December 17, 2023
It was a light week for the Montreal Canadiens with just two games on the schedule. On Wednesday night they suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then on Saturday, they beat the New York Islanders with a score of 5-3. Here are my thoughts after 30 games.
The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of NHL-ready defensemen.
It was a strong week for Jayden Struble. In the meanwhile, Arber Xhekaj is in Laval and Jordan Harris is healthy. HuGo might be weighing the merits of moving a veteran defender at the trade deadline, but not likely in the short term. With each and every one of those young defenders having areas of their game that need work, it may be time to implement the Laval rotation that was planned for last season before injuries took over. In a development year, it’s okay to slow down to speed up.
Decisions are inevitable. Most of these defenders are of the “four to eight” variety, and a team only needs so many of them. The Habs need a complete assessment of all of them before waiver eligibility kicks in.
A defender with top-pair potential will land in Montreal in the near future.
Kent Hughes is making podcast appearances, and isn’t it refreshing to have a GM that clearly states his intentions? Lane Hutson will join the Canadiens in the Spring. This Christmas we will get a good look at how he measures up against the best of his same-age peers, and before the season ends we’ll get a sense of his NHL readiness.
When Cole Caufield signed late in the season, it didn’t take many games for us to know he was ready for NHL duty. Perhaps Hutson’s start will be equally revelatory.
The time might be right to move Jake Allen.
The holiday roster freeze kicks in at midnight on December 19th. There are a couple of NHL teams who desperately need an upgrade in net and Jake Allen might be the fit for one of them. Will a team bite the bullet and make the offer that forces the hand of Kent Hughes? Sunday feels like the day Allen makes his way to Carolina.
Goalies don’t fetch a lot in this NHl market. I’m eager to see what Hughes can pull off.
Despite all the nattering of fans, the Habs have probably not lost their opportunity to fetch a good return for Josh Anderson.
If trade rumours are to be believed, Kent Hughes turned down something like 17 first round picks for Josh Anderson last season. Of course, trade rumours are not to be believed. No doubt there were offers. No doubt a first round pick was in an offered package. But we don’t know what else was involved. Did the offer include salary retention over the course of that contract, or an ugly salary dump coming back, or both? Probably, since cap constipation was a real thing last season.
Everything we know about Hughes suggests he knows how to get value in trades. Just ask Jeff Petry. Ask him twice.
Fans have been fretting that with the Anderson scoring slump the opportunity has been lost to ever get a return for him. That’s just silly. The slump was never going to last forever, and he was always going to be that package that GMs love even if you don’t.
The thing that will change over time is how much money and term are left on that contract. As those decrease, Anderson’s value will increase as long as he doesn’t completely dry up. That’s the delicate timing that fans understandably worry about, but I don’t think the clock has struck midnight yet. Hughes will eventually get a return for Anderson, but it will be when he believes the time is right.
Has the search for a third player to complement Suzuki and Caufield ended?
Many have seen time beside them and only a few have had success. Before he was drafted, Juraj Slafkovsky had quipped that he heard they were looking for a winger for that line. After he was drafted, he was given a tour of the Habs dressing room with his jersey placed between Suzuki and Caufield. The plan has always been obvious, and we’re seeing it play out.
On Saturday night, the trio was dominant and finally scored at five-on-five. Get used to it. He’s played just 69 NHL games and won’t turn 20 until March, and he’s already driving play on the top line. The goals will come for “The Good Pick” line.
Decisions are looming for the Montreal Canadiens and I find myself continually optimistic, and not because I am known for my blind positivity. Frankly, this management group has given me no reason to believe they will screw up decisions about the defense group, the goalie clog, Josh Anderson, or the development of important players.
It’s as refreshing as a cold Christmas beverage.
Hab At Her 
Thank you. Good summary that checks a lot of boxes. On defense Harris has 91 games whereas Barron, Xhekaj, Struble less than 80 games.. Young.
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I feel as if I am enjoying a cold beverage as well. I tend to be optimistic until there is too much proof so I’m really happy with the prospects we are collecting. They can’t all stay so the idea of rotating them to get the best look possible is perfect. I’m also not completely sold on some of our quasi veteran players but I’m okay with letting them increase their trade value. To me, this is the first management team in a long time that looks committed to a proper build. The more time they have to watch prospects develop the better. I’m dreaming of a consistently competitive team and hoping that I’ll soon get to look forward to Stanley Cup runs.
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Agreed David. I also hopeful of Stanley cup runs in the near future. Been a Habs fan since early 60’s so enjoyed the glory years. Now approaching my 80’s need some more of that euphoria sooner than later
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I have faith in this management group to make the right decisions for the good of the rebuild. That includes dealing with the 3 goalie situation. I think Jake Allen’s time with the Habs, sadly, is coming to an end. Fans won’t love the return.
Adding to your hunch about the Hurricanes, while looking throught Carolina’s top prospects I spied a certain assistant coach’s son, Justin Robidas. If Montreal isn’t interested in retaining salary on Allen and if Carolina can add Jake Allen’s salary, I believe the return would be a player ear marked for Laval. I believe in spite of the modest return, the Habs would be happy to have the goalie trio conundrum solved at last.
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What a great read Lori. And a usual i think right on. I also believe that Slav is that misting link on that line. Great future ahead for this trio.
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I’ve long been a Jake Allen fan. He has been a stabilizing force in net – while others have lost their confidence, or just played badly. Even when Jake has a rough game, his attitude has been positive, and he has always known who he is, and his limitations.
For a long time, Montembault scared me. I thought he was a bad pick-up. He has turned that around considerably.
I’ve watched this team since 1967, however, and when you’ve seen Worsley, Vachon, Patrick, and Carey as many times as I have, you come to expect …too much. We got to the Final a couple of years ago because of Jake Allen. I hope, however he vacates this team, that they handle it with the kind of respect they’ve shown for a few players who haven’t necessarily deserved it on the way out, but received it anyway. Jake deserves to be handled well on his departure. The Canadiens are still at the top of the league for acting with class, and I hope that continues out of respect for the contributions Jake Allen has made.
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100% agree, and I do fully expect that Hughes will treat Allen with respect. Allen has been nothing but a consummate professional, and Hughes knows.
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