- The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Joel Armia has left tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. He left the bench relatively early in the first period, and at the moment it’s unclear the exact nature of what knocked him out of the game. Armia has had a difficult season, with just eleven points in 31 games. He’s had games where he’s looked quite good, but those games have been met with far longer stretches where he’s faded into the background of games. With the Canadiens already ravaged by injuries, they’ll have to hope that this new injury is a relatively minor one.
Canadiens Rumors
Trade Deadline Primer: Montreal Canadiens
Halfway through February, the trade deadline looms and is just a few weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Montreal Canadiens.
This season was supposed to be another transition one for Montreal after finishing last in 2021-22. While the team has a few more points than some may have expected, they remain a team that’s squarely in the middle of a rebuild so that has gone as planned.
What hasn’t gone as planned is their injury situation. The Canadiens are missing numerous regulars at the moment including a pair of veterans that were perceived as their top trade assets. A return to action for those players in the next ten days or so could get them back on the radar but otherwise, it could potentially be a much quieter deadline for them than originally expected.
Record
23-29-4, 8th in the Atlantic
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$4.54MM in LTIR relief, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2023: FLA 1st, MTL 1st, MTL 2nd, MTL 3rd, MTL 4th, PIT 4th, VEG 4th, CGY 5th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th
2024: MTL 1st, COL 2nd, MTL 3rd, MTL 4th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, EDM 7th, MTL 7th
Montreal also has Calgary’s 2025 first-round pick which, through a series of conditions, could transfer in 2024 if it falls between 20 and 32 and the Canadiens elect to take it. It could take until 2026 to be conveyed.
Trade Chips
All season long, Sean Monahan has been an expected trade chip. When healthy, he is a capable middle-six center that can play both the power play and penalty kill. The problem is that staying healthy has been a problem. He suffered a foot injury in early December and was only expected to miss a few weeks originally but it is now two months and counting. If he can get back playing, there will be some suitors as long as Montreal can retain 50% of his $6.375MM AAV. However, it’s likely that the draft pick being offered will be a fair bit lower than the Canadiens were originally hoping to get and it would be prudent for them to try to put a condition in there based on games played. If that’s the case, it’s possible that GM Kent Hughes flips the script and tries to work out a short-term extension with the 28-year-old.
Veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson has also been in trade speculation for a while. He isn’t a rental as he has another year left on his contract with a $3.5MM AAV, a price tag that’s reasonable for someone that can log 20 minutes a night. His physicality and ability to kill penalties would also be appealing, as would his playoff experience which includes two runs to the Stanley Cup Final since the 2018-19 campaign. However, he has been dealing with recurring back injuries and that’s likely to deter someone from giving up a strong return unless he’s able to get back to action soon and be no worse for wear. This might be a situation where the Canadiens opt to hold onto him for next year and try to get a better return for him as a rental.
Montreal also has a couple of pricey rental veteran forwards in Evgenii Dadonov ($5.5MM) and Jonathan Drouin ($5MM) that they will be willing to move. Dadonov was traded at the deadline last season but the deal was eventually vetoed due to his no-trade clause and instead, he went to the Canadiens for Shea Weber’s contract last summer. He has struggled this season (although he has seven points in his last 12 games) and at best, they’d be looking at a late-round pick with salary retention. Drouin is in a similar situation and has struggled to put the puck in the net; his last goal came on January 1st, 2022. That said, he has a dozen assists in his last 14 games.
In terms of other forwards with term that could go, Mike Hoffman ($4.5MM through next season) and Joel Armia ($3.4MM through 2024-25) are players they’d likely be willing to move. However, with them being signed beyond this season, it seems likelier that any move they could make would be a lateral swap for a similar-priced contract, not one to necessarily add pieces for their rebuild.
Other Potential Trade Chips: F Paul Byron (LTIR contract), D Chris Wideman
Team Needs
1) Young Goaltending: Carey Price’s playing days are all but over and they have an NHL tandem that isn’t the greatest. In the prospect pipeline, Cayden Primeau has shown flashes of upside but he’s far from a guarantee to be an NHL netminder. The Canadiens have some late-round picks performing well at lower levels but they’re a few years away still. A prospect that’s a bit closer to being NHL-ready would fill in a bit gap in their prospect pool.
2) AHL Help: With Montreal currently missing so many players, their organizational depth is being tested. If they do move some veterans out, there will be roster spots that need to be filled and if those are covered by players currently in the minors, those spots will then need to be back-filled. (Alternatively, they could agree to take some expiring veterans back and keep their current players in the minors.) This isn’t a big priority in the grand scheme of things but with the Canadiens not having a lot of quality trade chips and the likelihood that their heavy lifting will come in the offseason instead, this is something that they can realistically strive for in the next couple of weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kirby Dach To Miss Second Straight Game
- The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that center Kirby Dach will miss his second straight game tonight against Toronto due to a non-COVID illness. The 22-year-old tried to take part in the morning skate but left just minutes in. Dach has had a breakout year in his first season with Montreal as he has 12 goals and 23 assists in 54 games so far, good for third on the team in scoring.
Canadiens Recall Corey Schueneman
With the Canadiens carrying just six healthy defensemen on their roster and Justin Barron leaving Thursday’s game early due to injury, they’ve brought up an extra rearguard as Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports (Twitter link) that Corey Schueneman has been recalled.
