The Montreal Canadiens have been undergoing a period of rebuilding for some time.
They pulled off one of the biggest deals of the summer – acquiring offensive defender Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. Heavy.com proposes a deal that would accelerate the Eastern Conference team’s exit from its rebuilding phase by acquiring Anthony Cirelli from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Canadiens Acquire:
- Anthony Cirelli
Lightning Acquire:
- Patrik Laine
A deal of this magnitude would undoubtedly be a blockbuster. Patrik Laine is an established NHLer who can produce goals and points. Cirelli is a top-six center whose two-way prowess is widely recognized throughout the league. Cirelli would immediately become a vital piece for the Canadiens moving forward.
While others have speculated that a player like Pavel Zacha of the Boston Bruins would be a helpful piece, Cirelli is a better option.
Montreal Canadiens Need To Move Salary Out
According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens are $4.519 million over the salary cap ceiling. Swapping Laine for Cirelli doesn’t cure what ails their salary cap situation, but it lightens the load.
Laine will make $8.7 million in the 2025-26 season. He is in the final year of his contract, and the Canadiens must start thinking about whether they should retain him in their ranks or not. By executing this proposed swap, they acquire a player who is signed for a long time at a lower cap hit than Laine.
Cirelli is in the third year of an eight-year contract paying him $6.25 million, which is $2.5 million less than Laine’s. This deal would get them closer to the ceiling, but another deal would need to happen to bring them even closer.
Another consideration could be to involve another team to retain salary on Laine’s contract. This would give the Lightning a more affordable contract to acquire, providing them with a greater incentive to make the deal.
Anthony Cirelli’s Surprising Offensive Game
Cirelli displayed another level to his offensive game in 2024-25. In 80 games played, he recorded career highs in goals (27), assists (32), points (59), shorthanded points (7), and time on ice (18:41).
Had Cirelli played for the Canadiens during this past season, he would have had the fourth-most points. The only Canadiens with more than 59 points last year were Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson.
Getting that kind of offensive boost to the top-six forward group is something that the Canadiens should be all over.
Cirelli’s Great Defensive Prowess
Cirelli would make the Canadiens better primarily because of his defensive abilities. His reputation as a great defensive player precedes him, as evidenced by his selection as a finalist for the Selke Trophy this past season.
The Selke Trophy is distributed to “the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” It is an award that is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). Cirelli lost out to Florida Panthers‘ captain Aleksander Barkov. However, being a finalist for this trophy is a big enough feather in a player’s cap.
According to PuckIQ, Cirelli played 426.2 minutes against Elite competition. That was second on the Lightning to Brandon Hagel, who played 467 minutes against the Elites.
In those minutes, Cirelli earned a 55.7 Dangerous Fenwick For percentage (DFF%), the highest among his Lightning teammates. According to the PuckIQ Glossary, Dangerous Fenwick is a “weighted shot metric using shot distance, location, and type of shot to give each shot a ‘danger’ value.” The metric is similar to Corsi and Fenwick, but with the added detail of considering the danger associated with those shot attempts.
A trade for Cirelli would be a home run swing by the Canadiens.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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