MTL counter Dvorak + Hoffman vs Pettersson + Miller both half retained

You've got a quality top 6 (Boeser, Garland, Horvat, Miller, Pettersson, Podkolzin), ranging from good to excellent; the left-hand side of your defense is more or less fixed, like it or not; and you have very good goaltending with Demko plus DiPietro and Martin. You need quality depth, quality at RD, and some prospects, because I don't see anyone other than Woo and perhaps Klimovich who are likely to be impactful at the NHL level. Savard is a good start for the time being. The one thing I think that you should do is hang on to all of your significant draft picks for the next three or four cycles. The idea of trading first- or second-rounders for immediate help only advances teams like Colorado and Tampa Bay that are already stocked. In fact, it makes more sense for you to trade one of the maturing veterans (i.e., on expiring contracts, like Horvat or Miller) to get additional draft picks than it does to spend a first to get someone expensive now.

You did not just compare Savard to Pettersson and Miller

Habs definitely decline

Just did another trade very lopsided so he understands the MTL-VAN trade is really bad for MTL