Today, the Canadiens lost two important players.
And here, you’ll understand that I’m talking about Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia.
Both veterans played on the Habs’ bottom-6… and ultimately, their respective departures mean that there will be changes in Martin St-Louis’ line-up next season.
And with Emil Heineman also gone, that’s quite a few changes.
Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson are still in town and are likely to occupy a place on the Habs’ last two lineups.
But… what will the rest look like?
That’s the question, after all.
Samuel Blais signed a contract with the Canadiens today, and maybe he’ll be able to fill a seat on the bottom-six.
He’s got the fire to help the Habs at that level, and in a supporting role, it could get interesting.
But ultimately, we’ll also have to find other guys who can play on the 3rd or 4th line.
Will Alex Newhook be asked to play on the third line? With the arrival of Bolduc, who can play on the top-6, it’s possible…
Can the same be said of Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach? Maybe, but…
For me, if the season started tomorrow, here’s what my line-up would look like:
- Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
- Bolduc – Dach – Demidov
- Laine – Newhook – Anderson
- Blais – Evans – Gallagher
On paper, the Canadiens’ lineup is interesting. But there are also candidates who could fill a hole on the 4th line: Alex Belzile(who signed a contract with the Habs today), Oliver Kapanen, Owen Beck, Florian Xhekaj…
Perhaps the solution to this “problem” already lies within the Habs organization.
Having said that, we shouldn’t fall out of our chairs if Kent Hughes gets his hands on another support player between now and the end of the summer, because it could allow the youngsters to stay in Laval and develop.
But one thing’s for sure: the Canadiens’ line-up will be different next season. Especially in the bottom-6…
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