Joel Edmundson | “He’s like a brother”

The extension of the blue line of the metro, the Sagrada Familia, the toilet of the media at the training center of the Canadian, out of use since November: so many of these sites of which we never seem to see the end.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

A few weeks ago, we could have added the return of Joel Edmundson to this list of unfinished works. But the wait seems to be coming to an end. Edmundson was again in practice on Friday and did some drills to the left of Chris Wideman. Martin St-Louis did not want to confirm his return, but we feel the imminent outcome.

A reminder of the adventures:

• On September 23, day 1 of the camp, Dominique Ducharme affirms that it is “not something that is very long”, speaking of his injury, the nature of which was not revealed;
• On October 6, “we expect it to be more than two or three weeks”, said the former head coach of CH;
• On November 17, we are told that we will soon participate in morning training;
• Then, on December 6, there was talk of a player almost back “to square one”, due to a back injury.

That didn’t stop Edmundson from exercising an ascendancy over his team. The famous photos of CH recruits dressed as frogmen? It was his initiative. The music that buried the players in their interviews after a victory in Ottawa two weeks ago? Also the work of the great number 44.

For proof of its ascendancy, take the comments of Chris Wideman, yet a newcomer.

Appreciated teammate

Edmundson was one of the obscure heroes of the CH 2021 season. The affection shown to him by his teammates, who nicknamed him “Steady Eddy”, was noticeable. If Jeff Petry presented the best statistics of his career last year, it is in particular thanks to him.

With Edmundson on the ice, five against five, the Habs had scored 45 goals, against only 27 goals for the opponent. That 62.5% goalscoring ratio was second on the team, behind Brendan Gallagher. He was playing an average of 20 min 3 s per game.

It is therefore this player who has missed CH this season, partly because of back pain, partly also because of a family drama, since his father, Bob, died at the beginning of January.

His eventual return therefore enchants his teammates.

“I get chills when I hear that,” Josh Anderson said bluntly. Eddy has quite an impact on our team. It’s been a tough season on and off the ice for him. But to see him again on the same schedule as us, that excites me. The guys are looking forward to his return. »

“Difficult” decisions

Players do well to get excited, because moments of celebration will be rare as the trade deadline approaches.

The problem is that the team we expected to see dynamited looks much better since the arrival of St. Louis behind the bench. This is what led to an interesting comment from Anderson, when asked about the possibility that he was one of the traded players.

Anderson’s comment is interesting because like Edmundson, like Tyler Toffoli (since traded), like Gallagher and Petry, he made a long-term commitment with CH in the fall of 2020, accepting the vision proposed by Marc Bergevin . We guess that this vision did not imply a 2021-2022 season in the cellar and a reconstruction.

Except cold reality being what it is, Kent Hughes doesn’t have to live up to what the old regime promised. Anderson must therefore prepare to say goodbye to teammates. In an interview with our colleague Eric Engels of Sportsnet, Hughes reiterated that Ben Chiarot will be traded by March 21.

Another of these potential targets is Artturi Lehkonen. With his offensive renaissance and his contract expiring this summer, he is obviously an attractive player. After 13 games this season, he had a small point. Here he is with 27 points in his last 41 games.

“Lehky is one of my very good friends. I’ve always enjoyed playing with him,” forward Jake Evans said. Off the ice, he always has fun. He’s been very good this season, he remains defensively responsible and he gets chances to score. And he works hard. »

Like Edmundson and Chiarot, Lehkonen is one of those players with an ascendancy over the group, mainly through his work habits. His sense of humor is also often mentioned, although in this regard, the players have to be taken at their word.

Edmundson won’t leave, but others will pack their bags. Beyond the figures and performances, the decisions that the general manager of the Canadian will take will also have effects in the dynamics of the group. It was Hughes himself who, in an interview with The Press in January, spoke of a lack of leadership.

As Edmundson nears a comeback, with rumors heating up around Lehkonen, it will be interesting to see how the human aspect will factor into the decisions ahead.