Montreal Canadiens: An Explanation for the Galchenyuk Flu

The Montreal Canadiens practiced in Brossard on Friday, and Alex Galchenyuk wasn’t there missing it because of flu-like symptoms. Is that really why?

No NHL season is the same. Every year there are things that happen that make fans raise their eyebrows, sometimes just one, and say, “Really?”. That’s a question a lot of Montreal Canadiens fans had when Alex Galchenyuk was missing from practice.

The explanation from Claude Julien was that it was flu-like symptoms that were keeping him off the ice. You can make a couple of inferences from that. A question I have is how long has this flu been going on?

It could explain why Galchenyuk hasn’t been on his game lately. Making mistakes is one thing, but at times he just hasn’t looked engaged. That usual pep in his step that fans have seen for years doesn’t seem to be there anymore save for the third period of the Chicago game.

If we’re taking that as the answer then it would fair to assume that whatever flu he had got worse. Galchenyuk was at practice on Wednesday which coincidently was his “debut” on the fourth line. Of course the flu also could’ve come up later that day or even on Thursday and was intense enough that the team decided that he should take time to rest.

Related Story: Galchenyuk's Confidence Has Taken a Hit

However, Julien also said that Galchenyuk would be a game time decision for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s when some Habs fans scratched their chins and said, “Really?”.

The Controversial Reason

Now making a player a healthy scratch is a double-edged sword, especially if it’s a high-calibre one. On one hand, it sends that player a message that they need to do better. On the other hand, the buzz around that player increases immensely, all for the wrong reasons.

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You’d be living underneath a rock not to know that Galchenyuk always has the microscope on him. In fact, I think that’s one of the main reasons why he is struggling at the moment. So imagine how worse it would be, if the Montreal Canadiens scratched him for a Hockey Night in Canada rivalry game. Reporters would have a field day.

So is it possible that the Habs are using this flu to sit him out? This has been done with other players on other teams before. It’s touchy to use the Leafs as an example, but the team initially said that William Nylander was banged up a bit and didn’t play in a game against the Washington Capitals. Nylander was really struggling defensively around that time, but it would’ve been a lot harder to rebound with the increased media attention from being scratched.

For all we know, it could be harmless and Galchenyuk is literally sneezing up a storm and rubbing Vix on his chest. However, if this was the case, it would make a lot of sense and would benefit the 23-year-old in the long run.

Next: Prospect Tracker: Oct 6th - 12th

Do you think there’s more to this flu? Let us know your thoughts down below.