Canadiens warned to weigh every option as trade talk swirls around Alexander Zharovsky

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into a new roster-building phase with momentum they did not have a year ago, and that context is precisely why Craig Button’s caution about trading Alexander Zharovsky has landed. In an analysis published June 18, Button urged the Canadiens to “tread carefully,” arguing that even when a rebuild is going well, moving the wrong player can leave a team without a necessary ingredient at the exact time it starts closing the gap.

Button’s broader point starts with what Montreal has already demonstrated. According to the report, the Canadiens reached the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and were only seven wins away from winning the Cup, before being eliminated in a swift “dismissal” by the Carolina Hurricanes. That is a meaningful competitive marker for a team rebuilding under Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, because it suggests the core structure is working even if the final pieces are not yet in place.

The risk in any trade conversation involving a young talent is that “progress” can be fragile. Button’s argument, as presented, is not that Zharovsky is untouchable, but that the Canadiens need to be careful about what they receive in return and what role they remove from their future. When a team reaches the late rounds, it often learns what it lacks, but it also reveals what it can already do well, which makes subtraction decisions harder to justify.

Zharovsky’s name matters in that framework because he represents the type of asset most teams prize when they are balancing short-term competitiveness against long-term roster depth. If Montreal trades too aggressively, the team could end up with extra parts that do not fit the specific gaps it still has, rather than addressing the shortcomings exposed by Carolina. If Montreal does not trade at all, the franchise still has to ensure that its current group can take the next step without stalling.

This is where the Hurricanes’ role becomes more than a footnote. Being eliminated by Carolina in the third round, as described in the report, implies that Montreal’s opponents can neutralize elements of the Canadiens’ game, even while the Canadiens are progressing rapidly overall. Button’s caution suggests the Canadiens should treat any roster move as a direct attempt to solve matchup and performance questions raised by that postseason run.

For Canadiens fans, the practical takeaway is that the rebuild story is now at its most delicate point. A team that is “nearly there” can become complacent in either direction: too eager to trade away young value, or too hesitant to make upgrades because the results already look encouraging. Button’s warning is essentially a reminder that roster decisions should be made with the playoff picture in mind, not solely with the rebuild timeline.

What to watch next is how Montreal’s front office handles the balance between near-term improvement and asset preservation if Zharovsky becomes a trade topic. If a potential deal emerges, the key question is whether it adds a missing piece that can impact games in the kinds of playoff matchups the Canadiens have already experienced. Without confirmed details on any transaction, the only reliable conclusion from this report is that the Canadiens should not rush the decision simply because they can.

Ultimately, Button’s thesis reflects a common NHL reality: the second half of a rebuild does not reward impulse. Montreal appears to be closer than most rebuilding plans ever reach, but the report’s framing makes clear that “closer” is not the same as “done,” and that difference often shows up most clearly when a promising young player is on the table.