greedy asshole to some preying-on-the-desperate team that might not work out any more than a prospect would…. 10:40 Did Ottawa stop the bleeding? By the statement you just made, we still don't know. in fact, we don't really know if Florida got better. I suppose we will find out the answer to these questions sometime next season or later… 20:42 Put this on loop, or write it on the blackboard 100 times after school… 22:21 I hope we continue to have boring times this summer.
What a dumb conversation. Any guy that Montreal acquires in a top 6 role is going to be a powerplay guy. So Your not going to acquire a player because it will disrupt the powerplay. I guess Montreal is never getting better then.
Marco is bringing a LOT of common sense to what happened at the draft!
Marchenko would be an amazing add. Knies too, but that appears d.o.a.. The cost just seems too prohibitive to add impact forwards right now. I don’t really have the stomach for a trade of Hage or Zharovsky rn
If that's the price for Marchenko I'm off that trade. No thanks.
Look at Toronto and Carlo. They gave up Minten and a first rounder to get back 2 third round picks. Huge step back.
Gleb and Protz will terrorize the AHL in a year or two
Gleb was an awesome pick at 26th overall. He's a bruising power forward who is probably 2 years away from being NHL ready. Habs Nation will love this monster once he joins the big club.
Well Isn't the other way around.. i feel like the Canadiens's cap structure restrain the trade market for them in a bad way?
Ok so with your logic Marco how the hell do you explain the mctavish trade . They traded a 29th over all we were 28th and a what 16th or something . So we couldn’t have packaged this years pick with say a kapanen or some other higher drafted pick to get our young true 2c bull shit they could and should have done something they over glorify our picks and our prospects like there made of gold get off your ass and pay the price the window is open now!!!!!!
Were back baby! Go habs go!
Dorofeyev was just traded for 3 picks…
JJ Petterka was traded for 2 picks..
I’m pretty confident A Reinbacher, Or Engstrom and a couple first round picks would be enough of a return.
Those two trades helped the Habs imo. Price was probably really high before those deals took place.
It is crazy how prospect quality is weeker or stronger in certain draft years. Any insights into why?
Bang on Shaun!! I was wondering why I feel calm as opposed to the usual disappointment….I DO trust HUGO and staff. Couldn't say that about previous GM 's….
They need physicality on defence and some more size, how long are they going to let teams run the goalie?
There is nothing certain about how these trades will turn out. Trading for the sake of trading is not the Habs style.
A couple things ..the cap has gone up by crazy reckless numbers so we can't compare this year to any other.This is why teams were over spending carelessly giving away picks for NOW players they have too much room to makes moves.
Having said that MTL does not have much room to make an impact move.I see Mtl going down that exact same Carey P:rice path soon to over spend on goalies making this team THE team that has top get them there.
Hage is not going to make enough of an impact to change how this teams plays the game or playoff hockey teams don't care what you did in the regular season.
Great podcast, guys. The impatience and childish irrationaliity of some Habs fans …
If Marchenko is able to be had then Hughes had better get him MTL has assets to make that happen.Guhle is expendable yes Hage is as well Engstrom is easily able to slot right into the lineup and I get the feeling Mtl wants Reinbacher to also get into the lineup.
Imo if and when Reinbacher suffers his next injury his trade stock will plummet into a black hole we should think about trading him now.
When will they get wise and work with the excellent talent they have. You will never get a machine worked in if you are constantly changing or replacing parts. Not to mention the stress on some players not knowing if they have a job from one day to the next. That's a distraction on the ice. You can't build trust and loyalty if players see people coming and going, wondering if your next. You will NEVER get the perfect team, so get the best talent you can afford, settle down, and work with them. It's frustrating to watch all the good talent being thrown away looking for better and better. Analytics can see good players, but it can't coach them and get them working with others like a machine.
To chime in on th eMarchenko possibility Columbus can no way trade Marchenko without giving up all hopes that Werenski wouldreturn ,,NO HOPE.
So this will take a fair bit of time IF Clb is going to have to move Werenski then Marchenko most certainly becomes available.
Starr called it correct , Gorton & Hughes were not going to sell the farm to get an over-priced addition that they don't necessarily need for right now. I saw that coming when McTavish got priced out of reach. Good addition , but not at the price that was being asked. Go HABs.
I am not going to call my-self an hockey expert, I am a hockey fan who have been watching approx. 80 NHL games a year, along with countless amateur and junior games as well. I have only done this since I was 8 or 7 years-old, I am 72 now, all I can say is this past drafting session along with very many in recent past does not make me feel I will see the Canadiens win a Stanley Cup anytime soon. And. I am not going to tell you why, just open the hockey history books, all the answers are there.
How about a gap filler C in free agent Boone Jenner 🤔
there is no need to give the farm away to improve today and break your nose tomorrow… remember the Canadian of the old days building carefully throught the draft and developping their own players and trading carefully…
Patience is the best way in my opinion the best way to go
Great point on PP ice time re: Dorofeyev. Wouldn’t Marchenko or any other player of that caliber require assurances that they would get PP time? Are there any players out there that wouldn’t? I have a name, but I’m not sure he’s ready to come home…
a bit weird if we give 11mil to marchenko, at least 5 players on habs will ask over 11mil on their next contract, will we be able to pay them?
Teams look at the Habs and salivate when they see the depth of prospects. Other trading partners may not have the elite talent in the prospect pool that the Habs have. The Canadiens could never offer draft picks like other teams. We’re stuck in a position where nobody wants our draft picks. May as well just keep building internally and through drafting.
it would be a disaster to build up so much capital just to blow it on an ill advised move just because they feel the pressure to "do something". if the project is to be good for years and years, asset management is key