The Montreal Canadiens took a flyer on Simon Desprès, and after rejecting an AHL contract earlier in the season, he’s back for another shot at redemption.
The Simon Despres era has now gone half circle. The Montreal Canadiens got the professional tryout season started last summer adding the 27-year-old to their training camp roster. Despres was coming off a KHL year with the Bratislava Slovan and had eyes to return to the NHL for the first time since October of 2016, and the Habs would’ve been his vehicle to do so.
Unfortunately, training camp didn’t go as well as he would’ve liked. Despres’ skating stood out, but his decision-making at times led to grade A scoring chances against. He was, however, one of the last few players to remain on the training camp roster.
Performances from Xavier Ouellet and Mike Reilly throughout pushed Despres down the totem pole and the most he could’ve gotten from the Montreal Canadiens was an AHL contract. The Laval native took some time to think about it but eventually rejected the offer choosing for more options to play in North America.
That was in September. Fast forward two months, and there is a new story as Despres was signed to a tryout with the Laval Rocket on Sunday.
«Une journée à la fois, je suis venu ici pour m'améliorer et travailler fort.» - Simon Després pic.twitter.com/lno9J5M3EK
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) December 3, 2018
He told Laval media after the signing that he would be taking things one step at a time acknowledging the opportunity ahead.
It’ll be an interesting development for Despres as he starts a new path in his hometown of Laval. The Rocket has taken a few hits to their blueline through injuries (Gustav Olofsson) and call-ups (Brett Kulak) and could use a fresh body on the backend, especially one with NHL experience. Recent additions in Karl Alzner and Victor Mete add that already, and Despres could shore up that left side.
The downside to this is, similar to last time with the Montreal Canadiens, there aren’t any guarantees. Despres chose to reject the contract offer he had with the Rocket in September and will need to work towards earning a new one. That said, challenges build character, and given everything he’s been through in combination with his drive to succeed, working to combat them shouldn’t be an issue.
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