Predicting The Montreal Canadiens Final Five Cuts
The Montreal Canadiens preseason schedule will wrap up tonight when they host the Ottawa Senators, and their final roster decisions may not be announced until Tuesday, but their minds will be made up following tonight’s contest.
The Habs still have 28 players at training camp, and will need to trim their roster down to 23 by Tuesday evening. Of those 28 players, 16 are forwards, nine are defencemen and three are goaltenders.
Typically, NHL teams opening night rosters contain 14 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders, meaning the Canadiens will have to trim two players up front, two on the blue line and a goalkeeper.
Up front, there are many locks to be on the roster of course, and my guess is the following players have nothing at all to sweat about over the next few days.
Mac Pacioretty – David Desharnais – P.A. Parenteau
Alex Galchenyuk – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher
Brandon Prust – Manny Malhotra – Dale Weise
The remaining forwards in camp are Jiri Sekac, Michael Bournival, Travis Moen, Jacob De la Rose and Christian Thomas.
On the blue line, the nine skaters left are:
Jarred Tinordi – Darren Dietz
In net, the Habs are still carrying Carey Price, Peter Budaj and Dustin Tokarski.
So,if the Habs want to get down to the typical 14-7-2 formation, we have to decide which two forwards, defencemen and what goaltender gets sent to the Bulldogs.
Sep 26, 2014; Quebec City, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Jiri Sekac (26) celebrates his goal against Colorado Avalanche with teammates left wing Jacob De La Rose (25) and defenseman Darren Dietz (84) during the third period at Colisee Pepsi. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
I think the easiest cuts to make right now are Jacob De la Rose and Darren Dietz. Neither has played so overwhelmingly dominant in camp that they deserve to steal a roster spot from a veteran, both can be sent to the minors without requiring waivers, and neither has much professional experience and can benefit from playing in Hamilton.
The next guy I think will be sent down is Christian Thomas. He has played extremely well in camp, and may take the vacant third line role, but I think Sekac remains the favorite to start the season on Eller’s line. Thomas being sent down gets the Habs to 14 forwards, and he would be the first player I call when an injury occurs and a forward is needed.
On defence, the debate becomes do you want Tinordi or Bouillon to start the season as your extra defender? I think Bouillon is no longer an NHL level defenceman, so I would release him from his tryout and give the job to Tinordi.
However, the Habs may see it differently and send down Tinordi, and sign Bouillon to a deal. This isn’t what I would do, but I really think the Habs are keen on keeping the veteran Bouillon around for another year, which means Tinordi is cut.
With De la Rose, Thomas, Dietz and Bouillon gone, we are down to 24 players and have one more cut to make. On the bubble are Moen, Bournival, and of course Budaj and Tokarski.
The whole backup goaltender debate has been going on all summer, and though Marc Bergevin said the Habs may start the year with all three on the roster, I can’t see them dragging this into the season.
Oct 3, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj (30) covers the puck in front of Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (61) and center Kyle Turris (7) in the third period at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
There is a lot to like about both Tokarski and Budaj, but my guess is the team puts Tokarski on waivers, and tries to sneak him back to the minors for one more season.
With teams around the NHL trying to cut their rosters down as well, waiting until Tuesday to send down Tokarksi would time it perfectly so that there is no room on other teams rosters around the league to claim him.
I am not saying he would definitely make it through waivers, but it may be the only choice the Canadiens have at this point. Carrying three goaltender is far from ideal, and Budaj has been an incredible backup to Price, and an even better teammate while sitting on the bench for 60 games each season.
With the Habs finally playing their last preseason game of the year tonight, there is still an interesting battle going on at each position. Up front, will the last cut be Sekac or Thomas, will Bouillon or Tinordi get cut, and who is the backup goaltender?
We won’t find out the answers to these questions until Tuesday, but my guess is Thomas, Tinordi and Tokarski get bad news in the coming days.