Free washer | What to follow from the Canadian between now and June?

With eight more matches to go, the Canadian already has two points more than his total from last year, and fifteen than in 2021-2022. A first trio that is still very young has just emerged. There is some light at the end of the tunnel. But for a third straight spring, there will be no playoff fever.

For those of a more optimistic nature, and for whom the concept of reconstruction is now accepted and assumed, there will remain interesting things to watch for between now and the end of the regular season and beyond. Here are five.

1. The new goalkeeper duo

Jake Allen’s departure for New Jersey seems to have had an effect on the other two. Samuel Montembeault and especially Cayden Primeau have been very good in recent weeks.

We now seem to favor systematic alternation. The young Primeau, 24, just won the Molson Cup in March with a 3-1-1 record, a 1.97 GAA and a .939 save percentage. But we removed it from more complex confrontations. He faced Philadelphia, Seattle, Calgary, Columbus, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Anaheim.

Montembeault has won only two of his last nine games, but he has faced Florida, Carolina twice, Colorado, Vancouver, Edmonton, Boston, Toronto. In all of these games, except one, he allowed three goals or less and saved the furniture.

This is not about seeing who will take the lead in the race for number one goalie heading into next year. The emergence of Primeau gives us a glimpse of a sharing of tasks, a bit like we can observe in Boston with Ullmark and Swayman or in Minnesota with Fleury and Gustavsson.

(Last match of the season April 16)

2. David Reinbacher in Laval

The Laval Rocket clings to the last place giving access to the American League playoffs, with one point ahead of Utica and two over Belleville. But the Comets have one game in hand and the Senators two. If Laval fails to qualify, there will be six games remaining in the regular season.

The fifth overall pick in 2023, right-handed defenseman David Reinbacher, has provided solid play since his arrival six games ago. His defensive reliability and maturity probably make him the NHL’s closest Rocket prospect heading into next season. Goalie Jakub Dobes, 22, is having a spectacular second half of the season, it must be admitted, but he will still have time to mature in the American League.

Logan Mailloux and Justin Barron are likely fighting for a position on the right from a long-term perspective. It’s thinner on the attack. There may be Emil Heineman in a supporting role.

RDS will broadcast the game on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. against the Cleveland Monsters, farm club of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

(Last game of the season April 20, possibility of playoffs)

3. Frozen Oven

Lane Hutson will not join the Canadian until at least the penultimate game of the season, April 15. Hutson and Boston University are qualified for the Frozen Four, the final four of the NCAA championship. The Terriers will face Denver in the first round on April 11 in Minnesota. The match is broadcast on ESPN2.

Hutson is not the only CH hope at this tournament. There we find his teammate Luke Tuch, a rough winger of 6 feet 2 inches and 203 pounds, but whose offensive potential remains limited. Tuch, 22, a 2020 second-round pick, had 29 points, including 9 goals, in 38 games this season in his fourth year at BU. The Canadian could submit a contract offer to him, but he is not considered a top prospect.

A rather unknown winger in Quebec, Sam Harris, plays for Denver. The Canadian drafted him in the fifth round last summer, at 19 years old. His statistics are not impressive, but he finished the season strong with fourteen points, including nine goals, in his last thirteen games.

In the other portion of the final four is goaltender Jacob Fowler, drafted in the third round in 2023, smoking at Boston College with a 31-5-1 record, 2.20 GAA and save percentage of .924. The Canadiens recruiter, in a now viral video released by the organization, vehemently asserts his preference to draft this goaltender who appears to be Fowler and must be giggling with joy today…

(Semi-finals on April 11, final, on RDS, April 13 at 6 p.m.)

4. World Championship

With all his injuries and his players on the verge of burnout, the Canadian was not well represented at the World Championship last year. There were Samuel Montembeault and Justin Barron with the Canadian team, prospects Lane Hutson, Sean Farrell and Luke Tuch for the Americans and Joel Armia with Finland.

With thinly veiled threats from the leaders of the Canadian and American national teams, candidates for a position ahead of the Four Nations tournament in 2025 and the Olympic Games in 2026 had better respond to invitations to the World Championship.

This could encourage Samuel Montembeault, Nick Suzuki, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield (Canada), Jordan Harris, Cayden Primeau and Jayden Struble (United States) to travel to the Czech Republic once the season is over. Maybe also Hutson with the Americans, Juraj Slafkovsky with Slovakia, Armia in Finland, David Reinbacher with Austria (if the Rocket is eliminated) and a few others. Of course, not everyone aspires to a position in anticipation of the Olympics, you guessed it.

(From May 10 to 26 in Prague and Ostrava, many matches presented on RDS, including all those in Canada)

5. The draft

For a third consecutive year, the Canadian will draft in the top 8. The date of the lottery has not yet been determined, but the event is expected to take place in early May. Under the current rankings, the Canadian would hold the sixth pick overall, with a 7.5% chance of winning the first lot and 7.7% of winning the second. Montreal can still fall to eighth place, but should not go beyond fifth place, unless they win the lottery. He also holds Winnipeg’s first choice, currently located at 24^e rank.

The draft is interesting this year because of its unpredictability after Macklin Celebrini at No. 1 overall. Don’t be surprised if the Canadian drafts a forward among Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, Ivan Demidov or Cole Eiserman depending on their availability. The first two are considered power forwards, the third a very talented Russian forward and the fourth a scorer.

(Lottery at the beginning of May, on TVA Sports, first round of the draft on June 28 in Vegas, presented on TVA Sports, second round the next day)

Jake Allen back to normal

After a spectacular start in New Jersey, Jake Allen has cooled off recently. He has won just one of his last four games and allowed 16 goals during that stretch. Kaapo Kahkonen, also obtained from the Sharks at the trade deadline, played in the last game, lost 4-3 to the Rangers on Wednesday. He had gotten a shutout in his previous start. Kahkonen will become an unrestricted free agent, unlike Allen, who has one year remaining on his contract.