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Canadiens Recall Emil Heineman

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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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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.

Sabres, Kraken Exploring Goalie Market

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With teams now at the quarter mark of the season, they now have a greater sense of what they have and what they need.  Two of those teams – the Sabres and Kraken – appear to have determined that goaltending help is high on the priority list as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that both squads are looking at what’s available between the pipes.

For Seattle, Philipp Grubauer has struggled mightily out of the gate, putting up his worst numbers in now his third season with the team.  Joey Daccord won the backup battle in training camp but hasn’t fared much better, posting a save percentage of just .898.  Meanwhile, they still have Chris Driedger at AHL Coachella Valley but he hasn’t seen regular NHL action for a couple of years now.

Garrioch notes that Montreal is among the teams the Kraken have spoken to.  The Canadiens are one of the few teams still carrying three netminders on its active roster – the recently extended Samuel Montembeault, veteran Jake Allen, and youngster Cayden Primeau who is no longer waiver-exempt.

With a little over $2MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly, Seattle does have a bit of flexibility to work with.  If they can clear out Driedger’s contract as part of any swap, they’d free up an additional $2.35MM to work with as that’s the cap charge they incur with Driedger being with the Firebirds.

As for Buffalo, Garrioch reports that they’re believed to have been sniffing around a veteran netminder.  Devon Levi, when healthy, hasn’t played at the same level as he did down the stretch last season, resulting in a recent demotion to AHL Rochester.  Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken over the number one role for the time being (current illness notwithstanding) but has just 59 NHL appearances under his belt.  Veteran Eric Comrie is also with the team but has a 4.01 GAA and a .861 SV% in his seven starts so there’s definitely room to upgrade.

Garrioch suggests that Allen is one of the goalies Buffalo is believed to have looked at.  The 33-year-old has another year on this one on his contract with a $3.85MM AAV.  His numbers are a bit better than Comrie’s with a 3.74 GAA and a .898 SV% in his ten starts.  Buffalo has ample cap space to take on Allen’s full deal although they could also offset some of the cost of any possible trade by including Comrie’s $1.8MM expiring deal as part of any swap.

It has been out there for a while that the Oilers are looking for goalie help with the early struggles of Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner.  Now, it appears they’re not the only ones looking for an upgrade at that position.

Snapshots: Senators Trade Rumors, Arber Xhekaj, Ridly Greig

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The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch recently shared that teams have been reaching out to the Senators to see if top forward Drake Batherson is available. However, Garrioch reports that Ottawa isn’t looking for a large-scale trade, and is instead shopping around winger Dominik Kubalik. This could be in an effort to make space for Shane Pinto, who is currently serving a 41-game suspension after violating the league’s sports wagering rules.

Kubalik is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and carries a $2MM cap hit this season. The 28-year-old has managed four goals and five points through 19 games this season, also adding six penalty minutes and a -10. Kubalik previously scored 30 goals and 46 points in the 2019-20 season, his rookie year in the NHL. His scoring took a step back following the exciting rookie year, but he managed 20 goals and 45 points in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season.

And while those are certainly fine numbers for a cheap, depth forward, it’s easy to see why Batherson is the one teams are interested in. The 25-year-old winger currently has 14 points, split evenly, through 19 games this season. He’s coming off of a career-year that saw him record 22 goals and 62 points in 82 games last season. The breakout year was apart of a steady climb in scoring, with Batherson recording 34 points in 2020-21 and 44 points in only 46 games during the 2021-22 season. The young forward is also cost-controlled through 2026-27, carrying a cap hit of $4.975MM in each of the next four seasons.

Other notes from around the league:

Alex Newhook To Miss 10-12 Weeks With High Ankle Sprain

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Canadiens winger Alex Newhook left Thursday’s loss to Florida with a lower-body injury and it will keep him out for a while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Newhook will miss the next 10 to 12 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

The 22-year-old is in his first season with Montreal after being acquired from Colorado just before the draft in June for the 31st and 37th picks along with prospect blueliner Gianni Fairbrother.  Despite taking a step back with the Avalanche last season, the Canadiens saw fit to give Newhook a four-year contract over the summer, one that carries a $2.9MM cap hit; he will still be a restricted free agent at its expiration.

Newhook has done well with his new team this season, taking advantage of the more prominent role he has in Montreal’s lineup.  He is tied for the team lead in goals with Cole Caufield with seven while being tied with Sean Monahan for fourth in points with 13.  He’s also averaging 16:34 per night after failing to log 14 minutes per contest in his two full seasons with Colorado.

Montreal already made their recall to replace Newhook on the roster yesterday when they brought up Mitchell Stephens from AHL Laval.  For now, at least, Monahan is being shifted to the wing, allowing Stephens to center the fourth line.

Newhook joins a quickly growing list of players on Montreal’s injured reserve, one that now has more than $24MM on it, per CapFriendly (Twitter link).  Carey Price’s playing days are over which has him on LTIR.  Up front, Rafael Harvey-Pinard will miss another month while Kirby Dach is done for the year.  Meanwhile, on the back end, Chris Wideman has yet to play this season, David Savard has missed more than a month, while Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris recently landed on IR themselves.  That said, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie relays (Twitter links) that both Savard and Xhekaj skated today which means those two could be getting closer to a return.

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