Alexandre Carrier and his wife announced yesterday that they were expecting their first child, joining a long list of expecting Habs.
There’s a bug going around the Montreal Canadiens’ dressing room, and it appears to be a love bug. Yesterday, blueliner Alexandre Carrier took to social media to announce that he and his wife, Alicia Lessard, were expecting their first child, a little girl.
Photo credit: Alexandre Carrier InstagramFor those keeping tabs, that’s the fifth team member to announce in recent weeks/months that his family is about to get bigger. Captain Nick Suzuki, alternate captain Brendan Gallagher, netminder Samuel Montembeault, and blueliner Noah Dobson are all expecting new arrivals. Gallagher is the only one in the group who already has a kid.
Carrier had a slow start to the season, struggling a bit in defensive coverage and failing to produce offensively, but he’s picked up the pace of late, scoring five goals in his last 12 games, including a two-goal performance in a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Now that Kaiden Guhle has returned from injury and has had an opportunity to find his rhythm back, Carrier is likely to be a mainstay on the third pairing, alongside either 24-year-old Jayden Struble or 25-year-old Arber Xhekaj. The two are still battling for the sixth defenseman role, and neither has been able to really claim the spot as his own. The latter brings more physicality to the game but has been known to make errors in defensive coverage here and there. As for the former, he plays a safer game and rarely takes himself out of the play with a big hit attempt.
The alternance between Struble and Xhekaj doesn’t necessarily complicate matters for Carrier since they both have a similar. The 29-year-old dad-to-be always has a calm demeanour on the ice, but he needs to be more aware of who’s on the ice and who’s coming for him out there. A game rarely goes by without Carrier being rocked by a bone-crushing hit, like he was in the last playoffs by Washington Capitals’ tough guy Tom Wilson. At 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds, he doesn’t necessarily have the right shape to deal with that on a regular basis without suffering any damage.
Still, the future looks bright for Carrier both on and off the ice. The Canadiens appear well on their way to qualifying for the playoffs this season, which will allow the veteran to get more experience in spring hockey; he’s only skated in 21 postseason games so far. Later this year, he’ll get to meet his daughter, which will no doubt be a joyous occasion. Congratulations to the lucky couple!
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