With the Olympic Hockey tournament concluded and the USA winning the Gold Medal, it's now time for the Habs to resume their push for the playoffs. Their next game comes Thursday versus the New York Islanders, and the following is what the Habs need to do in order to maintain their momentum.
Getting Healthy
The Canadiens are getting healthy again with the return of Alex Newhook to the lineup ,and Jake Evans returning a little bit before the Olympic break. At practice, it appears that Veleno, Bolduc and Laine were skating as extras, meaning Newhook is good to go tomorrow. Martin St-Loius and Kent Hughes need to make some decisions here. They have a surplus of forwards and they can't activate Laine as it will give them more than 23 players on their roster.
So someone needs to go in order to clear this logjam. There has been a lot of chatter in regards to moving Laine. He's deadly on the Power play, so losing that weapon would hurt ,but there Habs are doing ok offensively. However having that extra weapon on the PP really makes the Habs deadly with two legit power play units.
If I was Montreal, I would trade or Waive Veleno and see what Laine can do. He has amazing hands, an amazing shot and passes the puck incredibly well. If he can somehow try to finds a fit 5-5, I really think he would be a better asset in the line up. Also he's a UFA at the end of the year, so Hughes can make a decision at that time.
Now it's up to St-Louis to make sure everyone gets some ice time as it will be a rotation of Veleno/Laine, Bolduc and another player, possibly Gallagher or even Josh Anderson. Not because of their play, but at the end of the day, everyone needs an opportunity to play and the extra players at the moment are legit NHL players, not young guys trying to crack the lineup.
Perhaps Kent Hughes has a bigger move in mind involving other players, but he obviously needs to do something so the Montreal Canadiens can focus on the remainder of the season without having this type of roster distraction.