The calendar turned to June on Monday, and with the Stanley Cup final set to begin Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, the balance of power in the Eastern Conference has shifted. The Carolina Hurricanes finally overcame their playoff hurdles to advance to the final against the Vegas Golden Knights by defeating the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final, which ended with a 6-1 victory in Game 5 on Friday night.
The Hurricanes' trip to the final leaves teams like the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Canadiens licking their wounds as they prepare for a pivotal month on the National Hockey League's off-season calendar. While fans of the Senators and Canadiens debate on social media which team put up more of a fight against the Hurricanes, the bottom line is that both teams lost and need to improve because Carolina will not be going away anytime soon.
Montreal's off-season priorities
"We know we still have work to do," Montreal general manager Kent Hughes told reporters on the club's breakup day in Brossard on Monday. Hughes revealed at the NHL trade deadline in March that a "significant" deal fell through because the Canadiens were unable to complete it by the 3 p.m. ET deadline. He said on Monday that the trade is not necessarily dead. "It depends on the other team," Hughes said. "That doesn't stop us from making the appeal and revisiting it."
There was speculation around the March 7 deadline that the Canadiens were trying to acquire Matthew Knies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it is not believed that was the deal that fell through. The talk in league circles is that Hughes and Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' vice-president of hockey operations, may have been in talks with the New York Rangers for a trade that would have included centre Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck would be a perfect fit for the second-line centre the Canadiens need and carries a cap hit of $5.625 million through the 2028-29 season.
"I'm going to call all 31 teams and look into a lot of things," Hughes said. "As I discussed earlier, what will be available in June isn't necessarily the same as what was available in March. It will be up to me to determine that."
Potential trade targets
It remains to be seen if the Canadiens will revisit the deal they were working on — if it was indeed with the Rangers — and whether Montreal would try to expand the trade to include another piece from New York. Forward Alexis Lafreniere, 24, is often linked to the Canadiens but has a big ticket at $7.45 million through 2031-32. The message for both the Canadiens and the Senators is clear: go big or go home, and both teams have gone home early this spring.
The arms race in the Eastern Conference is about to heat up, and both Ottawa and Montreal must make strategic moves to close the gap with the Hurricanes and other contenders.
