Montreal Canadiens: A possible avenue for Joe Morrow

Claude Julien let reporters know that Joe Morrow will be in as the Montreal Canadiens take on St. Louis which could be an attempt to put him on display.

It looks like Joe Morrow taking turns on the second power play with Victor Mete had some meaning behind it. The 25-year-old will draw back in the lineup for the Montreal Canadiens after missing the past seven games as a healthy scratch. What came as a shock was that it wasn’t Mete who will be sitting out in his place, which has been a go-to move for Julien this season, but instead Jordie Benn.

This won’t be the first time this season where Benn will be catching a game from the press box. The defenceman was also scratched against the Columbus Blue Jackets back in November. Arpon Basu summed up Julien’s comments on the decision saying Benn hasn’t been winning battles or reliable in the defensive zone lately. However, Julien didn’t fail to mention that other players on the team are struggling as well and may take their turn on the carousel.

So it looks like the Habs are trying to re-establish a level of accountability on the team. Good for them. It would’ve helped to do that a little earlier, but better late than never right?

Morrow has been one of the more fascinating players on the Habs this season, mostly because you never know what you’re going to get with him. He’ll have a stretch of games where he looks very comfortable moving the puck and reads plays well in every zone and others that make you very anxious. Like most struggling players in the NHL, the issue for Morrow at times seems to be his confidence, and the only want to improve that is to get him back out there.

If that’s the case, then Julien may still be working on finding a way to bring out Morrow’s ‘first-round pick potential.’ But what if it’s something else?

Ulterior Motives

Are you familiar with the pump and dump move? Some teams acquire a player knowing that they’ll be dealt at the deadline so will do whatever they can to grow their game and make them attractive to the league.

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I doubt that was the Habs’ mentality when they first signed Morrow, but perhaps it could be now.

If management has already decided to move on from the Alberta native in the summer, wouldn’t it make sense to get something for him? With 12 games left until the Trade Deadline, the Habs have a limited amount of time to pump Morrow up, but it could be something.

Keep in mind that’s just wishful thinking. Julien has made it clear that he tries to ice the best team every night and winning a hockey game is most likely his only goal now. Marc Bergevin and the rest of management may have a different idea on the matter, but we’ll never know unless a tell-all book about the Habs’ 2016-17 season comes out in the future.

Next: A Pacioretty Trade is Coming

Is there a market out there for Morrow? What do the Habs do with him at the end of the season? Let us know your thoughts down below.