As the trade deadline draws closer, the topic du jour in Montreal is what general manager Kent Hughes and the team can acquire for its bevy of veterans on soon-to-expire or expiring contracts. Most of this attention centres on currently injured players Joel Edmundson and Sean Monahan, but players like Evgenii Dadonov and Jonathan Drouin are also part of the conversation.
The Dadonov question is particularly tricky. Acquired for Shea Weber largely as a salary balancer, the Russian forward has been competent — 17 points in 47 games — but by no means spectacular. Dadonov is a one-dimensional forward with a very good historical scoring track record, but has no league-wide cachet when it comes to intangibles.