Montreal Canadiens: The impact of the trade deadline on the Laval Rocket

The Montreal Canadiens made a set of small moves ahead of the trade deadline that unfortunately took away from the Laval Rocket.

Even though the Laval Rocket are heading towards another playoff-less season, we can’t totally discount how much the Montreal Canadiens affect the roster. Kenny Agostino and Michael Chaput started the season in the AHL and worked their way up to being regulars on the team. However, they were Laval’s best players before the call-up and other players on the roster needed to step up.

Not too much of an issue though. With the young skill on the team, it gave some of the Habs prospects an opportunity to spread their wings a bit. It’s also a two-way street as Montreal has added to Laval’s roster. Karl Alzner has been in the minors for some time now and Xavier Ouellet, who looked to be an option on the third pair, is the Rocket’s captain.

Regardless, Laval hasn’t been having the best season. They’re 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-24-9 record, and the roster was made worse because of the Habs dealings at the deadline.

Former captain Byron Froese was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers (Lehigh Valley Phantoms) along with David Schlemko in exchange for Christian Folin and Dale Weise. Both players are up with the Montreal Canadiens. Moving Schlemko was a win in of itself considering management moved a contract with a relatively high cap hit (as far as contracts in the minors go) for a player in Weise they’d actually use. Even when Weise was down with Laval he produced.

Froese, however, was one of Laval’s better players putting up 14 goals and 16 assists in 46 games.

Later on deadline day, the Montreal Canadiens acquired Jordan Weal in exchange for Chaput. It was good timing for Chaput as he had just come off a three-point weekend, but the Laval lost another good player while Weal is waiting to debut with the Habs. What makes things a little worse is Chaput had another year on his deal and could’ve been an option to help the Rocket break out of their ways and contend for a playoff spot.

To compensate, and look for more talent, Laval has added two players to the team. Marc-Olivier Roy has spent most of the season playing with the Fort Wayne Comets. The centre put up 12 goals and 16 assists in 26 games but also played 12 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves scoring one goal and one assist.

Roy was in the lineup for the team’s game against the Utica Comets two weeks ago and may get more opportunities down the line.

Joe Cox is the recent new name getting signed to an AHL contract. The 25-year-old has been destroying the ECHL and looks ready to make the jump to the next level. Cox put up 54 points in 70 games last season with the Florida Everblades and had 27 goals and 34 assists in 55 games this season.

He’s yet to play a game in the AHL so it’ll be interesting to see how he fairs in the minors.

Laval is always going to lose players at the expense of the Montreal Canadiens. The goal is to develop players to play for the Habs eventually. Although those trades make the team weaker as a whole, it creates more room for the younger talent to spread their wings.

Jake Evans, Lukas Vejdemo, and Cale Fleury are clear examples. Additionally, you never know what a minor league deal can do. Alex Belzile is on one and he leads the team in scoring. Maybe something special can come out of this Cox signing.