Chiarot can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The 30-year-old defenseman is in the final season of a three-year, $10.5 million contract ($3.5 million average annual value) he signed with Montreal on July 4, 2019.
"We've had conversations with teams about Chiarot]," Hughes said, "and clearly I would think most teams are identifying good hockey players on expiring contracts that are going to be free agents, Chiarot with us, [defenseman] John Klingberg with [the] Dallas [Stars
, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Hughes said the Toffoli trade is an example of how things can come together quickly.
"I couldn't have told you on Saturday that Tyler Toffoli would be traded on Sunday night or Monday morning," Hughes said. "We hadn't identified [Toffoli] as a player to trade. We had several discussions with other teams in the last few weeks and an interest developed around him, as happens with other players. We made the trade because we believe it's good for the future of our team."
Hughes also said though goalie Carey Price isn't skating this week as he continues his recovery from knee surgery July 23, he hasn't been ruled out for the season.
"I haven't had any news since Sunday," Hughes said. "But what I've heard is that there's still a possibility he'll return this season."
