Montreal Canadiens Charles Hudon Deserves Another Chance Next Year

The Montreal Canadiens had a lot of things go right this season. One player that underperformed was Charles Hudon. Though the roster is becoming crowded, he deserves another chance to prove himself.

The Montreal Canadiens made a shrewd draft choice when they took Charles Hudon in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He was coming off a 25 goal and 66 point season in 59 games with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

It was a slow, but steady climb for the Alma, Quebec native. He played two more seasons in Junior, combining for 147 points in 113 games with the Sagueneens and Baie-Comeau Drakkar. He capped off his Junior career with 21 points in 22 games, losing in the QMJHL final.

Hudon then played most of the next three seasons in the American Hockey League. He quickly established himself as a solid pro player by scoring 19 goals and 57 points in 75 games as an AHL rookie in 2014-15.

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Though he played well as a 20-year old rookie, Hudon would play two more full seasons in the AHL. He scored 28 goals and 53 points in 67 games in 2015-16 and then added 27 goals and 49 points in 56 contests the following year.

Hudon would finally crack the Montreal Canadiens lineup in 2017-18. Though he didn’t light up the scoreboard, he tallied a respectable ten goals and 20 assists in 73 games. It seemed Hudon displayed a solid enough two-way game that he was sure to be a full-time NHLer for the foreseeable future.

However, this season saw him suit up for just 32 games and score a measly three goals and five points. He was a healthy scratch for more games than he dressed and was banished to the press box for every game after February 19th.

It wasn’t exactly the sophomore season we all expected from the 24-year-old. It is bad timing for Hudon as he heads into the offseason without a contract as a restricted free agent. All of the equity he built up coming through the system has pretty much vanished due to 32 games this season.

However, I don’t think it is time for the Canadiens to give up on the homegrown talent. Hudon was visibly emotional discussing his disappointing season on locker clean-out day. He heads into the summer knowing he is running out of chances to play for the team he grew up admiring.

Not to make excuses for Hudon, but he wasn’t exactly given the best opportunity to put up points. His most frequent linemates this season were Matthew Peca and Nic Deslauriers. Those two players are unlikely to crack the NHL lineup in the fall and frequently joined Hudon on the list of healthy scratches late in the season.

I’m not suggesting the Canadiens should hand over a long term deal to Hudon. However, following his five-point season he does not have much trade value. They would be lucky to get a fifth-round pick back for him at this point. There’s really no reason to trade him due to the low return.

I would definitely offer Hudon a qualifying offer to retain his rights. Based on his age and last year’s modest $650,000 salary, his qualifying offer would be $715,000. He would likely sign that offer and come to camp extremely motivated knowing that he could be entering his last training camp with the Montreal Canadiens.

Worst case scenario at that point would be he doesn’t make the team and needs to be put on waivers, and lost to another team for nothing. It’s possible at the start of the season he passes through waivers and could head to the Laval Rocket and be a leader for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in several years.