The Montreal Canadiens, despite a fantastic start that has them 17-8-2 and in second place in the Atlantic Division, could be in the market for more scoring help, according to TheFourthPeriod.com.
The Habs remain in the hunt for another goal-scorer, and while GM Marc Bergevin quietly searches, he could target two players from the struggling Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers, now losers of 11 straight games and currently residing in the basement of the Western Conference, have long been rumored to want to make a deal of some kind. They're said to be looking for center depth to add to their lineup behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and are willing to part ways with a number of players to get a trade done.
Names like Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov and David Perron have been floated in the recent past as possible trade bait. It sounds like the Canadiens, should they indeed take this conversation further, are more interested in the former two.
While Perron has been linked to the Canadiens, Bergevin might be setting his sights on Eberle or Yakupov, one opposing team executive told TFP on Thursday.
Eberle would be quite the addition for Montreal - he hasn't scored less than 37 points in a season since entering the league as a full-time player in 2010-11, according to hockeydb.com. The one year he managed his career low in points, he only spent 48 games at the NHL level.
His large contract - he's currently in the second year of a six-year, $36 million agreement - and large annual salary have scared a number of teams off. And if that hasn't scared them off, then Edmonton's trade demands surely have.
The Oilers are reportedly looking for a top-two center, a young stud defenseman and another asset in exchange for Eberle.
That's a hefty price, but Eberle is a high-quality player in the prime of his career who would add a serious injection of talent to the Montreal roster.
As for the Canadiens, defensemen Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi are reportedly the players who are garnering interest from other teams.
