Quoting: palhal
Trouble with Sequin he isn't great or even very good now. Believe it was hip surgery that has really affected his skating. For his cap of 9.8m, Habs find better UFAs. Not really game changing centres this summer thought.
They don't need a game changing centre though. They still arent going to contend til, at best, 2-3 years. They just want to keep progressing, they have improved every year in point totals since 2022 and not be stuck in mud/soft like the Sabres or have some kind of dressing room/leadership anarchy like the Senators. Tampa/Florida/Toronto/Boston dont seem like they are going away anytime soon and Detroit looks legit now.
I wouldnt be against bringing back Monahan, maybe, swing a deal for Couture. They have options with 12 picks in 1st 3 rounds the next 2 drafts in '24,'25.
This is the offseason that Hughes has more options than ever after building draft stock and seeing progression from the young players that look like the fixtures (Slaf, Xhekaj, Guhle, etc) and the pretenders that probably don't have a role (Barron, Kidney, maybe even Dach)