Jeff Gorton held his traditional pre-draft media availability yesterday, and among the routine declarations he made, there was one interesting tidbit...
As always, Jeff Gordon’s pre-draft media availability wasn’t very revealing. The Montreal Canadiens' president of hockey operations is known to have a pretty good poker face. While he said there’s a pretty good chance right now that the Habs use the 28th overall pick, he had said the same thing about picks 16th and 17th last year, hours before the deal with the New York Islanders for Noah Dobson materialized.
Gorton told the media that the Habs’ brass is working the phones and enquiring about what’s available around the league, but they do not feel any pressure to act just because the teams in their division have been active in the trade market so far. In other words, Montreal has a plan and is sticking to it.
Asked about the pending RFAs (Joe Veleno, Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Arber Xhekaj), the executive said he didn’t expect any of them to go without a qualifying offer, but that the media shouldn’t hold him to it.
The one piece of information that was really interesting in his availability was what he had to say about Michael Hage. When asked if it was a done deal that he would be going back to Michigan for another year in the NCAA, Gorton said:
I think we’ve talked to Michael a lot. He’s told us that he would like to go back to school, and then we’ve kind of left it there. But we also told him to take some time, and, “It’s a long summer, things happen, maybe we add people, maybe we don’t, but if there’s something that you see that changes your mind..” So we left it open. We’ll continue to speak to Michael, but we’re going to respect his opinion. And if he wants to change that, we’ll be open to that discussion. If he wants to stay there, we will support him.
That’s an interesting declaration to say the least. When Hage declared that he wanted to stay in the NCAA for another year, he had just been eliminated from the Frozen Four, and that must have stung. He said he wanted to win next year, stay, and learn to be a better leader with increased leadership responsibilities. Since then, at the end of April, Garrett Schifsky has been named captain for the next season, while Hage is amongst a group of four alternate captains.
Meanwhile, Brendan Gallagher won’t be in Montreal next season, which will free up a roster spot. Should the Canadiens fail to find a second-line center on the trade market, perhaps that would intrigue Hage, who may see he can compete for a meaningful role this season. Or say the Habs land another talented top-six winger to play alongside Ivan Demidov, could that make the youngster dream? Maybe.
So far, though, there doesn’t seem to be anything of the sort happening, but that doesn’t mean it can’t. Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche for futures. Could that mean they’re getting to make another move? Could someone like Kirill Marchenko be on the move? TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau has spoken with him before, and the Russian was quite enthusiastic about Demidov. Who knows what might happen…
One thing’s for sure, though: when Hage attends the Canadiens development camp next week, from June 30 to July 2, the organization will likely be hoping it helps him see what could be next season. The official list of attendees has yet to be released, but The Hockey News has confirmed that he will be holding a private signing session with memorabilia seller Memorable Authentic. Gorton's comment has just made the development camp even more interesting. On ice sessions are scheduled on the last two days, including scrimmages on July 2 at the CN Sports Complex, which should be open to the public as always.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.
