Grading the Sean Monahan trade: Canadiens sell high, Jets bet big on strong start

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
Grading the Sean Monahan trade: Canadiens sell high, Jets bet big on strong start
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

What is it with all these former Calgary Flames top-line centers being traded this week?

Sean Monahan became the second such player the be moved in three days when the Montreal Canadiens sent him to the Winnipeg Jets for a first-round pick and another conditional selection on Friday morning.

While the Canadiens didn’t get quite as much for Monahan as the Flames did on Wednesday when they traded Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks, they still fared pretty well selling high on a 29-year-old center in the midst of a resurgent season.

The Jets picked up the consensus second-best center on the market in Monahan, who should slot in behind Mark Scheifele when everyone is healthy in Winnipeg. But can Monahan maintain the level of production he’s managed over the last season-and-a-half?

We’ll answer that question and more in this edition of our Daily Faceoff Trade Grades!

WINNIPEG JETS

Receive:

C Sean Monahan, 29 – $1.985 million cap hit, pending UFA

It seems a power vacuum may have started to form in the center market after the Canucks acquired Lindholm from the Flames on Wednesday, with teams scrambling from there to find the next-best guy available.

But it could end up being a pretty significant drop-off from Lindholm to Monahan, his former Flames teammate. Lindholm is in the midst of a down year; Monahan is having his best season in a long time but certainly isn’t a sure thing to replicate that success in Winnipeg — even with the Jets off to a terrific 30-12-5 start.

On bad teams, someone has to score. Monahan has done a pretty good job of that ever since he arrived in Montreal in 2022. He’s more than lived up to his billing as a former No. 6 overall pick, collecting 19 goals and 52 points in just 74 games with the team. For a Canadiens team that took on Monahan as a cap dump from the Flames, his production has been found money, even if his underlying numbers haven’t always been the strongest.

Now, the Jets are banking on Monahan to be that same guy under a lot more pressure. Winnipeg badly needed another center with Mark Scheifele on the shelf, and Monahan is likely to receive plum deployment under head coach Rick Bowness alongside any two of Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Gabe Vilardi, and Cole Perfetti. His surroundings in Winnipeg will undoubtedly be much more favorable than they were in Montreal.

For one, Monahan will need to stay healthy. He has the injury history of a player 10 years his senior. Even last season, Monahan skated in just 25 games with the Canadiens before suffering a season-ending foot injury. It’s worth considering whether Monahan’s significant health issues have limited his effectiveness over time, to the point that the Flames were comfortable parting with a first-round pick to move him 18 months ago.

When he’s at his best, Monahan is a highly intelligent center who scores a ton of goals from the low slot. He’s extremely strong in the faceoff dot and is responsible in his own end. If Monahan can find chemistry in the Jets’ top six, it’ll all have been worth it. But if he starts looking more like the player who fell off the map in his later years with the Flames, it might not be pretty.

Grade: C+

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Receive:

2024 first-round pick
2027 fourth-round pick (conditional)

This is textbook asset management by Kent Hughes and the Canadiens. Back in 2022, they took on the final year of Monahan’s contract to enable the Flames to clear the necessary room to sign Nazem Kadri; today, they were able to take advantage of a depleted center market and sell Monahan as a rental for some serious value.

The Canadiens received a conditional 2025 first-round pick from the Flames to take Monahan in the first place. In all likelihood, that will end up being the Florida Panthers’ 2025 selection, but even a low first is still a first. Monahan revived his career in Montreal, taking on a critical leadership role with a young Canadiens team and scoring quite a few goals along the way. He became a fan favorite in a city that loves its hockey stars.

But everyone knows the Habs aren’t ready to compete just yet. They’re nowhere near the playoff picture and likely won’t be for a few more years. It made sense to re-sign Monahan after he missed most of last season with an injury; his trade value wasn’t very high when he was on the shelf. Now, they would’ve been remiss not to cash in.

As mentioned earlier, Monahan’s statistical profile probably looks a bit better than it should because of his elevated position on a weaker Canadiens team. At one point, he was a bona fide top-six center in Calgary, but he’s now more of a middle-six guy on any team worth its salt. That doesn’t mean he won’t be a good fit in Winnipeg — he was always a strong playoff performer in Calgary — but Montreal did very well in getting another first-round pick here.

In a few ways, this feels similar to the deal from two seasons ago in which the Canadiens managed to flip defenseman Ben Chiarot to the Panthers for first- and fourth-round picks. Chiarot was highly coveted that year as the best of a weak group of rental defenders. But he ended up not being a real upgrade for a Panthers team that fizzled out pretty quickly after adding him. It remains to be seen whether Monahan will have more of an impact in Winnipeg.

In any case, Hughes and Co. have a vested interest in the Jets performing well down the stretch. That 2027 third-round pick will transfer to Montreal only if Winnipeg wins its first-ever Stanley Cup this year. No, it isn’t exactly a gimmie, but it’s just another potential bonus for the Canadiens. A well-earned one, too.

Grade: A+

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