Trade Pitch Has Canadiens Acquiring $17 Million Defenseman in Intriguing Deal

The Montreal Canadiens have been rumored to be involved in trade talks and one trade pitch has them acquiring a top-four defenseman.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Canadiens acquire Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Canadiens acquire:

Connor Murphy
2025 fourth-round pick (Rangers)

Blackhawks acquire:

Justin Barron
Sean Farrell
2025 second-round pick (Pittsburgh’s)

The proposed deal does make sense as Montreal gets a defenseman to help them now, while Chicago gets a younger defenseman to help with the rebuild.

Murphy is 31-years-old and in the second year of his three-year $17.6 million deal. The defenseman could be a top-four pairing for Montreal and is known for his defensive style. But, he can add a bit of offense, as last season, he recorded 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 46 games.

In return, the big part of the return would be the second-round pick and Barron. Barron is a 22-year-old defenseman who could replace Murphy on the Blackhawks blueline and also his age fits in nicely with Chicago’s rebuild. Last season, Barron skated in 48 games recording 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points.

Farrell, meanwhile, is a 22-year-old forward who has been playing in the AHL. He would likely be an AHL player in Chicago. But, he could be a call-up and play on the third or fourth line if someone gets hurt.

Canadiens Looking to Acquire Top-4 Defenseman

Montreal is off to a 4-5-1 start and general manager Kent Hughes is looking to improve the team’s blue line.

TSN’s NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported on ‘Early Trading’ that Hughes has explored the trade market.

“What I’m being told, after talking to teams around the league, is that general manager Kent Hughes has started to call around, doing his due diligence, at least getting a sense of what, potentially, is out there,” LeBrun said. “I think the Canadiens would be open to making a move here that would help sort of shake up the makeup a bit here, and help this team win some games.”

After LeBrun’s report, fellow NHL insider Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com reported that the Canadiens are looking to acquire a top-four defenseman.

“Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has been checking prices on acquiring a top-four, right-shooting defenseman around the league. The cost? It’s high, meaning nothing is imminent now,” Seravall reported.

The Canadiens haven’t made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.

Blackhawks’ Murphy’s Name Has Come up in Trade Talks

Murphy’s name has come up in trade talks last season and that has continued into this season.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Murphy’s name is someone to watch for a potential trade this season.

“A guy who I think people would take a look at and think, ‘does this make sense at all?’ would be a guy like Connor Murphy,” Friedman said on the Oilers Now show. “Last year, there were a lot of teams that were interested in Murphy.”

Friedman says Murphy’s injury last season ended any trade rumors. But, if Chicago is out of the playoffs by the deadline again, his name will come back up in trade talks.

Tags: Montreal Canadiens