The Habs have started out better than expected this year so far with a 12-12-3 record, and a lot of the young players are progressing along in their development, which is also good news, and something to keep looking forward to.
The 3 headed goalie situation needs to be resolved, as the NHL roster freeze is coming up. With Samuel Montembeault being signed to a new 3 year contract, it seems it’s now down to Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau as to who will be traded out. My bet would be Cayden Primeau, because with Jacob Fowler on the rise at Boston College, and Monty’s new contract and Jake Allen is still a capable fringe starter in the NHL, Primeau still has the potential to be good in this league, as goaltenders do tend to develop longer than forwards and defensemen. Seems Edmonton is looking for a goaltender from Montreal, but as to who they want, it’s tough to tell, so we’ll see in the coming weeks what will come of this.
Injuries are slowly creeping in for the team once again. With Kirby Dach, Jordan Harris, Arber Xhekaj, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Chris Wideman all out long term, the Habs have had to rely on young players early on like Jesse Ylonen, Michael Pezzetta, and of course Juraj Slafkovsky, who is starting to gain confidence and show why the Habs picked him first overall in the 2022 NHL draft. Another young player who is starting to turn heads is Jayden Struble, who started the year in Laval and has made tremendous strides, and is now starting to make it tough for Habs management to send back down. Don’t be surprised if he forces one of Jordan Harris or Arber Xhekaj out of Montreal with the way he’s playing.
David Savard skated the other day, who’s been injured, and he’s slated to come back sooner than later, which is positive to see. As for Alex Newhook, who left yesterday’s game in the 3rd period with what looked like an ankle injury, is now confirmed to be out 10-12 weeks with a high ankle sprain. Not good timing, as he was starting to come into his own playing alongside Nick Suzuki on the first line, but as Montreal likes to say: it’s next man up.
Cory Perry had his contract terminated recently, because of an alcohol related incident that occurred at a Blackhawks corporate event, which had team employees and sponsors attended there. Definitely not expected from a veteran like Cory Perry, who’s had a illustrious NHL career to date, but you never know what goes on behind the scenes with the players, personal wise and such.
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