Do you think Lane Hutson is already playing above the level Mike Matheson is? If so, would you keep Matheson past this season (with how bad he’s been in our end) and move him out for assets before his value plummets further? I think Kaiden Guhle and Hutson are primed for top-pairing minutes soon.
Matthew on X — @WayneMatthew88
Matheson has had a difficult season at times. But, as head coach Martin St. Louis likes to say, you can’t buy experience and Matheson is in his 10th NHL season. Experience is something Hutson is lacking and playing with a veteran like Matheson as his partner is a great experience for him. The 20-year-old rookie can learn a lot — both on and off the ice — from the 30-year-old veteran. There are some nights Hutson has been better than Matheson and other nights he hasn’t.
Matheson logs huge minutes (a team-leading 24:22 per game) in important situations and usually against the other team’s top line. Matheson has another season left on his contract and I wouldn’t be in a rush to trade him. We’ve seen this season how difficult it is for a team to play — and win — with four or five young defencemen in the lineup. That’s why the Canadiens traded 23-year-old Justin Barron to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday in exchange for 28-year-old Alexandre Carrier. The addition of Carrier — a right-handed shot who is now paired with Guhle — should cut down on Matheson’s workload and ease some of his matchups. It will also allow Guhle to play on his natural left side on a regular basis with a veteran player as his partner.
Paring Guhle and Hutson would mean Guhle would have to play on the right side, something Matheson — also a left shot — is doing now with Hutson. At this point I’d rather have a veteran like Matheson playing on his off-side than Guhle, who is only in his third season — which is hard to believe at times by the way he plays.
Is Montreal considered an ideal player destination in today’s NHL? And, out of curiosity, are there any nearby palm trees?
Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
LOL. We know there are definitely not any palm trees in Buffalo — as Sabres GM Kevyn Adams pointed out recently as a reason why it’s not a “destination city” for players, along with high New York state taxes.
Some Sabres fans responded by showing up at games in Buffalo with inflatable palm trees to watch a team that is en route to missing the playoffs for a mind-boggling 14th straight season.
Kent Hughes has said that in his experience as a longtime player agent before becoming GM of the Canadiens that players are happiest when they’re in a winning environment — even if there aren’t any palm trees. That’s a big part of the Canadiens’ rebuilding plan — making Montreal a city where players want to play.
No palm trees and high Quebec taxes don’t help the Canadiens — but winning more games in the future certainly would.
Who do you think has a better chance of cracking the Habs’ lineup next year (and succeeding): Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux or Ivan Demidov?
Canadiens Plus on X — @CanadiensPP
I think Demidov will definitely be with the Canadiens next season and has the best chance of succeeding since he will almost certainly be given a top-six forward role. I’d be surprised if Beck doesn’t make the team next season and think he can be an effective third- or fourth-line centre, depending on whether the Canadiens decide to re-sign Jake Evans or move him before the NHL trade deadline. Centre Christian Dvorak, who can also become an unrestricted free agent, won’t be with the Canadiens next season and defenceman David Savard will almost certainly be dealt before the NHL trade deadline on March 7. That would open a spot for Mailloux on the third defence pairing with Arber Xhekaj.
Hughes has been in Russia this week watching Demidov play for St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL. In 36 games this season, Demidov has 8-14-22 totals.
Now that the Habs have a right shot D-man in Alexandre Carrier it looks like they will probably trade David Savard at some point. What do you think they could get in return for Savard straight-up?
Sheri Taylor
As noted above, I don’t expect the 34-year-old Savard to still be with the Canadiens after the trade deadline.
In a straight-up trade, I don’t think at this point the Canadiens would get much more than a mid-round draft pick for Savard — similar to when they dealt Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils this summer for a fourth-round pick at the 2026 NHL Draft. It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens try to make Savard part of a package deal to get more in return. He would have some value as a veteran penalty-killer and shot-blocker who can play on the third defensive pairing for a playoff team.
Should the Habs go looking for a legit second-line centre?
NHL Trade of the Day on X — @of_nhl
Not now.
I wouldn’t give up on Kirby Dach yet as the possible second-line centre for the future. I think you need to give him a full season after he only played two games last season and had major knee surgery.
Also, Demidov can play wing or centre and has said he prefers playing centre. That could give Dach competition for the No. 2 centre spot next season or St. Louis could just move Dach to the wing with Demidov as his centre with either Patrik Laine or Juraj Slafkovsky as the other winger, depending on who is playing on the No. 1 line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Can you walk us through a day in the life of a sports columnist who covers the Habs? Is there a difference whether covering at home vs. the road? I’m curious about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, like writing columns, research, coming up with questions/storylines, etc.
Josh Scoville
On a game day in Montreal I arrive at the Bell Centre around 10 a.m. — 30 minutes before the morning skate gets started. I normally already have a column idea in mind for that day and will finish up some research and write down in a notebook a few questions I want to ask players and head coach Martin St. Louis.
After the morning skate finishes the locker-room opens up for player interviews (media members can request which players they want to talk with), followed by St. Louis’s news conference. After that I have a 2 p.m. deadline to file my early column.
Since I live in Brossard, I normally just stay at the Bell Centre all day, doing research for future columns, going through email, etc., and chatting with other media members. If the weather’s nice, maybe go for a walk downtown and get a coffee. I head to the Jacques Beauchamp media lounge around 5:30 p.m. for the media dinner (it costs $21.99) and then it’s game time.
After the game it’s player interviews and another news conference with St. Louis. My friend and colleague Herb Zurkowsky writes his Hidden Game story after the game for The Gazette website, while I do player interviews for a column I will write the next day, usually focusing on something that happened in the game.
For columninsts/reporters on the road it’s a similar schedule on game day. However, the visting team’s morning skate normally doesn’t start until 11:30 a.m., after the home team has its morning skate.
