The Montreal Canadiens stepped way out of the box earlier this month when they hired the inexperienced Martin St. Louis as interim head coach, and it appears their creative approach is here to stay.

The Habs will continue to shy away from the typical rebuild model and are planning to be competitive when free agency opens in July, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday's "Insider Trading."

"What we're hearing is that, yes, the Canadiens are still on the lookout for picks and prospects in their roster makeover. But further proof that this is not necessarily a traditional rebuild and more of a roster transformation is that I'm told the Habs intend to be pretty aggressive in free agency come July 13," LeBrun said.