Travis Konecny's name just landed in Montreal, and it arrives at an ugly moment for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Joe Yerdon made the pitch Thursday night, arguing Konecny would help the Canadiens replace the grit, feistiness and frustration factor Brendan Gallagher supplied for years.
Yerdon framed it purely as a fit. And the winger at the center of it didn't dress Thursday in Detroit.
He's listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until Saturday at the earliest, when the Senators come to town.
Philadelphia dropped a 2-1 decision in Detroit without him. Nine games into the season, the Flyers still don't have a win.
The Flyers have scored 11 goals and allowed 33. Pick the uglier number.
Konecny hasn't been the fix either. He has three assists through five games and is still looking for his first goal.
Konecny would out-earn Nick Suzuki in Montreal
His $8,750,000 cap hit would sit above Nick Suzuki's $7,875,000 on the Montreal books.
Only Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson carry bigger cap hits on the current Canadiens roster. That's a lot of cash for a player being sold on feistiness.
Bad idea. Paying that kind of money for grit is like buying a pickup truck for the cup holders.
The Gallagher comparison comes with its own wrinkle. He's in Vancouver now and logged 8:34 Thursday night in an overtime loss at Florida.
Montreal's sharper problem lives in its own end. The Canadiens are giving up 3.9 goals per game through a 3-3-1 start.
Jakub Dobes owns an .841 save percentage across four appearances. Samuel Montembeault isn't expected back until Tuesday at the earliest.
So does an agitator on the wing fix any of that? Martin St-Louis needs saves before he needs sandpaper.
Philadelphia's math doesn't favor a sale either. Rick Tocchet's group scores 1.2 goals per game, and Matvei Michkov leads the team with three goals.
Moving a 29-year-old winger doesn't thicken an offense that thin. It just hands Daniel Briere a bigger hole to fill.
These two teams haven't met yet. The first meeting is Nov. 21 in Montreal.
If the Flyers are still chasing a first win by then, the Konecny chatter won't stay a Thursday night talking point for long.
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Should Kent Hughes spend $8,750,000 in cap space on Travis Konecny?
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