Montreal Canadiens linked to $26 million defenseman

Daily Faceoff insider Anthony Di Marco reported that Montreal was tied to Philadelphia's Rasmus Ristolainen and St. Louis's Brandon Carlo around the trade deadline, framing them as the type of defender general manager Kent Hughes has been chasing.

Ristolainen checks every box on Montreal's wish list. At 6-foot-4 with a heavy right-handed shot, he brings the physical edge the Canadiens have lacked in their top four.

He is entering the final year of his contract in Philadelphia, which could make him available at a reasonable cost.

Pairing him with a mobile partner like Lane Hutson would let Montreal balance skill with size, something the current group hasn't consistently offered.

Carlo brings a similar profile, a 6-foot-5 shutdown defender known for eating minutes against top competition and anchoring a penalty kill.

He has since moved on from Toronto to St. Louis, but his track record as a reliable, physical presence explains why his name kept coming up as a fit for Montreal's blue line needs.

Montreal's defense corps has plenty of offensive upside but has been searching for a true stay-at-home presence who can also move the puck under pressure.

Adding a player like Ristolainen would let coach Martin St. Louis deploy Hutson in a more offensive role while trusting his partner to handle the heavy lifting defensively.

With the Canadiens pushing to take another step forward, adding proven size on the right side remains one of the clearest paths to improving the roster.

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