- The Canadiens will loan defenseman Nicolas Beaudin to Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup, reports BPM Sports Radio’s Anthony Marcotte (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played in the event on a loan last year as well. Beaudin, a 2018 first-round pick by Chicago, has been in and out of the lineup with AHL Laval this season, recording six assists in 13 games so far.
Canadiens Rumors
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.
Who are the Canadiens thankful for?
Mike Matheson has had a tale of two careers.
He was good in his first few seasons in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, showcasing his terrific skating and his ability to carry the puck out of the defensive zone. But shortly after signing an eight-year extension the warts in his game began to show and he became a lightning rod for criticism in the Sunshine State.
It wasn’t long after that Matheson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Colton Sceviour for Patric Hornqvist. Matheson was able to rehabilitate his game and looked like a good fit with the Penguins long-term. However, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall inexplicably wanted to change up the Penguins’ defense and in one day bulldozed his defense core by trading John Marino to New Jersey and Matheson to the Canadiens. Both trades have been a disaster for the Penguins, but the Matheson one stings for several reasons.
Since coming over to Montreal, the 29-year-old Matheson has dressed in 79 games, during that time he has 13 goals and 42 assists and has averaged almost 25 minutes a night in ice-time. He has been a catalyst for the Canadiens offense, and a mentor to many of Montreal’s young defensemen.
Although he has dealt with some injury issues, Matheson has been a driving force for the Canadiens and one that should continue to be an important piece for them in the coming seasons.
What are the Canadiens thankful for?
The Jeff Petry trades.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens made a trade back in July 2022 that sent defenseman Matheson to Pittsburgh in exchange for veteran defenseman Petry and Ryan Poehling. It was a questionable trade at the time for the Penguins as they were giving up a much younger defenseman for a 36-year-old defender with an inflated cap hit. A year after the deal, it’s safe to say that the trade was an absolute heist by the Canadiens. Jeff Petry has been traded twice since the original trade and Poehling was non-tendered and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Petry was traded by the Penguins to the Canadiens this past August in a move that Pittsburgh had to make to facilitate the Erik Karlsson trade. The Penguins traded Petry, goalie Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick. Hoffman was then moved to the Sharks and Pitlick has toiled in the AHL.
The trade was a great move for Montreal to acquire two futures while unloading two bad contracts. But they weren’t done yet. The Canadiens then traded Petry to the Detroit Red Wings for little-used defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025. Finally, Montreal was able to complete the trade tree by shipping DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.
When all was said and done, the Canadiens were able to turn Pitlick, Hoffman, and a retained salary on Petry into Legare, Pearson, Lindstrom, and three 2025 draft picks. It was a creative move by Montreal, that will help them continue to build up their farm system or allow them to acquire additional players should they be more of a contending team in 2025.
What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?
A Josh Anderson resurgence.
Many critics panned the Canadiens’ trade for Anderson back in October 2020 and for good reason, the trade was followed by the announcement of a seven-year $38.5MM extension that seemed like a massive overpay. In hindsight, it probably was, given that Anderson is carrying a $5.5MM cap hit and hasn’t come close to the 47 points he put up during the 2018-19 season. Since joining Montreal, Anderson has topped out at 32 points (twice), but he did have 40 goals over the two seasons before the start of the 2023-24 season.
This year has seen Anderson struggle more than he has in previous seasons. Through 31 games, the 29-year-old has just four goals and five assists and has been a drag on almost everyone he has played with this season. It’s been a frustrating season for the Burlington, Ontario native, one that he has acknowledged publicly. Just two nights ago, Anderson had an incredible game against the New York Islanders in which he scored two goals and was named the first star of the game. Afterwards, during a post-game interview, Anderson was serenaded by the Canadiens faithful and seemed genuinely humbled by the applause. With any luck, Anderson can use the game to catapult himself back to the heights he experienced when he put up 27 goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets five years ago.
If he can get back to his game, it could go a long way to the Canadiens making an unlikely push for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.
What should be on the Canadiens holiday wish list?
A goal-scoring forward.
