Canadiens Reap Rewards from Monahan Trade as Flames Flounder

Prior to the trade to the Canadiens, Monahan had been a mainstay with the Flames for nine seasons ever since having been drafted sixth overall in 2013. Backlund has admittedly been a Flame longer, but, between Monahan’s debut and departure, no Flame had scored more points than the latter, with exception to Johnny Gaudreau.

Monahan vs. Kadri

In fact, between Backlund’s 2009 debut and Monahan’s departure, the latter had still accumulated more points as a Flame, despite the five additional seasons played. Put simply, Monahan was more prolific then. He’s more prolific now, despite having just re-signed a sweetheart one-year, $1.985-million deal after a relative lull in scoring for a few seasons due to injury.

Monahan’s scored six goals and seven assists compared to the three goals and six assists scored by Nazem Kadri, who leads the Flames in scoring. Remember, the Flames signed Kadri with the freed-up cap space resulting from the Monahan deal. For the record, Monahan also has more points than the one goal and five assists scored by Gaudreau, who now owns a cap hit of $9.75 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s an important point to bookmark for later.

All that to say, Monahan has been more valuable to the Canadiens than arguably anyone else, definitely more valuable than anyone has been to the Flames, which is key. Considering 2023-24 is looking more and more like a down season for the visiting team at the Bell Centre this past Nov. 14, it’s all the more critical for the Flames to score more. And, if you’re the Flames, you don’t even want to get into the first-round pick involved in the deal… that went to the Canadiens (just so the Flames could get rid of Monahan’s contract).

Flames vs. Themselves

Honestly, no one really wants to get in to because of how complicated the conditions are, but, for the sake of this piece, it’s fairly important to go over it at least briefly. As these diagrams sum up, there’s at least a minute possibility the Canadiens get the Flames’ 2025 first-round pick even if it’s between Nos. 2 and 10. A lot would have to go a specific way, including the Florida Panthers getting a lot worse than they are right now, but the fact it’s even a possibility speaks to the lack of foresight on the part of ex-Flames general manager Brad Treliving.

Sure, the Flames beat the Canadiens 2-1 in that Nov. 14 game and they may have bragging rights in that respect. However, the Canadiens, at 7-7-2, were supposed to be bad. The Flames, at 5-8-2, weren’t. And, if you need proof to that effect, consider the fact Treliving simply gave current-Canadiens GM Kent Hughes a first-round pick in one of the next few seasons, all because Monahan was supposed to be bad himself? Yeah, that pretty much covers it… and why Treliving is now with the Toronto Maple Leafs (he and the Flames officially having “mutually parted ways”).

So, who owns the real bragging rights?

The Case to Re-Sign Monahan

In contrast, there’s obviously a “current” in front of Hughes’ title above for a good reason. It’s in large part because of his trade savvy as demonstrated by the above trade, effectively his ability to take advantage of the Canadiens’ current rebuild, by leveraging the team’s excess cap space and low expectations on the part of fans.

Now, fan expectations will of course increase eventually. It shouldn’t be for this season based on the team’s ongoing injury situation, notably with Kirby Dach out for the balance of the campaign, and their inconsistency, which has seen them lose to the teams like the Flames but put together impressive performances against teams like the Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights and the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners in the Boston Bruins. However, this is clearly a team that is getting better and better each season, prompting some to suggest it makes sense for the Canadiens to re-sign Monahan to a long-term deal. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t.

“Unfortunately,” because Monahan is a really likable player. Everyone should be hoping he earns a huge next contract. However, based on his injury history and his age, the Canadiens would more than likely be shooting themselves in the foot and right out their next window to contend by saddling themselves with another arguably foolhardy long-term deal (Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, etc.), this time signed by Hughes himself instead of his predecessor, Marc Bergevin.

There’s a reason Cole Caufield’s eight-year, $62-million extension wasn’t listed immediately above. Caufield is a talent on the rise, whose prime years should align with those of the team. Monahan is realistically on the verge of declining. So, while the temptation may be there to lock down the services of a legitimate top-six center, there should be greater temptation not to and secure, say, another first-round pick at the next trade deadline. It’s that simple. No, really it is.

Even if you believe there’s more worth in keeping a tangible roster player who’s proven himself to be very good over a draft pick who may turn into someone useful in a few seasons? Yes. As the Flames’ experience with trading Monahan proves, picks are transferable. The Canadiens don’t need to hang onto their draft capital. They can trade it for something/someone else if they feel they’d be better served getting a roster player instead down the line. That’s always a possibility.

However, it’s always better to keep those options open. Ask the Flames which they’d rather have: Kadri or that conditional first-round pick back? Ask the Blue Jackets how great Gaudreau is looking right now as an unrestricted free agent signee. Ask yourself how great it feels knowing the Canadiens are potentially in line for a really high first a few seasons from now. Ultimately, a few years and injuries later, it’s hard to believe the Canadiens will regret trading Monahan like the Flames do now. The lesson isn’t that Monahan sucks. He doesn’t. It’s that re-signing pending unrestricted free agents often does. Thankfully Hughes both understands and acknowledges it. Again, he’s the current GM for a reason.