Montreal Canadiens: Jakub Jerabek needs to get called up

The Montreal Canadiens will have to make a decision on Jakub Jerabek considering the European clause the 26-year-old has on his contract.

One of the key points from a past 31 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman was the mystery around Nikita Soshnikov. Apparently, the 24-year-old had a clause in his contract such that if he wasn’t called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs by November 14th, he could return to the KHL on loan. The Leafs have since called Soshnikov up, but the Montreal Canadiens will be facing the same problem soon.

Jakub Jerabek was the team’s big overseas free agent. A lot of fans were looking forward to what he could do based on his style as a puck-moving defenceman and his 34 points in 59 games with Vityaz Podolsk. Unfortunately, it’s taken a while for Jerabek to adjust to the North American game, and that was part of the reason why he was sent down to the AHL.

The 26-year-old has played 14 games with the Laval Rocket and has looked a lot better. Not only does he have a goal and eleven assists, but his position and confidence are improving every night. Similar to Soshnikov, Jerabek has the same clause in his contract.

Pierre Lebrun mentioned on Insider Trading Thursday night that the Montreal Canadiens will have until December 15th before Jerabek could return to the KHL.

This is a problem. Not so much because we’re not sure whether Jerabek can keep up at the NHL level, but because of the logjam on the blue line.

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The Habs have seven defencemen on their roster. A recovering David Schlemko makes it eight, and he’s yet to make his debut with the Habs. Marc Bergevin could either talk to Jerabek and get him to stay in Laval past the deadline, or make a move to free up space.

Shea Weber and Victor Mete are untouchables on the team. Karl Alzner and Jeff Petry are protected from their no-trade and no-movement clauses respectfully. There are lists of teams both need to provide at the beginning of the season, so it’s possible something can be done with those two, especially with how poorly they’ve played.

The move may come from one of Joseph Morrow, Brandon Davidson, or Jordie Benn.

Another thing that may be unfortunate if Jerabek is called up is that he’s currently playing top line minutes in Laval. He may not play as high or at all if the Habs decide to make the transaction. Claude Julien has given players on the team chances to make an impact hence Mete on the team, so it’s possible that he’s given room to grow at the NHL level.

Montreal still has a little under a month to make a decision, and it’ll be interesting to see what they end up doing.

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Do you think the Habs will call Jerabek up? Who gets moved to make room for him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.