The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of French speakers in the lineup these days, which should please the nationalist part of the fanbase.
When the Montreal Canadiens won their last Stanley Cup in 1993, there were 13 French speakers on the team: Patrick Roy, Guy Carbonneau, Vincent Damphousse, Éric Desjardins, Denis Savard, Patrice Brisebois, J.J. Daigneault, Benoît Brunet, Stephan Lebeau, Gilbert Dionne, Donald Dufresne, Mario Roberge, and André Racicot. While the current version of the Habs is still far away from that number, it’s still one of the “most French” lineups the Sainte-Flanelle has had in quite some time.
With the Phillip Danault trade, there are now seven French speakers in the Canadiens’ roster: Samuel Montembeault, Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Joe Veleno, Samuel Blais, Zachary Bolduc, the aforementioned Danault, and, last but not least, Alexandre Texier. While the latter is not a “p’tit gars de chez nous”, but he still speaks the “langue de Molière.”
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Of course, the fact that the Canadiens are dealing with so many injuries has opened the door for Veleno to step into the lineup, for Texier to sign in Montreal, and for Hughes to go out to get Danault. Still, it’s great for fans who have been lamenting the lack of French speakers on the team.
Once Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle, and Patrik Laine return, the face of the team will change, but for now, the Habs have seven French speakers in the lineup, and most are playing essential roles. Bolduc is now on the top line. We’ve seen how the blueline struggles when Matheson is injured, and Texier, even though on the third line, has been one of the Canadiens’ best players at even strength of late. As for Montembeault, his struggles have been well documented this season, but he played a significant role in the team’s success last year.
As for Danault, before he left in free agency, he had a prominent role with the Canadiens, centring a top line with Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar. He won’t play as significant a role this time around, but he could still be an essential part of the team if he can improve the penalty kill and shoulder a big part of the defensive load.
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