Marco D'Amico pitches Owen Tippett as a finisher for Suzuki and the Canadiens

Owen Tippett's name is suddenly floating in Montreal Canadiens trade chatter, and the timing could hardly be stranger for the Flyers forward.

Marco D'Amico floated it on The Starr & D'Amico Show. His pitch was simple: if Montreal can't land Dylan Larkin, Philadelphia's No. 74 is the guy he'd chase.

And he went further. Given the choice between Tippett and Travis Konecny, D'Amico picks Tippett, arguing he hasn't maxed out and has never skated with a center like Nick Suzuki.

That last part lands. Suzuki has 10 points in eight games and is driving a Montreal attack that's scoring 3.4 goals per night.

The problem? The guy D'Amico wants to plug beside him heads into tonight's home date with Colorado listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The production hasn't been there either. One goal and two points through nine games, with no goals over his last five.

Rick Tocchet's Flyers sit 30th with one win in 10 games

Philadelphia owns a -20 goal differential. That's the kind of number that makes every veteran contract in the locker room feel negotiable.

Tippett carries a $6.2 million cap hit. Konecny sits at $8.75 million and is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

So D'Amico's preference makes cap sense for Kent Hughes. Konecny has no goals and three assists in five games, which hardly screams untouchable.

But here's where the idea falls apart. Selling Tippett as the Larkin consolation prize is like shopping for a pickup truck and driving home in a convertible.

Fun ride. Still can't haul anything.

Larkin isn't exactly on fire either, with three points in six games and an $8.7 million cap hit. Montreal wouldn't be buying a hot hand anywhere on this list.

Hughes has a wrinkle at home, too. Ivan Demidov is on injured reserve, expected out until at least Oct. 31, taking one of Martin St-Louis's best young options off the board.

And Montreal's bigger leak sits at the other end of the rink. The Canadiens are allowing 3.8 goals per game, which no forward acquisition fixes.

Michael Hage is the other piece of D'Amico's argument, the prospect he expects in Montreal by April. If that timeline holds, how much should Hughes really spend on a bridge?

Tocchet's group gets Colorado tonight and a road date in Buffalo on Wednesday. If Tippett stays out and the losses keep stacking, Daniel Briere's phone will ring whether he wants it to or not.

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