Michael Hage for Dylan Larkin, straight up. Pierre LeBrun tossed that idea into the Canadiens conversation Wednesday, and even he couldn't pick a side.
Speaking on TSN690, LeBrun drew a hard line first. “I don't see the Canadiens, this is just my own opinion, ever saying yes to including him in a large package for Larkin,” he said.
Then came the twist. “Where I kind of get myself in a 50/50 debate with myself is: what if the ask was just Hage, straight up?”
A one-for-one swap changes the math entirely. And it lands at an awkward moment for Montreal, sitting second in the Atlantic at 7-3-2 heading into tonight's game in Dallas.
The Canadiens have won three straight. But the injury report just got heavier, with Nick Suzuki listed with an upper-body injury and expected out until at least Nov. 18.
He leads the team with 12 points in nine games. That's a lot of production for Martin St-Louis to replace on the fly, and the depth behind him isn't exactly roaring.
Kirby Dach has been held without a goal through 12 games. Alex Newhook has gone pointless over his last five with a -2 rating.
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Kent Hughes should say yes if Detroit asks for Hage alone
Larkin has six points in 10 games, including two power-play assists. Nobody's mistaking that for a monster start.
But he's dressed for 10 of Detroit's 12 games and owns a +3 rating on a club that's been outscored 37-33.
The price is real. The Detroit forward carries an $8,700,000 cap hit, and you don't slide that onto a roster without sending something meaningful back.
Here's where the hedging should stop. If the ask is truly one prospect, Kent Hughes should take the deal and hang up before anybody changes their mind.
Prospects are like a house you've only seen in listing photos. Every room looks perfect until you move in and find the water in the basement.
A proven NHL forward is the house you've already walked through. You know where the floor creaks, and you buy it anyway.
Montreal's crease makes the case even louder. Jacob Fowler owns a .942 save percentage with two shutouts in seven appearances.
Goaltending like that doesn't hang around forever. Why waste it waiting on a kid to arrive?
The Red Wings, meanwhile, sit eighth in the division at 5-4-3. Shawn Horcoff has been the GM there only since Sept. 15.
These two teams have met once this season. Montreal edged Detroit 1-0 in a shootout at home on Oct. 10.
Todd McLellan's group hosts Chicago tonight, and Alex DeBrincat leads the way with 13 points.
LeBrun called it a coin flip. The bigger question is whether Detroit would ever put that coin on the table.
Should the Canadiens trade Michael Hage straight up for Dylan Larkin?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Pagnotta: Wild lead for Dylan Larkin; Bruins, Habs only if he widens his list
