Does Jacob Fowler join the Canadiens at the end of the NCAA season?
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Tim Griffin
That’s a good question.
If Fowler continues to play the way he has this season as a sophomore at Boston College — an 8-1-0 record with a 1.39 goals-against average, a .943 save percentage and four shutouts — I think he will turn pro after the NCAA season ends and play some games with the Canadiens and with the Rocket, who look like they are headed to the AHL playoffs with a 12-2-1 record in their first 15 games under new head coach Pascal Vincent.
The fact Cayden Primeau has struggled this season with a 1-2-1 record, a 4.67 GAA and an .845 save percentage in the final year of his contract should make the Canadiens want to get a look at Fowler as a pro sooner rather than later and decide if his next step is the AHL or the NHL.
Do you think Martin St. Louis should try and put Brendan Gallagher among the top-six forwards?
Bailey Larouche
Another good question. Gallagher is off to a great start with eight goals in 19 games, which puts him on pace to finish the season with 35 goals. That would be a career-high after he scored 33 goals in 2018-19.
Gallagher plays a straightforward game and has fit in well with Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak as linemates since Jake Evans was promoted to the second line. Gallagher seems very comfortable where he is and, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
“Playing with linemates that I feel comfortable with and I can read off easy and we’re just playing a real simple game and when the chances come they’re finding ways to go in, which is nice,” Gallagher said. “There’s going to be times where they don’t, but I think there’s certain areas of my game right now that I feel comfortable with. Forechecking is a big part of it and you just try to play to your strengths every night and hope you end up on the right side of it.”
If Gallagher continues to play the way he has, I wouldn’t be surprised if St. Louis does try him in a top-six role at some point in the season.
Do you think Lane Hutson has too much ice time?
Sylvana 333 on X — @333Sylvana61057
Not yet. Hutson is averaging 23 minutes of ice time per game, which is second behind Mike Matheson at 24:01.
Hutson, like Matheson, is in fantastic shape and has shown no signs yet of slowing down. However, Hutson never played more than 39 regular-season games during his two seasons at Boston University and it will be interesting to see if the 5-foot-9, 162-pounder starts to slow down as the 82-game NHL grind continues.
“It’s so fun,” Hutson said about playing so many games in the NHL. “Less practice (than in university), so I feel it kind of equals out. I try to practise like I play.”
What will the Habs do with Jake Evans? He’s a really good fourth-line centre. With Owen Beck coming up, they seem to be just OK at centre — assuming Kirby Dach eventually gets his mojo back. It makes more sense to sign Evans than trade him for mid-round pick IMHO.
Lloyd Eidelman
I agree.
Evans has been one of the Canadiens’ best players this season, earning promotion from the fourth line to the second line in large part because Dach and Alex Newhook have both become wingers.
Beck is a promising prospect with 3-8-11 totals in his first 15 games with the Rocket this season. He plays a solid 200-foot game and is strong on faceoffs. Oliver Kapanen, who played 12 games with the Canadiens this season before being returned to Timra IK in the Swedish Hockey League, is also a natural centre and a promising prospect.
However, playing centre in the NHL isn’t an easy position — just ask Dach and Newhook — and keeping Evans would give the Canadiens some much-needed depth down the middle as well as keeping a strong penalty-killer.
Evans, 28, is earning US$1.7 million in the final season of his contract and if I was GM Kent Hughes I’d offer him a two- or three-year deal worth around US$2 million. Evans would like to stay in Montreal, but he might be able to get more money as an unrestricted free agent next summer. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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