Insider Trading: Could Canadiens’ rebuild include a UFA signing splash?

TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun join host James Duthie to discuss the potential for the Canadiens to make a sizable free-agent splash in the summer, whether or not Filip Forsberg’s name could come up in trade talks and the latest on the 2024 World Cup of Hockey planning.

The Canadiens are currently in a rebuild and normally teams in that phase trade away veteran pieces for future assets. But might the Habs go about it slightly different?

LeBrun: You know, they’ve been a little outside the box hiring Martin St. Louis to coach without any experience and what an impact that’s had so far. And so more out of the box thinking here. What we’re hearing is that yes, the Canadiens are still on the lookout for picks and prospects in their roster makeover, but further proof that this is not necessarily a traditional rebuild and more of a roster transformation is that I’m told the Habs intend to be pretty aggressive in free agency come July 13, they hope to be a player. And while they want to get younger in some parts of the team, they also want to lure a big star or two to Montreal as part of this roster transformation. Now, let me say this. It’s not like Marc Bergevin, the previous GM, didn’t want to sign unrestricted free agents on July 1. He certainly tried. It’s not a top-A destination for some free agents. But what I was told by another team today. If Martin St. Louis stays on as coach, what kind of a factor is he in maybe attracting some free agents?

Predators forward Filip Forsberg isn’t currently on the most recent version of TSN’s Trade Bait list, but are there starting to be rumblings about his availability?

Dreger: Well, look. He’s Nashville’s top scorer and the position of the Predators is they want