{"id":183755,"date":"2025-09-07T05:32:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T05:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/183755\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T05:32:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T05:32:22","slug":"forget-mctavish-the-canadiens-are-eyeing-a-controversial-star-for-their-second-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/183755\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget McTavish, the Canadiens Are Eyeing a Controversial Star for Their Second Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Evgeny<\/a>The Montreal Canadiens are looking for a second-line center, and they may have found their man in Evgeny Kuznetsov. Here’s why this is a low-risk, high-reward signing.<\/p>\n

The Montreal Canadiens are at a crossroads. After years of rebuilding, they have a solid young core and are looking to take the next step. The trade of Carey Price\u2019s contract to the San Jose Sharks<\/a> has given them over $4.5 million in cap space, and general manager Kent Hughes<\/a> is ready to make a move.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that the Canadiens need a second-line center. They\u2019ve been linked to the Anaheim Ducks\u2019 Mason McTavish<\/a>, but the asking price is reportedly sky-high. The Ducks are also said to be working on an extension with McTavish, which would take him off the market entirely. So, what\u2019s plan B?<\/p>\n

A Second Chance for a Former Star?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Evgeny Kuznetsov<\/a> comes in. The 33-year-old Russian is a free agent and is looking for a chance to prove he can still be an impact player in the NHL. His agent, Shumi Babayev, has said that Kuznetsov is close to a decision and that the Canadiens are one of the two teams in the running.<\/p>\n

This is a move that could be a stroke of genius for the Canadiens. Kuznetsov is a former Stanley Cup champion and has the high-end skill that the Canadiens desperately need. He\u2019s also a right-handed shot, which would be a welcome addition to a lefty-heavy forward group. Yes, he comes with some baggage, but at this stage in his career, he\u2019s likely to be a motivated player on a short-term, \u201cshow-me\u201d deal.<\/p>\n

The Perfect Low-Risk, High-Reward Signing<\/p>\n

For a team like the Canadiens, this is the perfect low-risk, high-reward signing. If Kuznetsov can find his game, he could be the perfect stopgap second-line center while the team\u2019s younger prospects continue to develop. <\/p>\n

And if he doesn\u2019t work out, the Canadiens can simply walk away at the end of the season. It\u2019s a no-lose situation for a team that is looking to add talent without mortgaging the future.<\/p>\n

Find the Latest on the Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n

For the latest Montreal Canadiens news<\/a>, online hockey pools for cash prizes<\/a>, and to find out what channel the Habs game is on TV today<\/a>, make sure to add nhltraderumor.com<\/a> to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletter below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Montreal Canadiens are looking for a second-line center, and they may have found their man in Evgeny…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2268,15783,23651,5,1749,3043,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-183755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-carey-price","9":"tag-evgeny-kuznetsov","10":"tag-habs-trade-rumors","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-kent-hughes","13":"tag-mason-mctavish","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115161382519734143","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}