The Canadiens forwards need to score more as they rank near the bottom of the NHL in goals and are currently on pace to not have a single 25-goal scorer. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki both registered 26 goals last year but have just eight each thus far through 31 games, while Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher are far removed from the back-to-back 30-goal seasons, they each enjoyed from 2017-2019.
The Canadiens need a game-breaker, which is much easier said than done. Most teams are looking for this type of scorer and they are almost impossible to acquire in today’s NHL. The Canadiens do have a surplus of young defensemen they could choose to trade from, but they would need to find a trading partner that is interested in trading away one of the most coveted pieces in today’s NHL.
The Canadiens have been patient with their rebuild and have made some savvy moves to acquire good young prospects and defensive depth. At some point in the near future, they are going to have to take a risk on an offensively gifted forward. Whether that happens via trade or free agency remains to be seen but they will need to acquire a forward that can put the puck in the net.
Harris Returns To Practice, Canadiens Intend To Sign Hutson After College Season
- Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris took part in a full game day skate for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury last month, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has played in 16 games so far in his second full NHL season, picking up three assists and 28 blocks while averaging a little under 19 minutes a night. Earlier this week, Montreal indicated that Harris was still 10-14 days from returning so he’s still likely a game or two away from being available to suit up.
- Still with Montreal, GM Kent Hughes made an appearance on The Sick Podcast (video link) where he indicated that they plan to sign prospect Lane Hutson after his college season comes to an end. The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick in 2022 and has been quite productive offensively with Boston College, notching 68 points in 54 games over his first two seasons so far. The Canadiens are likely going to use Hutson down the stretch which means he will burn the first year of his entry-level deal this season even if he only plays in a handful of games.
Canadiens Recall Emil Heineman
The Canadiens recalled high-end left-wing prospect Emil Heineman from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday, per a team announcement. To make room on the 23-man roster, winger Tanner Pearson, who is out six weeks with an upper-body injury, was moved to injured reserve.
If the 22-year-old Heineman draws into the lineup tonight against the Penguins, it would be his NHL debut. It’s not a guarantee, however, as the Canadiens have 13 healthy forwards on the active roster. Heineman would likely play a third- or fourth-line role in the event he enters the lineup, relegating either Joel Armia or Michael Pezzetta to the press box.
Heineman is already in his third NHL organization after the Panthers selected him 43rd overall in 2020. The Panthers moved on from him less than 12 months after the draft, dealing his signing rights and a 2022 second-round pick to the Flames in exchange for center Sam Bennett in April 2021. Less than a year after that, Calgary flipped his rights to the Canadiens as part of the package that got them Tyler Toffoli near the 2022 trade deadline. Heineman signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens within a few months of the second trade.
Montreal loaned him out to his Swedish Hockey League club, Leksands IF, for most of last season, where he fell short of his SHL career-highs with eight goals and 15 points in 35 games. After Leksand’s brief playoff run concluded, Heineman finished out the 2022-23 campaign with Laval, recording seven goals and two assists in 11 regular-season games. The strong start to his North American professional career made some believe he could crack Montreal’s roster out of camp this year, and although he was a late cut, Heineman was eventually assigned to Laval before opening-night rosters were due.
An injury suffered early this season sidelined Heineman for most of October and all of November, but he returned to the Rocket lineup this month and has three points and 11 shots on goal in five games post-injury. A speedy winger with a high-end shot, Heineman could bring a skill element missing from Montreal’s depth forward group with Kirby Dach, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Newhook all sidelined with long-term injuries.
He is ranked as the third-best left-wing prospect in Montreal’s system behind 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky and 22-year-old American Sean Farrell by Dobber Prospects. At this stage, a long-term future in Montreal’s top six seems unlikely, but he certainly has the potential to churn out a lengthy career as a legitimate third-line scoring threat.
Jordan Harris Nearing Return; On 10-To-14 Day Timeline
- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris has not played since a November 18th game against the Boston Bruins, though he is nearing a return to the ice. The Canadiens officially announced that Harris would be able to return to play in approximately 10 to 14 days, which is an encouraging development for the club. While Harris has just three points this season, he did have a strong rookie campaign as an intelligent blueliner with puck-moving ability. Harris’ return to the ice could cost his former college hockey teammate Jayden Struble a place in the Canadiens’ lineup, seeing as Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson aren’t going anywhere on the team’s top two pairings. Struble has played quite well since his debut, though, so one wonders if the Canadiens would sanction sending Struble back to the AHL after such a promising stretch of games.
