Photo credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The excellent Marc-Olivier Beaudoin has just put forward a very interesting trade proposal for Montreal Canadiens fans.
With young Oliver Kapanen having seemingly hit a bit of a wall, here’s an intriguing suggestion involving a center.
Kapanen still has solid numbers on the season, with 17 goals, 13 assists, and 30 points.
That said, his pace has slowed recently, reopening an old discussion in Montreal.
For months now, we’ve been hearing the same thing around the Canadiens.
Kent Hughes is looking for that elusive second-line center, especially if the team wants to keep a stable top six.
Kapanen now finds himself at the center of that conversation despite his 30 points.
It’s respectable production, but it doesn’t completely shut the door on trade ideas.
And when Montreal is in a tight race, fans start calling for reinforcements.
Marc-Olivier Beaudoin targets Robert Thomas and puts a concrete trade offer on the table
With that in mind, Beaudoin floated a proposal that’s generating plenty of reaction.
His scenario would send Robert Thomas to Montreal, with a massive return heading to St. Louis.
MTL receives: Robert Thomas (6x $8,125,000)
STL receives: Oliver Kapanen + Alexander Zharovsky + 2026 1st (top-10 protected) + 2027 2nd + Patrik Laine (for cap reasons)
The name that immediately grabs attention is Thomas.
This season, he has 33 points in 42 games with the Blues.
Over his career, he has totaled 429 points in 508 games, including 118 goals.
At 26 years old, he also fits the timeline of a core that wants to win sooner rather than later.
But the question remains simple: do the Canadiens really want to empty that many assets in one shot?
“People don’t seem to want to acquire Thomas—a defensively responsible center who produces close to a point per game, all while being on an excellent contract at just 26 years old.
Several have mentioned that Zharovsky is a prospect on the same level as Demidov (in different words).
We may need to reset expectations, because even though Zharovsky remains a very good prospect, he’s nowhere near Demidov.”
– Marc-Olivier Beaudoin
A first-round pick, a second-round pick, a prospect, a young center, plus Laine—that’s starting to look like a price that sticks with you for a long time.
So what about you—would you make this trade?
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics
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Analyst floats trade proposal sending Robert Thomas to the Canadiens in a four-player package
Would you accept the offer for Robert Thomas involving Oliver Kapanen?