The Montreal Canadiens have reportedly been mulling the potential acquisition of Martin Hanzal for more than a month, but they need to seal the deal.
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin resisted the urge to trade for him when centers Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais went down with injuries earlier in the season, but things have now taken a turn for the worse in Montreal, even with both of those players back in the lineup.
Hanzal will likely have plenty of suitors before Wednesday afternoon's trade deadline, and the struggling Canadiens need to outbid the competition to ensure they land him.
Here are three reasons why they have to go out and get him immediately:
They're starving for scoring
Montreal isn't playing like a team that's been in first place all season.
The Canadiens have been shut out in four of their last eight games, and they've scored only 10 goals in that span, including just three in the three contests since Claude Julien stepped back behind the bench.
That's obviously not going to cut it, and Bergevin is surely looking for ways to cure their recent scoring woes.
Enter Hanzal. He's a streaky scorer who's never gone over 16 goals in parts of 10 seasons with the Coyotes, but he's also been limited to an average of only 55 games in the previous three campaigns due to injuries.
However, 2016-17 has been a different story. His 16 markers this season have already tied a career high in 10 fewer games than the last time he did it in 2010-11, and he's been on a tear lately with six goals in his last eight contests.
Hanzal has proven to be a dependable option on the offensive end when he's healthy, and he's worth acquiring while he's on a roll.
They have a clear positional need
Even with Galchenyuk and Desharnais back, the Canadiens could use an upgrade up the middle.
Phillip Danault has shown flashes of his talent and has even been bumped up to the top line between Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov, but Montreal would stand to benefit from a boost at center, and they have the assets to make a deal happen.
Hanzal is a solid two-way player, and that's certainly something Julien would appreciate.
He'd fit in perfectly in the Canadiens' top six and solidify a roster that already has plenty of depth elsewhere.
They have to right the ship
Beyond taking a step to cure their scoring woes and addressing a positional need, Bergevin has to do something to end the Canadiens' recent slide.
They're 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, and their lead atop the Atlantic Division has shrunk to a mere two points over the second-place Ottawa Senators, who hold two games in hand.
After Thursday's shutout loss to the New York Islanders, both Pacioretty and Julien admitted the team is lacking confidence amid its scoring slump.
Bergevin said last week that he won't overpay for a short-term fix, and while that's a reasonable stance, sacrifices have to be made to avoid allowing the season to continue spiraling downward.
Hanzal is a pending unrestricted free agent who could bolt at season's end, but his cap hit is reasonable at $3.1 million, and he'd be a more affordable choice than the biggest fish available at the position, Matt Duchene, who will command better prospects and higher draft picks in return.
The Canadiens need to bust out of their funk, and a trade for Hanzal would no doubt invigorate a club searching for a way to get back on track.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.