It’s the third recall of the season for the 27-year-old who was brought up for a pair of short stints in October although he didn’t get into any NHL appearances during that time. Schueneman has suited up in 43 games with AHL Laval this season, picking up five goals and 13 assists. Schueneman does have some NHL experience under his belt, however, as he got into 24 games with the Canadiens last season where he picked up six points and 40 blocked shots while averaging 16:36 per night.
Early indications are that Barron should be able to play tonight against Toronto so Schueneman, a pending unrestricted free agent, is likely just being added to the roster as an insurance policy at this point. To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Arber Xhekaj was placed on injured reserve. He’s out indefinitely after sustaining an upper-body injury last weekend. The team announced (Twitter link) that he’ll see a specialist next week with an update to come at that time.
Kirby Dach Out With Non-COVID Illness
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Kirby Dach is not playing in tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes due to a non-COVID-related illness. Dach, who was acquired over the offseason from the Chicago Blackhawks, will be replaced in the lineup by Rem Pitlick. Pitlick returns to the Canadiens lineup after being a healthy scratch in their last two games. Dach’s absence will certainly be felt, as the talented forward is enjoying a breakout season and had three points in his last five games.
Injury Notes: Pageau, Tinordi, Faber
The New York Islanders are without one of their best depth pieces tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is out for tonight’s game against his former team with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, per the team.
Pageau sustained the injury at practice yesterday, says Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now. Reportedly, Pageau was “clipped” during a drill and was slow to get up, yet stayed on the ice for the remainder of practice. The 30-year-old center has 10 goals and 29 points in 56 games this season. This is his first absence of the 2022-23 campaign.
- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi is out for the remainder of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an undisclosed injury, the team said. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope notes that Tinordi had fallen awkwardly on a shift in the first period. Tinordi, 30, was claimed on waivers by the Blackhawks at the beginning of the season and has suited up in 26 games, recording five points.
- One of the best prospects in hockey on one of the best teams in college hockey is out long-term. The Athletic’s Michael Russo agreed with reports today that Minnesota Wild defense prospect and University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Kevin Fiala trade, Faber has 20 points in 30 games with Minnesota this year after representing the United States at the Olympics and World Junior Championships last season.
Arber Xhekaj Out Indefinitely
One of the bright spots for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans this season has been the emergence of Arber Xhekaj. The young defenseman basically came out of nowhere to make an impact at the NHL level, bringing an intimidating level of physicality to the rink every night.
Unfortunately, that rookie season may be cut short. The Canadiens have announced that Xhekaj will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers.
No clear timeline has been determined yet, but the injury appeared to be related to his right arm or shoulder after a fight with Vincent Desharnais.
Through 51 games this season, Xhekaj leads the NHL with 101 penalty minutes and has landed 159 hits to lead the Canadiens easily. Those numbers are despite averaging just 15 minutes a game on the back end, alongside several other of the Montreal youngsters.
Even though his toughness will stand out more than anything, Xhekaj has also impressed with real NHL ability. He has five goals and 13 points, even occasionally seeing some time on the powerplay. That is an incredible feat for an undrafted defenseman coming right out of junior hockey.
Latest On Arber Xhekaj
One of the best stories of the Montreal Canadiens 2022-23 season so far has been the emergence of rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj. The undrafted player has taken a winding road to the NHL, and by all accounts impressed in a defensive unit stocked to the brim with rookie blueliners. Not only has he quickly established a reputation as one of the most fearsome, physical young players in the NHL, he has also flashed some more skill and ability with the puck than one might expect from someone with his profile.
It is made all the more disappointing, then, that the excitement his rookie season has inspired could be put on hold. Xhekaj left for the locker room during the Canadiens’ game against the Edmonton Oilers immediately after fighting Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais. The Canadiens tweeted that Xhekaj would not return for the third period of the game, and did not add any additional information on the nature of the injury. TVA Sports’ Marc-Andre Perreault did note that it’s a possible shoulder injury.
Could Josh Anderson Be Traded?
- The Montreal Canadiens are sort of flying under the radar as a potential seller at this year’s deadline, mostly because of their lack of expiring contracts. Arpon Basu of The Athletic argues that if Josh Anderson is drawing interest, though, the team has to investigate what they could get in return. The 28-year-old is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries a cap hit of $5.5MM. It hasn’t worked out exactly as planned, with Anderson’s offensive game never really materializing past his individual power and speed. He has 25 assists in 170 games with the team, but still is so intriguing because of his heavy, made-for-the-playoffs style.
Montreal Canadiens Extend Jordan Harris
The Montreal Canadiens may be out of the race, but they’re not on vacation. Today they announced a two-year extension for Jordan Harris, locking him up through the 2024-25 season. The contract carries an average annual value of $1.4MM.
Signed less than a year ago out of Northeastern University, it was always going to be a quick turnaround for Harris. His entry-level contract was limited to two seasons because of his age, and the first year was burned with his ten-game stretch run. Now, after spending the entire season with Montreal, he would have gone into the summer as a restricted free agent.
To avoid any complications there, the team has handed him a pretty hefty contract for a player with just 57 games under his belt. The hope is that his upward progression continues, and he quickly becomes a bargain for the Canadiens.
It’s easy to bet on Harris. The 22-year-old has averaged over 18 minutes this season and has 11 points, playing mostly in a defensive role despite his relatively small stature. He isn’t the big, bruising behemoth that most imagine when thinking of a shutdown defender, but Harris is effective in his own end, will throw his weight around, and is improving on the penalty kill.
If the Canadiens are going to say goodbye to Joel Edmundson at the deadline, a player like Harris will likely get even more opportunity to play in that shutdown role – even if there does appear to be a little more offensive upside yet untapped.