Trade completed between Washington and Montreal: The Canadiens now have one of the youngest cores in the NHL

PUBLICATION

David St-Jean
July 17, 2023 (3:20 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Kent Hughes has been active in recent weeks, making two significant trades for the Montreal Canadiens.

On one hand, he acquired young forward Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche, and a few days later, he sent veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson to Washington.

As a result of this trade, which involved a player aged 30 or older, according to the CapFriendly website, the Canadiens currently have the 6th youngest core in the NHL.

It's still a very interesting observation, considering that the management of the Canadiens has been working hard over the past two seasons to rebuild the team.

Currently, in the defense, there are only two players aged 30 or older, David Savard and Chris Wideman. We could also add Michael Matheson, who will celebrate his 30th birthday during the upcoming season.

On the other hand, the Canadiens have five defensemen who are 25 years old or younger: Jonathan Kovacevic (25 years old), Jordan Harris (22 years old), Arber Xhekaj (22 years old), Justin Barron (21 years old), and Kaiden Guhle (21 years old).

We could also mention the names of Lane Hutson (19 years old), Logan Mailloux (20 years old), and David Reinbacher (18 years old), who should join the team's defensive corps in the near future.

As for other positions, Mike Hoffman (33 years old), Jake Allen (32 years old), Brendan Gallagher (31 years old), Joel Armia (30 years old), Josh Anderson (29 years old), Sean Monahan (28 years old), and Jake Evans (27 years old) contribute to the team's average age.

However, all the players at the core of the team are 26 years old or younger, which significantly lowers the average age of the group.

In a few seasons, although the young core will age, the Canadiens will form one of the youngest and most promising teams in the league when many of the players aged 30 or older will have permanently left the organization.

The future of the Canadiens seems very promising!