Montreal Canadiens: More Cuts From Training Camp Are Coming

The Montreal Canadiens cut four players after their loss to the Ottawa Senators, and more will be coming, perhaps sooner than later.

It started with 61 players, and by October 5th, it has to be 23. Having all those players at the Montreal Canadiens training camp was interesting in that there were more possibilities for some interesting storylines.

Could Martin Rèway build up his conditioning enough to play for the team? Who will be Shea Weber‘s defence partner? How will Jonathan Drouin adapt to being an NHL centerman. As the days get closer to the regular season, Habs management has been removing players from its roster in waves.

The most recent series of cuts happened after their loss to the Ottawa Senators. Jèrèmy Grègoire, Daniel Audette, David Broll, and Brett Lernout were all reassigned to the Laval Rocket. The other three made sense, but Lernout being included was surprising, He’s had a pretty solid camp, and looked to be considered a candidate to push for a roster spot. It looks like the Canadiens would rather have him dominate in the AHL and be available to be called up.

Related Story: Prospect Competition at Training Camp

Another reason why these cuts in particular were surprising is because they weren’t the ones expected. Many, including myself, thought players like Peter Holland, Joseph Morrow, and Michael McCarron would be cut. These three are examples of a lot of players still on the roster who have yet to stand out positively.

When you think about it, there are still preseason games left. Claude Julien probably doesn’t want to wear out his main roster too much and will have those other guys as fill ins.

Who will be the next to be cut and will they always be at the end of a game?

Future Cuts

Brandon Davidson had a pretty bad game against the Senators. In the battle for the bottom pairing, his name has usually been left out, and for good reason. He didn’t do too much to standout at the end of last season, and his play as of late hasn’t helped him. Julien still believes that there is something more.

What if he’s not better? What if this is what he is? If that’s the case then there’s no way there could be any room for him. However, in terms of cuts, the next wave will probably be those players who are not showing that they want to be around.

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Targets are set on Nikita Scherbak, Michael McCarron, and Jacob de La Rose. These three haven’t done much to prove that they want to be in the NHL. In comparison, look at Charles Hudon. All he’s been doing since training camp started is impress the Habs coaching staff.

The next wave could also go to the players who have been continuously making the game-costing mistakes. Joseph Morrow, Matt Taormina, and Peter Holland come to mind here. There’s still hope that Morrow can round out his game and become more responsible, but everyone has their limit.

That being said, when it comes to cuts, the players on entry-level-contracts will be cut before the ones who require waivers. This could be another reason why Lernout was included in the latest wave. Even though some of them have been under performing, other teams may find value in a handful of them and pick them up before they can clear and report to the Laval Rocket.

As it stands now, there aren’t going to be any surprises. Save for the decision regarding Victor Mete and Jakub Jerabek, we pretty much know what the line combinations will look like. There are some on the roster who are slowly crawling into Julien’s doghouse, and they could be cut sooner than later.

Next: Losing Players on Waivers

Who do you think are the next players to be cut? Let us know what you think in the comments.