The day is probably coming when Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux will both be offensive threats on the blue line for the Canadiens.
Hutson, the 20-year-old rookie phenom, already is there. Entering Tuesday night’s action, he led all NHL rookies with 39 points in 52 games. And Mailloux, in his second season with the Laval Rocket, says he’s not far behind.
“I think I’m there, personally. I think I can play (in the NHL),” Mailloux, 21, recently told The Gazette. “Obviously there’s stuff I still think I can work on, but I feel a lot of young defencemen kind of have that to deal with.
“When I was there (with Montreal earlier this season) I had a couple of good games. There were a couple of games maybe I wasn’t at my best as well. If I do get the chance (again), I have to make sure I play my game on a consistent basis.”
Mailloux is coming off a busy weekend. He played for the Rocket at home last Friday against Hartford and was recalled by the Canadiens — along with forward Owen Beck — on Saturday. While neither player was dressed for Montreal’s 3-2 loss at Anaheim on Sunday afternoon, both then were loaned back to the Rocket, allowing them to participate in Monday night’s AHL All-Star Game in Palm Desert, Calif., home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
There was no immediate word on Tuesday whether either player would rejoin the Canadiens for Tuesday night’s game at San Jose. Montreal is carrying six defencemen following the injury to Kaiden Guhle and no extra forwards. The Canadiens are in Los Angeles Wednesday night.
Mailloux, a former Canadiens first-round (31st overall) draft choice in 2021, played five October games for Montreal this season, scoring his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders while adding two assists. But he also went minus-4 over that short stint. While there’s no disputing Mailloux’s offensive abilities, he needs to become tougher to play against before he can expect full-time NHL duty.
That message hasn’t been lost on him.
“Offence is what I’ve always kind of been good at,” he said. “I just have to make sure I can play my game, being able to play in the NHL every night and being able to play there for a long time. I need to be a force on both sides of the puck. I have to be able to find a balance between both.
“I think my game (has become) more rounded,” added Mailloux, 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds. “I feel like last year, maybe I was making different reads and different plays. I feel like I’m playing a more mature game sometimes. I’m trying to bring that out.”
While this is Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent’s first season working with Mailloux, he understands his primarily role in Laval is to develop players, making sure they’re prepared for play at the NHL level. And Vincent realizes what that means in Mailloux’s case.
“He can’t rely only on offence,” Vincent said. “You have to be able to defend; that’s why you’re called a defenceman. We’re working on that. Logan has offence. We’re trying to build the defence part of that game to make him more complete.
“His ability to create offence is there. He’s got a great shot. When he has time to take that shot, there’s a good chance it’s going to go in — in our league anyway. What we’re trying to do with him is more than that. We’re trying to build a 200-foot game kind of player. He’s a big guy. A strong man. We need to increase, or improve, his agility on the ice. If he works on it, it’s going to come.
“He’s improving,” Vincent added. “Sometimes innocence is a blessing. The first year you come into a new league and you don’t know what to expect. You feel good about yourself. Reality sets in and you realize this is a pretty good league. Then you have a few games in the NHL … and you realize what it takes to become a player.”
There’s no doubt Mailloux has a flair for the dramatic. He scored the winning goal in the final minute of regulation time Jan. 24 at Hartford. Two days later, Mailloux scored in overtime at Providence. He has nine goals and 22 points in 36 games, 45 penalty minutes and is a plus-3. Four of his goals have been game-winners.
Incidentally, Hutson is a minus-16 this season.
The Rocket resumes play with a pair of games at Toronto, Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Laval (28-11-3) is first in the North Division.