Have Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton had enough of the gags about their 146-player training camp? We’re exaggerating, but the fact remains that the Canadian camp shifts into another gear starting Monday.
Thirty-five players were cut on Saturday, mainly in preparation for the opening of Rocket camp on Monday. And Sunday afternoon, the ax made a 36e and a 37e victim, Lias Andersson and Philippe Maillet, subject to waiver. Unless there is a huge surprise, they will not be claimed there. Monday at 2 p.m., once their 24 hours on waivers have expired, they can be transferred to the Rocket.
Assuming that Maillet and Andersson have left, there are 31 players left in camp, including four injured. The teams must present, on the eve of the opening match, a roster that includes between 20 and 23 healthy players; the list of injured is counted separately. Here’s a look at the forces present for this last week of camp.
Guardians (4)
Jake Allen
Samuel Montembeault
Cayden Primeau
Carey Price (injured)
We write that there are four, because Carey Price’s contract remains valid. He will simply spend the season on the long-term injured list. In interview at The Press, Gorton, the Habs’ executive vice-president of hockey operations, mentioned that the team was ready to start the season with three goalies in the lineup. The idea: not to run the risk of losing Primeau on waivers, because he will have to go through waivers if the team wants to sell him to Laval. It’s been an adventure at times, but the fact remains that Primeau leads the CH goaltenders in camp with an average of 2.05 and an efficiency of .932 in a game and a half. Jake Allen (.833) had the worst efficiency, but he only played 30 minutes. Samuel Montembeault (average of 4.19, efficiency of .848) hardly shows better figures, but he was entitled to 70 minutes of play.
Defenders (11)
Justin Barron*
Kaiden Guhle*
Jordan Harris*
Johnathan Kovacevic
Gustav Lindström
Logan Mailloux*
Mike Matheson (injured)
Mattias Norlinder*
David Savard
Chris Wideman (injured)
Arber Xhekaj*
Wideman has yet to be seen on skates, so he will likely begin the season on the injured list. Matheson (lower body) missed three days in camp, but skated solo on Saturday. His file is to be followed. Here, no fear of losing a player on waivers: six of the nine healthy defenders do not need to go on waivers! This status weakens candidacies like those of Norlinder and Barron, who were not stellar. The presence of Mailloux at this point in the camp is intriguing. The young man needs mileage, we often hear, and despite the opening of the Rocket camp, we estimate that he can earn this mileage with the big club for the moment.
Forwards (16)
Josh Anderson
Joel Armia
Cole Caufield
Kirby Dach
Christian Dvorak (injured)
Jake Evans
Brendan Gallagher
Rafael Harvey-Pinard*
Emil Heineman*
Sean Monahan
Alex Newhook
Tanner Pearson
Michael Pezzetta
Juraj Slafkovsky*
Nick Suzuki
Jesse Ylonen
Dvorak has until November, Hughes said at the start of camp. There are therefore 15 of them fighting immediately, for 12 permanent positions and, at best, one reservist position, given the surpluses in the other two positions. Heineman played “his best game” on Saturday, said St-Louis, but the bar was not very high, one might have added. In a context of surplus, it is difficult to argue that he has done enough to provoke the proverbial difficult decisions. The fact that he is exempt from waivers could well seal his fate. Slafkovsky and Harvey-Pinard can also be submitted directly to Laval. But Gorton told La Presse that a stay with the Rocket was not in the cards for the big Slovak. Harvey-Pinard now has a one-way contract and he played his two games on Dach’s wing. This sounds like the treatment of an NHL player. If it is necessary to cut elsewhere, Ylönen and Pezzetta are the players with the most fragile status, but the team will perhaps fear losing them on waivers. A higher-paid player like Armia could go on waivers without fear of being claimed, but trading a veteran in the American League is always tricky. The Finn, however, had only one match – quiet, we agree – to do himself justice.
The schedule
The Canadian only has two games on the agenda this week: Monday in Toronto and Saturday in Ottawa. In between, a three-day stay in Mont-Tremblant to hold some training sessions. The Habs will begin their season on October 11 in Toronto.
*: players who do not have to go on waivers if they are transferred to the American League