REPORT: Montreal Canadiens tried to land STAR defenceman in offseason but he turned them DOWN

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Ryan
November 14, 2022 (4:53 PM)

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When Kent Hughes took over as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, it finally looked like the ship was being steered in the right direction.

They made the controversial decision to select Juraj Slafkovsky with the 1st overall pick which had fans shocked, but they shortly after revealed their plan as they made a trade for the 2019 3rd overall pick Kirby Dach, with the intention of him being the teams second line center. Although we see now that he may have turned into the teams top line winger, finding some great chemistry with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

While the Habs have a deep forward lineup, they are lacking on the backend. David Savard is currently ranked as the teams top right side defenceman, and he is paired with rookie Kaiden Guhle, who is having a great start to his career, but let's face it, they need help.

Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson have been injured for the majority of the season so far, Edmundson just making his return recently, but even with the addition of these two veterans, they are still in need of help on the right side.

NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun has reported that Kent Hughes and the Canadiens were very interested in the top defensive free agent in this past free agency. Apparently the Canadiens offered John Klingberg a one-year deal, but he declined to go to the Anaheim Ducks.

Klingberg has so far recorded 7 points in 15 games for the Ducks this season.

This may have been a blessing in disguise though as if they signed Klingberg, they would not have had the cap space to bring in Sean Monahan, which they received a 1st round pick in the trade and will most likely receive a high draft pick when they trade him as well.