Edit: The Habs have released 9 more players from training camp earlier today. Daniel Audette, Jacob De La Rose, Jeremy Grégoire, Charles Hudon, Charlie Lindgren, Stefan Matteau (waivers), Nikita Scherbak and Chris Terry (waivers) did not survive while Jeremiah Addison was reassigned to his junior team, according to NHL.com.
Good news for Habs fans: Mikhail Sergachev survived yet another round of cuts.
Edit (correction): Noah Juulsen will only be eligible to join the AHL once he hits the age of 20.
After suffering a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday evening, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves in a precarious situation. The organization proceeded to cut 24 players from training camp this past weekend, with 22 heading back to the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps while two more punched their tickets to their respective junior teams.
There are no real surprises regarding the roster trimming that took place, safe perhaps for the fact that 19-year-old defenseman Noah Juulsen is on his way to the WHL’s Everett Silvertips as opposed to St. John's. I thought he played very decently- enough for the former 2015 first round draft choice to perhaps spend some time honing his skills in Newfoundland this upcoming regular season. He did not commit any glaring mistakes and passed the puck well while playing a relatively conservative brand of defensive hockey in his own zone.
Nevertheless, the daunting task of choosing to keep only four players from the following list of 10 lies ahead for the Habs’ brass:
Forwards
- Stefan Matteau - Daniel Carr - Sven Andrighetto - Michael McCarron - Charles Hudon - Arrturi Lehkonen - Nikita Scherbak
Defensemen
- Mark Barberio - Zach Redmond - Mikhail Sergachev
Note: Matteau, Carr, Andrighetto, Barberio, and Redmond all have to go through waivers before being reassigned to the AHL.
For the sake of this exercise, let’s suppose that the organization decides to keep three forwards and only one defenseman. Here are my choices (and not in any particular order):
Forwards
Arrturi Lehkonen: While he seems a tad overhyped to me, I can’t help but think that the Habs will be forced to keep him around. He has lacked in self-confidence throughout the preseason even if he has demonstrated that he has the speed and skills to create scoring chances almost singlehandedly. After all, he spent some time on the left wing with #1 center Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, so it’s clear that management wants to give him a (preferential?) chance to shine.
Either he stays in Montreal or he’s headed back to Frolunda HC in Sweden, and therefore would not be eligible to participate in any games with the Canadiens this upcoming season should he make his way back to Europe.
Sven Andrighetto: A personal favorite of mine whom I believe does not receive enough credit or recognition as a capable scoring forward. He has the speed and hockey sense to compete in the NHL, but only if he finds himself slotted into a regular role within the top-9 of this club. I see Andrighetto as a smooth skater with a decent shot who could be bounced around the second or third line based on performance merits. Much like the rest of his hopeful teammates, he has not lit up the score sheet in any exhibition games, but he certainly proved that he can provide more within this lineup than a certain diminutive veteran center who’s known to shift to the left wing from time to time…
Daniel Carr: Last season, he was the player with the most amount of goals in December (4). He has a nose for the net and similarly to Gallagher and Andrew Shaw, loves to gravitate towards the slot in order to fire shots on net. He was finally rewarded with a goal on Sunday night after being stoned by goaltenders on multiple chances recently.
Finally, regarding the defensemen, I must admit I’m torn. Barberio posted 10 points in a 30-game stint last season while playing steadily in his own zone. He also happens to be a local, French-speaking player (which earns him points in the eyes of the media) except he’s been outplayed by Redmond, who scored two goals in exhibition play and pleasantly surprised everyone.
On the other hand, Sergachev unanimously looked like he belongs in the NHL, and he’ll certainly get more game time this week. I don’t know that he’ll play all season, but a 9-game trial is not a farfetched idea.
With that in mind, I have no issues with the team starting the regular season with Barberio as its seventh defenseman and occasionally calling Sergachev up should there be any injuries.
Who are your four choices?