Copyright yardbarker
Zack Bolduc: traded for a young right-handed defenseman selected in the first round. Jakub Dobes: selected in the draft with one of the team’s many 2020 picks. We could even stretch the sauce by talking about Alex Newhook (traded for draft picks, which the Habs had in bulk), Mike Matheson (traded for a defenseman who had just taken the team to the Stanley Cup Finals), Alexandre Carrier (landed in Montreal because of Justin Barron, who had been acquired in the Artturi Lehkonen sale ) and Oliver Kapanen (selected in the second round in 2021). In short, the Canadiens’ current success is due first and foremost to the fact that they lured the best free agents to Montreal at a discount in summer, were patient, were willing to gut the house before rebuilding it, and had a string of miserable seasons. Without that, the Habs would most likely still be languishing in the bottom third of the league, aiming for the playoffs with a gang of disillusioned veterans. #NoMansLand People who savour the Habs’ performance in 2025-26 should constantly remind themselves of this.. Of course, there are a few exceptions/errors in the actions of the Jeff Gorton – Kent Hughes duo. Finishing at the bottom in 2022-23, then selecting David Reinbacher with the fifth overall pick when Matvei Michkov, Ryan Leonard, Dalibor Dvorsky and Zachary Benson were still available could haunt the Habs for years to come. We’ll see. Acquiring Patrik Laine didn’t pay the dividends we’d hoped for. Although, without him, the Canadiens’ youngsters aren’t learning how to play playoff hockey last spring.. Filip Mesar, selected in the first round, is likely to be a flop. And Kirby Dach will probably never be better than Frank Nazar and Alexander Romanov. Except that, on the whole, the Habs’ strategy was the right one. Nobody hits for 1,000 when they take risks.. The Canadiens announced last week that Patrik Laine would be out for three to four months for abdominal wall muscle repair (via surgery). In other words, Laine had a sports hernia in the “middle of his body”.. Except the Canadiens aren’t talking about mid-body yet . Thank god. When Laine had to sit out (and seek a second medical opinion a few days later), the Canadiens were talking about a lower-body injury for Laine. But when I asked the AI if the abdominal wall was in the upper or lower body, the AI replied: neither; it’s in between, in the middle of the body. So here it is: Patrik Laine is currently in rehab for a mid-body injury. No one has yet ruled out where EXACTLY the lower body begins. We’ll have to wait and see if Laine plays another game in a Canadiens uniform. It should, but it’s also safe to assume that Laine won’t have any rhythm when he laces up his skates again in a few weeks/months. It’s bad enough he hasn’t had any since he arrived in Montreal.. Note that pretty much everyone agrees on one thing this morning: Laine won’t be signing a contract extension with the Habs. I don’t see him fitting anywhere in Montreal next year.
