Montreal Canadiens: Olivier Galipeau’s move from the Habs to the Bruins

REGINA, SK - MAY 19: Samuel Asselin #28 celebrates a goal with Jordan Maher #16 and Olivier Galipeau #26 of Acadie-Bathurst Titan against the Swift Current Broncos at the Brandt Centre on May 19, 2018 in Regina, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)
REGINA, SK - MAY 19: Samuel Asselin #28 celebrates a goal with Jordan Maher #16 and Olivier Galipeau #26 of Acadie-Bathurst Titan against the Swift Current Broncos at the Brandt Centre on May 19, 2018 in Regina, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

2018 Memorial Cup champion Olivier Galipeau was expected to attend the Montreal Canadiens development camp but later wound up with the Boston Bruins.

When the Montreal Canadiens released their roster for development camp, there were two omissions that caught people’s attention. The first was goaltender Samuel Harvey who Jérôme Bérubé – QMJHL scout for hockeyprospects.com – linked to the Habs in a tweet. The second was Acadie-Bathurst Titan defenceman Olivier Galipeau.

Harvey was later revealed to be added to the team’s list wearing number 40 at camp. However, the same couldn’t be said for Galipeau.

TVA Sports reporter Mikaël Lalancette announced on Twitter that the 21-year-old would join on a try-out basis. But things got complicated once this started to flow around.

It’s hard to say that it was a tough loss for the Montreal Canadiens as they didn’t necessarily have him, but the situation was weird nonetheless. How could Galipeau be at the Boston Bruins camp when we thought earlier that the Habs would be his destination.

Lalanecette clarified the three-piece story. Olivier expected to be at Montreal’s development camp, but the Bruins came in last minute with a contract offer. It’ll be a one-year deal in the AHL with the Providence Bruins according to WEEI Sports Radio Network.

Should Marc Bergevin have sent a deal Olivier’s way? Maybe. The plan could’ve been to see what he’s capable of first hand before making that decision and offer the Montreal native an offer afterwards. Overage seasons are hard to track, and you can never be sure. On the other hand, it may have been a risk worth taking. One year isn’t too much of a commitment.

Surely other players at camp will stand out. Olivier is a good player, but the Habs have to focus on the names they have in front of them.

In Case You Missed It

Breaking down this year’s development camp tryouts

The Montreal Canadiens will have a good bunch of tryouts at development camp, and we looked at each of them and what they can bring to the table.

The Max Pacioretty trade that almost happened

Montreal almost sent Max Pacioretty to the New York Islanders in a pathway that would eventually lead to Ryan O’Reilly with the Habs. Unfortunately (depending on who you ask), it didn’t happen.

Next: What to look for from the camp tryouts

Morning Links

Why the language question has no place in an evaluation of the Canadiens’ draft record (The Athletic)

The Montreal Canadiens proved with the way they performed at the draft this year that where a player was from wasn’t the more important thing.

Fonstad excited and relieved to be heading to Montreal

Cole Fonstad may possibly be a sleeper pick for the Habs and looks to be excited to be part of the organization.