3 weakest links Montreal Canadiens should promptly get rid of ft. Kirby Dach

The Montreal Canadiens are one of the top up-and-coming teams in the NHL.

They exceeded all expectations in 2024-25 with a spectacular second half of the season to make a return to the playoffs. While the end result of losing to the Washington Capitals in five stung, the Habs put up a really good fight, and the future looks bright.

Montreal has a core group of players that will only continue to get better in the years to come. It's up to general manager Kent Hughes to add the necessary pieces around that core to take them to the next level as Eastern Conference contenders. In order to do so, there are always players that they'll want to get rid of for a variety of reasons.

So, here are three players the Montreal Canadiens should look to move on from this summer.

3 Weak Links Montreal Canadiens Should Get Rid Of

#3 Mike Matheson

Mike Matheson is not a weak link, but he might be expendable. The offensive defenseman has enjoyed a lot of success in Montreal, including a massive 62-point (11 goals, 51 assists) 2023-24 campaign. However, his production was cut in half in 2024-25, and a large part of that was due to the emergence of Lane Hutson.

With Hutson and Kaiden Guhle being the future on the Canadiens' left side, cashing in on Matheson while his value is still high could be the right play. He'll be entering the final season of his contract, so he should have a solid market via trade.

#2 Joel Armia

Joel Armia has been in Montreal for quite a long time now. He's been a fine bottom-six contributor who has actually popped for 17- and 16-goal seasons, but it feels like it's time for the Canadiens to go in another direction.

They saw firsthand how physical playoff hockey is against a team like Washington. They should be looking to add more size and bite to their bottom-six. Especially with a vast majority of their best players being undersized.

#1 Kirby Dach

Montreal brought in Kirby Dach three years ago in a draft-day trade with the Blackhawks. The thought was that the 2019 third overall pick would benefit from a fresh start and emerge into a top-six forward. Dach has shown glimpses of that potential, but unfortunately, injuries have held him back in a major way, and it's started to impact his performance, too.

It's been widely rumored that the Canadiens want to acquire a legitimate second-line center to play behind Nick Suzuki. It would make sense to try and package Dach along with picks or prospects to get that done.