Oh boy! Am I glad I waited to write this article.
I was planning to do this up last week, but life got in the way and I decided to wait. And I am thankful I did or I would have missed the big trade this past weekend that potentially shakes things up on the Montreal D-core and in their crease.
Y’all have probably heard of the Erik Karlsson Trade this past weekend. I am not going to give all the details. I am only going to highlight the Montreal Canadiens side of things.
IN: Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, Nathan Legare, and a Pittsburgh 2025 2nd round pick
OUT: Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick
Losing Hoffman and Pitlick doesn’t affect my previous article about the forwards. In fact, it is mostly as predicted. I stated Hoffman would likely be traded/bought out and Pitlick was an extra forward. And the Habs didn’t retain on either player which is a huge win.
Rumors have abounded about what the Habs will do with Jeff Petry and Casey DeSmith. I am not going to dig too much into them. Instead, I will give my opinion about what I believe the Habs will do.
Defense Pairing 1:
Matheson – Guhle
Matheson brings the veteran touch to the defense, and I am looking forward to having him for a full season. He is basically the new Jeff Petry for this team, which is one of the reasons I believe Petry will be traded. More on that later. Matheson had a career high in points last year (34) in only 48 games! If he stays healthy this year, he may eclipse 50 points! Guhle may be young, but he will mature even more on a line with Matheson. He had 18 points last year and he only played in 44 games. With a full year under his belt, he may come close to 40 points. And I am aware that Guhle is naturally a LD, but this will give him an opportunity to play some more on the right side as he is capable of doing both.
Defense Pairing 2:
Harris – Savard
Another youngster with a veteran. This approach allows the Habs to have more stability on their backend as opposed to putting Matheson and Savard on the same pairing. Savard has never been an explosive talent on defense. He definitely has some glimpses now and then with his dekes, but his game leans more into the defensive side of things. This second pairing will give the Habs a decent shut down pair who can also help set up plays in the offensive zone. Harris will learn from Savard, and Savard may also learn a few things from Harris. Harris, like Guhle, is naturally a LD who can play the right side. I wouldn’t be shocked if St. Louis had Harris with Matheson and Guhle with Savard.
Defense Pairing 3:
Xhekaj – Kovacevic
This pairing will be gritty and tough to play against. Xhekaj will hit hard and be in the opponent’s face all the time, while Kovacevic will add his own toughness as he boasted 93 hits and 86 blocks last year which are pretty decent numbers for a third pairing defenseman. Xhekaj will be looking to put a full year under his belt, and even though he hurt himself in a fight last year, he will no doubt still drop the gloves when the times comes. Kovacevic played almost every game last year for the Habs, which was a rare feat among their defense core. It is one of the main reasons I placed him here over Barron. He has earned this spot.
Extra:
Barron
Justin Barron will play in the NHL fulltime. Just might not be this year. If their is an injury early on in the season, he will be the first to slot in for the Habs. He had 15 points in 39 games last year, and some good defensive stats. The right side is awfully crowded right now, and it isn’t going to get any less crowded in the next couple years as Reinbacher and Mailloux start pushing for regular ice time. Guhle can shift over to the left side to allow for some flexibility, but Barron really needs to stand out this year when given the opportunity to play.
Traded:
Petry
I loved when Jeff Petry played for the Habs. I know there was some controversy during Covid, but let’s be real. He wanted to play hockey and be close to his family (who are American). There is nothing wrong with wanting to do both, and we shouldn’t discredit him for it either. He played the best hockey of his career with the Habs, and had four straight 40+ point seasons. It is likely he could have surpassed 50 points in 2019-2020 if it wasn’t for the Covid shutdown. However, as I have mentioned, the defense is crowded in Montreal. I believe Hughes will try to trade him for picks to clear their books of his cap (might even retain some which isn’t that bad all things considered). Unless a big injury happens with the Habs defense before the preseason or in the preseason, I wouldn’t expect to see Jeff Petry play a game in Montreal this year unless he is on the opposing team.
AHL:
Wideman
Wideman could be the extra D, but he isn’t really needed right now. His six points in 46 games last year can easily be replaced by anyone else on this list. I imagine he will begin the year in the AHL.
Goalies:
Montembeault – DeSmith
It seemed almost like it was locked up that Montembeault and Allen would be the Habs two goalies to start the year. Now, I am not so sure. DeSmith has better numbers over his career as a back up than Allen does. By going with Monty and DeSmith, the Habs will clear up even more cap space. And while the question remains if Monty can be a full-time starter or not, this is the year to let him try. The Habs are really not in a position to push for a playoff spot with how strong the East is. They could surprise us, and I’d love to see it, but I’d rather them take this year to learn and see what they have, especially in net, so they have a clearer understanding what to do next year when they are ready to start pushing for the playoffs.
Traded:
Allen
Allen has been a good back-up over the years, and when the Habs traded for him, it wasn’t expected he’d be the starter. With a cap hit of 3.85 million over the next two years, it is time for Hughes to pull the trigger on this trade. Allen will be a solid back up for whatever team he is traded too. I could see Nashville, Columbus, or Philadelphia being a likely target for Allen’s new home.
AHL:
Primeau
Primeau now has to go through waivers. Keep him in the AHL and hope that neither Monty or DeSmith get injured to the point they can’t dress. The best case scenario is to sign a free agent goalie to a two way deal so the Habs can send him between the AHL and NHL with no issues.
Unkown:
Price
It is likely we will never see Carey Price put on the pads again as a Montreal Canadien. Even writing that brings sadness to my heart. I am not sure what role he will play this year with the team. He will likely be at the home opener, and show up at other random times. If he goes a whole other year without playing, I imagine we might finally hear Price come out and say that he is ready to retire. If he does, I hope the Habs offer him a job of some sort so he can still get his name on the Stanley Cup if the Canadiens manage to win it sometime in the near future.
Well these are my predictions. What do you think? Come back near the beginning of the season to see what I have right and what I have wrong.
Until then, Go Habs Go!