Shock on trade market as return price skyrockets for Habs’ Lehkonen!

The trade market shook on Friday when the Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Brandon Hagel along with two fourth-round draft picks — for two first-round picks and two young NHL forwards, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk.

This has a direct impact on the trade market until the deadline on Monday and TSN’s Pierre LeBrun now reports that Hagel’s return price has made Montreal Canadiens’ Arturri Lehkonen’s value go way up.

Per LeBrun, there is a 50-50 proposition at this hour as to whether the Habs trade Lehkonen before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.

But the price is high.

“The interest is real. My sense is Montreal’s asking price starting with a 1st RD pick or prospect equivalent plus perhaps a second asset.”

Fans cannot believe what they’re seeing is reportedly keeping asked by Habs general manager Kent Hughes. Lehkonen is a pending restricted free agent that carries a cap hit of $2.3 million as he plays out a one-year deal. He has 13 goals and 28 points in 57 games this season.

He spent his entire six-year NHL career with the Canadiens and sure, he looked good last summer, especially when he scored the overtime winner in Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights last season to send the Canadiens to the team’s first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1993.

But let’s be careful here: Lehkonen has 74 goals and 148 points in 395 career games. Is he worth that much?

We can say why teams are tentative about a move and that’s probably why chances of seeing Lehkonen on his way out of Montreal are now cut in half.