Although the trade deadline was March 3rd this year, NHL teams can still trade with each other. However, players acquired via trade cannot join their new teammates until next season. In the case of the Canadiens and 15 other teams that will not be participating in the playoffs, this factor does not apply, since their season ends this week. Once the Stanley Cup is won and the winner crowned, all teams will turn to the draft and that's when it will become interesting for a general manager like Kent Hughes. Remember the two trades that brought Kirby Dach to Montreal in 2022. It seems that Hughes put his second first round pick, the Panthers, on the market. In exchange, the GM wants to receive a promising young player between the ages of 20 and 23. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TSNHockey/status/1643375235226390528?t=cRSCRDjMhVHCjflUybAZUg&s=19'> </a></blockquote></div> This means that Hughes could surprise us at any time and trade this pick before the playoffs are even over. However, it would take an offer he can't refuse, as he could also take advantage of the critical state of some aspiring teams' payrolls to make a big splash. Credit: <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/RDThockey/status/1646330858977017864?t=5YyfJOcdjkIFtH_taD0zNg&s=19'> </a></blockquote></div>