Montreal Canadiens: Chris Terry ends season as the league’s top scorer

Similarly to the Montreal Canadiens, the Laval Rocket ended their season with a loss against Toronto, but Chris Terry walked away as the league’s top scorer.

It wasn’t a finish as dramatic as the Montreal Canadiens season, but it’s finally over for the Laval Rocket. Unfortunately, it took a 12-game losing streak to get to it. However, an end is an end. Decisions and evaluations are the tip of the iceberg of what needs to happen over the summer. There were some positives to take out of the final stretch in Laval, one of which being Chris Terry.

With the sole assist on Adam Cracknell‘s powerplay goal late in the third period, Terry recorded his 71st point of the season. Phil Varone, who’s been in direct competition with the 29-year-old for the scoring title, sat out of Leigh Valley’s final game of the season making top spot free to jump into. Austin Czarnik may take it seeing as he’s sitting at 68 points with one game remaining, but the odds favour the Rocket’s top point-getter.

Terry’s final numbers are 32 goals and 39 assists in 71 games (1.15 point-per-game pace). Further breaking it down, 14 of them came on the man advantage while only one shorthanded.

It’s easy to look at Terry’s production and shrug considering the performance of the team as a whole, but he’s had an impressive year. The question now is what the next step for him is? Terry was on his second of one-year deals with the Montreal Canadiens.

The first saw him finish second in AHL scoring with 30 goals and 38 assists in 58 games. He also played in 14 games for the Montreal Canadiens that season putting up two goals and two assists. Based on his scoring ability, Terry will most likely be looking for a job in the NHL with his next contract. No general manager will guarantee roster spots to a player, but that doesn’t look a possibility with the Habs.

Other younger names would see a look on the Montreal Canadiens ahead of him despite the raw skill. Jèrèmy Grègoire is an example and is also in need of a new deal if he’s still in the team’s plans.

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Laval could definitely use the Brampton native’s talents next season, but at the same time, he may feel like he’s done with the AHL. If this is the end of the Terry in the Habs organization, it was a good run. Other players on the team will have to step up to fill the scoring void that he will take with him to his next city.