Will Montreal go with seven defencemen for stretches of the season to ease in/accommodate Lane Hutson?
Darren — Habs and Avs on X (@DK4lighting)
That’s a possibility, especially early in the season. But it would also bring problems, meaning limited ice time for young defencemen while not being able to roll four lines up front. I think Hutson would be better off playing big minutes in Laval than limited minutes in Montreal.
Tony Marinaro asked Kent Hughes about the possibility of starting the season with seven defencemen and 11 forwards when the GM was recently a guest on Marinaro’s new Le Forum show on the French radio station BPM Sports.
“That’s a question more for the coach, but as GM I see it in a certain way,” Hughes said. “I don’t want to necessarily hide Lane Hutson and make him a specialist on the power play (with the Canadiens). We want to make Lane Hutson the best defencemen he’s capable of becoming. If that’s playing less minutes but in the NHL — or maybe not all the games — we’ll do that.”
Hughes added if the Canadiens believe Hutson will be better served in his development by playing in the AHL, then they will send him to the Laval Rocket.
People are talking and asking about Patrik Laine’s salary right now (US$8.7 million cap hit) being more than Nick Suzuki (US.$7.857 million). No one asked the right question. I was wondering if Laine plays good and the Canadiens like him, will they forget that imaginary Suzuki cap on re-signing? I have a feeling Laine 2.0 will be a beast.
Nicolas Dumais on X @ElectronicMan83
Suzuki still has four years left on his contract and Hughes — who didn’t sign Laine’s deal — will definitely sign another player for more money than the captain as the rebuilding process moves forward and the NHL salary cap rises. Laine could definitely become that guy.
I have a feeling that an unexpected player may cause a surprise at camp. Do you agree?
Chantal Barbeau
There normally are surprises at training camp. Forward Florian Xhekaj will be looking to surprise the same way his brother, Arber, did two years ago when he made the Canadiens after never being selected at the NHL Draft.
Former Canadien Chris Nilan mentioned several times on The Gazette’s Hockey Inside/Out Show last season the team needs “more men” — big players who are hard to play against, especially in the playoffs. Florian is 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds.
Another player who might surprise is left-winger Luke Tuch, the Canadiens’ second-round pick (47th overall) at the 2020 NHL Draft who is attending his first NHL training camp after spending four years at Boston University and posting 10-20-30 totals in 39 games last season. Tuch is 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.
If both Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau stay healthy what do you think the game split will be between them. I figure 52-30 with Monty carrying the load. Of course, how they play will dictate how that works out.
Sheri Taylor
I believe you are correct on both counts. The No. 1 job will be Montembeault’s to lose when the season starts, while Primeau looks to improve his consistency and show he is a legitimate NHL goalie in the last season of his contract. Primeau also wants to push Montembeault for the No. 1 job.
“We push each other,” Primeau said at the end of last season. “I’ve been saying it all year. We have a friendly competition, a friendly competitive spirit. We want to see each other succeed. But, at the end of the day, we both want the net. We’re both pushing each other and it’s a good camaraderie and relationship.”
Provided that the offence makes a jump this season with players healthy and capable of reaching even career normals do you think goaltending could possibly be better than low .900 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average? And if no, does HuGo (Hughes and Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations) step in to expedite things?
LePetitViking on X @halfnthebag
Montembeault finished last season with a 16-15-9 record, a 3.14 GAA and a .902 save percentage, while Primeau was 8-9-4 with a 2.99 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
The Canadiens allowed the third-most shots in the NHL, giving up an average of 33.4 per game. The only teams that allowed more were the San Jose Sharks (35.1) and Columbus Blue Jackets (34.4).
With more young defencemen in the Canadiens lineup this season after trading Jordan Harris to Columbus and Johnathan Kovacevic to New Jersey, I expect the two goalies to face even more shots, which will make it difficult to improve on their GAA and save percentage.
I believe HuGo will be patient with the goaltenders if they struggle as they continue to monitor the development of Jacob Fowler at Boston College, where he posted a 32-6-1 record last season with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
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