Jakub Dobes and the Montreal Canadiens opened in Toronto with 33 scouts and executives in the building, and every one of them got a look at Montreal.
Hockey Patrol reported the scouting crowd Tuesday night, and most of the noise around it points straight at the Leafs.
Darren Dreger has suggested Toronto isn't done dealing, with holes on the blue line still to fill after Monday's Knies trade.
That need looked even bigger tonight, when Jake McCabe went back to the dressing room in the first period and left the Leafs rotating five defensemen.
Here's the Montreal read. A rival with a hole on defense is the best kind of trade partner, and Kent Hughes should make Toronto pay for every phone call.
It's the house across the street with a moving truck in the driveway. Everybody on the block suddenly wants to know what's being sold.
So who in that building was watching the Canadiens? Nobody's saying, and scouts don't hand out itineraries.
Kent Hughes already tried and missed on Dylan Larkin
The Canadiens have their own shopping list. Nick Kypreos reported on Sportsnet last Thursday that the Canadiens took a crack at convincing Dylan Larkin to come help Nick Suzuki.
Larkin still has no interest in coming to Canada, per Kypreos, so that particular door is closed.
Not one Canadien sits among the league's 30 biggest cap hits, and Noah Dobson's $9,500,000 leads the blue line.
Tuesday's waiver wire offered cheaper options, with Conor Sheary and Vincent Iorio both there for the taking at $850,000 apiece.
Toronto has already been busy, landing Kirill Marchenko, Miles Wood and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz and Emil Andrae.
Every upgrade the Leafs make on defense lands in Montreal's division, and the two clubs meet three more times after tonight.
The Canadiens visit Pittsburgh on Saturday before their home opener against Carolina on October 6.
Toronto is shopping in public. The Canadiens get to decide whether they're buyers, sellers or the rival that makes the Leafs overpay.
Should Kent Hughes trade with the Leafs if Toronto comes calling for a defenseman?
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