Canadiens land Kucherov in a five-asset mock trade

A mock trade sending Nikita Kucherov to the Canadiens is circulating Saturday, and the price tag is five assets.

None of this is a reported deal. It's a hypothetical, but it lands on a day when the Lightning visit Nashville tonight and Montreal hosts Pittsburgh, and both teams are winning.

The Canadiens are 8-3-2 and have won four straight. Tampa Bay sits at 8-3-1 after a 6-4 win over Winnipeg on Thursday, so nobody is shopping from the bottom of the standings. Our look at Nikita Kucherov's possible landing spots already had Montreal in the conversation.

Kucherov has 4 goals and 11 assists through 12 games, and he's still the player a trade market builds itself around.

Hot Take Hockey proposed that Montreal send Michael Hage, Kirby Dach, Zack Bolduc, David Reinbacher and first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 to Tampa Bay for Kucherov.

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Start with Bolduc, because he's the piece that hurts. He has 5 goals and 7 points in 13 games with a +3 rating, and two of those goals came on the power play.

Dach is the easy name to include. He has 3 assists and no goals in 13 games, and his cap hit of $3,600,000 expires after this season.

Hage and Reinbacher are the prospect part of the package. Hage, drafted 21st overall in 2024, hasn't played an NHL game. Reinbacher, taken fifth overall in 2023, has appeared in 3 career games.

Why this price makes no sense for Montreal

Kucherov is 33 and carries a $9,500,000 cap hit that runs out after 2026-27, when he's set to reach unrestricted free agency with no extension signed. Montreal would be handing over two firsts and its most productive young winger for a rental.

That's a bad trade for the Canadiens, and the roster they have is already 6th in the NHL. Bolduc is producing right now, and the picks would be the cost of fixing a problem this team doesn't have.

Tampa Bay's side is easier to like on paper, since Brisebois would get young pieces and picks. But Jon Cooper's team is 6-0-0 at home and has the same 7-2-1 mark over its last 10 as Montreal. The Lightning have no pressure to sell, and our report on Kucherov's trade request and one GM's alarm shows how that tension is building.

Tampa Bay plays in Nashville tonight with Kucherov in the lineup, and Montreal puts its four-game win streak on the line against Pittsburgh.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Five teams will not be in on Nikita Kucherov trade, per report