A Sunday afternoon mock trade has Nico Hischier wearing a Canadiens sweater, and Montreal fans can't stop passing it around.
The three-team pitch, posted on X by @futurdgduCH, sends Dylan Larkin to New Jersey and the Devils forward to Montreal. The screenshot showed 34.9K views.
Detroit's end is where it gets messy. The Red Wings would take back Michael Matheson, Alex Newhook, prospect Hage and a 2027 first that's top-10 protected for Montreal.
This is a fan's whiteboard, not a reported deal. But the timing explains why it caught fire.
Montreal is without its top center. Nick Suzuki is expected out until at least Nov. 18 with an upper-body injury, and he has 12 points in 9 games.
So who fills that hole down the middle? Kirby Dach has 2 points through 11 games and is still looking for his first goal.
Enter the Swiss forward. Hischier has five goals this season, and four came on the power play, more than anyone in the Habs lineup.
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Detroit's return looks thin for its highest-paid forward
The Red Wings would ship out Larkin's $8.7 million cap hit, the biggest number on their roster.
What comes back? A 32-year-old defenseman with 2 points in 7 games, plus a forward who has gone minus-5.
Newhook also spent 4 minutes in the box in Sunday's 2-1 win in Winnipeg.
Matheson logged 25:37 in that same game. Kent Hughes would be moving a guy who eats minutes on the blue line.
For Shawn Horcoff, barely six weeks into the GM chair, this is the kind of deal that gets a new boss roasted on talk radio. I'd hang up the phone.
It's like swapping your paid-off pickup for a scooter, a used minivan and a raffle ticket that might never get drawn.
Larkin's start doesn't help his case. He's got one goal in 9 games, though 3 assists over his last five show some life.
And would Sunny Mehta even pick up? His Devils are 7-4-0, riding a three-game win streak and 6-2-0 at home.
The 27-year-old they'd be giving up has gone plus-7 over his last five. Trading that for a 30-year-old is a tough sell in a winning locker room.
Detroit already dropped a 1-0 shootout to Montreal on Oct. 10, then lost 5-4 in overtime to New Jersey three nights later.
The Red Wings sit 24th overall heading into tonight's game in Edmonton. Losses like Saturday's 4-1 defeat in Calgary are exactly what make proposals like this spread.
Montreal and New Jersey don't meet until Nov. 18, the same date Suzuki's timeline runs out. Plenty can change before that puck drop.
Should Kent Hughes give up Michael Matheson, Alex Newhook and a 2027 first to land Nico Hischier?
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