The Montreal Canadiens held their first practice of the season on Monday in Brossard, and there was already some bad news.
While the Montreal Canadiens had a day off on Sunday, the Habs brass worked hard on roster decisions. As reported yesterday, a group of players was put on waivers while another group, which didn’t have to clear waivers, was assigned to the Laval Rocket. That group included Jacob Fowler, Owen Beck, and David Reinbacher.
While Fowler wouldn’t have looked out of place on the NHL roster, Samuel Montembeault’s bounce-back performance sealed his fate. The Bécancour native has earned the right to back up Jakub Dobes, and while he won’t be with the Canadiens long-term, this is the last year of his contract; Fowler may need a bit more patience before the coast is clear. Of course, Montembeault could be traded, but that’s far from guaranteed, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for him right now.
As for Beck, nobody was surprised to see him head back to Laval; he’s a good player who does everything well but nothing fantastically well. He doesn’t fill a gap in the Canadiens’ lineup the way Florian Xhekaj brings sandpaper.
Reinbacher’s return to Laval is also somewhat surprising, especially since Kaiden Guhle is injured, but he's done enough to earn a call-up as soon as circumstances warrant it. It also seems inevitable that the Habs will need to make room on their blueline sooner rather than later. Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, Engstrom and Reinbacher could all play in the NHL, but once Guhle is healthy, they’ll all be fighting for a single spot.
On Monday morning, Martin St-Louis ran his first practice of the real season. Only 23 players were on the ice since Oliver Kapanen was missing and is now considered day-to-day. As for Guhle, he was on the ice, but unlike Saturday morning, when he joined the team in practice, he wore a no-contact jersey. With Kapanen missing, the following lines and pairings were used at practice:
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Chris Kreider
Juraj Slafkovsky – Alex Newhook – Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault- Kirby Dach
Zachary Bolduc – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson
Extra: Florian Xhekaj. If Kapanen had been available, chances are Dach would have been right next to the youngest Xhekaj as an extra. Newhook slides in nicely at second C with his speed, but when Kapanen is healthy, he’s likely to go right back in that spot while Newhook goes down a line, making Dach surplus to requirements. St-Louis has already confirmed that Kapanen will not play on Tuesday.
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson – Alexandre Carrier
Jayden Struble – Arber Xhekaj
Extra: Adam Engstrom. He took reps with Guhle, which more than likely means he’ll be the seventh defenseman on Tuesday night.
Jakub Dobes
Samuel Montembeault
As for the power play, TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau reports that the second unit features Bolduc, Newhook, Kreider, Dobson and Texier. The first unit remains intact as both Hutson and Demidov were back on the ice this morning.
It’s unusual to see the Canadiens with 14 forwards on their roster, so you have to wonder whether Kent Hughes might be working on a trade right now. According to insider Frank Seravalli, the Edmonton Oilers are very interested in trading for Kirby Dach. Stan Bowman, who was the Chicago Blackhawks GM when they picked Dach third overall in 2019, is now the Oilers GM, so there’s a link there. Warren Rychel, an Oilers scout, attended the game between the Habs and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, but Dach wasn’t playing in Montreal that night, but rather in Ottawa. Could the two teams be working on a multi-piece trade? Are the Oilers having buyer’s remorse over the often-injured Frederik Andersen and are considering Montembeault? Time will tell.
It will be interesting to see what the lineup looks like tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the puck officially drops on the season, the coach refrained from announcing his starting netminder.
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