Pearson Out Four To Six Weeks
- Following their loss to Nashville last night, the Canadiens announced that winger Tanner Pearson will miss the next four to six weeks with an upper-body injury that was sustained on Saturday against Buffalo. The 31-year-old is in his first season with Montreal after missing almost of all 2022-23 with a hand injury that required several surgeries. Pearson has four goals and four assists in 27 games so far this year.
Canadiens Activate David Savard Off Injured Reserve
The Canadiens activated defenseman David Savard off injured reserve Sunday, per a team release. He will return to the lineup tonight against the Predators after a 22-game absence due to a hand fracture. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, the Canadiens assigned defenseman Mattias Norlinder to AHL Laval.
Savard has played just five games this season, sustaining the fracture on October 23 late in a game against the Sabres. The 33-year-old has registered two assists and posted middling possession numbers in a short sample, controlling 44.7% of expected goals when paired with Mike Matheson, per MoneyPuck.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is expected to reinstate Savard in a top-pairing role in his return to the lineup. Doing so will provide some relief for 22-year-old Justin Barron, who’s seen some tough assignments alongside Matheson in Savard’s absence and will now line up against slightly easier competition in a second-pairing role.
Savard is in his third season with the Habs after signing a four-year, $14MM contract as a free agent in 2021. The 2021 Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay has missed 20 games each in the past two seasons with various injuries, and he last played a full 82-game season in 2018-19 as a member of the Blue Jackets. Since signing in Montreal, Savard has served the rebuilding squad well, averaging 21:32 per game and logging six goals, 33 assists, and 39 points in 129 games.
Norlinder, who does not require waivers, heads back to the minors after a nearly three-week stint on the NHL roster. He did not appear in a game, however, instead sitting as a healthy scratch for nine straight contests. It’s puzzling not to see the 23-year-old inserted into the lineup after he had a strong training camp, although he’s sputtered out of the gate to start the season in Laval. In 14 games before the callup, Norlinder had just two points and a -15 rating. He’s played six NHL games since Montreal selected him 64th overall in the 2019 draft, all coming in the 2021-22 campaign. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer upon the conclusion of his entry-level contract, but he’s looking like a non-tender candidate and could find himself seeking a contract elsewhere.
Tanner Pearson Will Not Return To Game
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Tanner Pearson would not return to the team’s game tonight due to an upper-body injury. Since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in an offseason trade, Pearson has produced at a relatively tepid rate, scoring four goals and eight points in 26 games, which is still good for eighth on the team in scoring. Already with six players currently residing on the team’s injured reserve, the Canadiens may have to dig into their organizational depth even further if Pearson is set to miss significant time.
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Monahan Reaches Games Played Bonus, Hopes To Sign Long-Term With Montreal
- Canadiens center Sean Monahan reached his $15K bonus by playing in his 26th game of the year against Los Angeles on Thursday, relays Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. That brings his total compensation for the season to an even $2MM. Monahan opted for this one-year deal last spring, electing to stay in Montreal where he had early success before multiple injuries ended his year. So far, he has stayed healthy and indicated to Cowan that he’d love to sign a long-term deal to stick with the Canadiens. If that doesn’t happen, he’ll likely be one of the more prominent rentals to keep an eye closer to the trade deadline, as long as he isn’t injured at the time.
Latest On Canadiens Goalie Trade Possibilities
- LeBrun also reported in his piece today that “the Montreal Canadiens are still hoping to move a goalie,” and that they don’t want to keep three goalies on their active roster for the full season. LeBrun reports that the team is “listening to offers” on Cayden Primeau and Jake Allen, two names that make sense to deal since Samuel Montembeault recently signed a three-year extension. That being said, the team has yet to receive a trade offer for either player and trading Allen could be challenging due to his $3.85MM cap hit and the fact that he has the right to submit a seven-team no-trade list.