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But of necessity, one has to wonder if Laine, who is not in line to sign a contract extension with the Habs, has played the last game of his career with the Montreal Canadiens. It’s a real possibility. Come February, as the trade deadline approaches and the playoff race enters the NHL, maybe Martin St-Louis just won’t have room for him in his lineup. Maybe so, too. Who knows what will happen in four long months? And with the new salary cap rules for the playoffs (the on-ice lineup must conform to the cap), leaving Laine out of the playoffs wouldn’t be a problem for those in charge of the salary cap. At this point, it’s safe to say that Martin St-Louis can now sign on for the long term. It’s no longer just a question of replacing Laine in the short term, while waiting for details. This will simplify the coach’s job. At the moment, here are the 13 players who are healthy at forward. Nick Suzuki Cole Caufield Juraj Slafkovsky Ivan Demidov Alex Newhook Oliver Kapanen Brendan Gallagher Josh Anderson Zachary Bolduc We know that Kirby Dach has recently missed games due to injury. Will he miss more games? Does the Canadiens have confidence in his health? This must have an impact on the role of the 13th forward. If the Canadiens had Samuel Blais, it would be simple. But now the Habs have to decide if they want to keep Joshua Roy in the stands for several more games. If the plan is to get a guy who’ll play more regularly eventually, will Roy be replaced by another player? And will that guy be Florian Xhekaj?
