Montreal Canadiens: The Daniel Carr conundrum needs a solution

After seeing Daniel Carr be one of the few Montreal Canadiens to play with some fire last night, management needs to decide what the plan will be for him.

Daniel Carr drew back in the lineup for the first time in six games for the Montreal Canadiens in last night’s game in Arizona. Coincidentally, he was one of the few players to actually show up to said game. Claude Julien revealed the roster change before puck drop, which included Jacob de La Rose. Nicolas Deslauriers and Byron Froese watched from the press box in a move that Julien said was to, “evaluate all staff before making a decision.”

We know how the game went by now. The Coyotes scored five, and the Habs scored two which getting one of them in the third period. Ironically, the fourth line as a whole looked better and had more jump. It’s not the first time Carr has had that kind of affect on his linemates this season which further makes it frustrating to see him get scratched for long stretches.

The 26-year-old now has four goals and seven assists to his name. They’re not mind-boggling numbers but the things he does away from the puck make him a good addition to one’s bottom six. I know that sounded like a ‘perhaps should trade him’ sentence before, and it kind of is.

Carr should be someone the Habs keep in the long run, but Julien’s evaluation comment triggers some internal debates. Not to mention his contract status may change if he doesn’t play more.

Capfriendly revealed a list of players who may become Group VI UFAs. There are different circumstances to this, but in general, it’s a player who is 25 years old or older and has played less than 80 NHL games. Even though Carr is set to become an RFA at the end of the season, if he doesn’t play six more NHL games, he’ll fall into that category and will be free to leave in July.

There’s not really a guarantee of whether that happens. At this point, it’s a simple ultimatum: play Carr or trade Carr. The temptations of free agency from other teams may pull Carr to another organization if he gets there. Like I said earlier, there is value of having a player like him in the fold.

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The Habs can’t afford to lose players for free, so Julien is right, they absolutely have to deeply evaluate who they have and move on from the ones who aren’t that important to the program. If Carr is deemed as someone they keep, Froese or Logan Shaw have to go. However, if there won’t be any room for him, then he has to go.

Keep in mind; spots will be lost once Phillip Danault and Andrew Shaw return from injury. Unfortunately, the Habs don’t have time to wait either. There are only five games left for Montreal between now and the deadline, and that would bring Carr to 79 if he played all of them. You can consider that you’re Happy Gilmore moment (sooo close).

It’ll be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out. Odds are one of Froese, L. Shaw, or even de La Rose are moved. But you never know when it comes to the Habs anymore. If the Toronto Maple Leafs can get a fourth-round pick for someone who only played three games in Nikita Soshnikov then why can’t Montreal get value for any of these players?

Next: Bergevin Has To Consider All Options

Who do you think will be moved of those four players? Is there a future for Carr in Montreal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.