Despite trade rumours, Tyler Toffoli reiterates his desire to be in Montreal

Tuesday was a big day for the Montreal Canadiens organization as they hired Kent Hughes to become their 18th general manager in franchise history. It's a forgone conclusion that Hughes will want to leave his own fingerprint on the team, but whether that entails a coaching change and/or a rebuild, no one knows.

One of the players at the center of trade rumours is forward Tyler Toffoli, who returned to action last night for the first time since having surgery on his hand in December. Toffoli's original timeline would have had him out until the middle of February, but after consulting with doctors, he was cleared to play against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

Montreal would go on to win the game by a score of 5-3, with Toffoli recording a goal and an assist. It was only Montreal's eighth win of the season and third road win of the season.

After the game, Toffoli told reporters that despite his name being in trade rumours, he wants to remain a Montreal Canadien.

"I want to be part of the solution... I want to be a guy who's a leader, who's looked up to," Toffoli said.

The 29-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Canadiens in October 2020, and was arguably the team's MVP during the 2020-21 regular season, leading the team in goals (28) and points (44). His 28 goals were also good enough seventh in the NHL.

If there's any of the veteran players that Kent Hughes would keep during a potential rebuild, Toffoli would be one of them. His play on the ice, and leadership off of it would be extremely valuable to the younger players that will be coming through the organization over the next few years.

Toffoli and the Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday night when they head to T-Mobile Arena in Vegas for the first time since Game five of their 2021 Stanley Cup Semi-Final series. Puck drop is set for 10pm ET.

"I want to be part of the solution... I want to be a guy who's a leader, who's looked up to," says Tyler Toffoli.
He wants to stay in Montreal, even with rumours swirling.— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 19, 2022

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