Morning Habits: One month until things get started for the Habs

With August getting started, there’s only another month before the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the league gear up for the 2019-20 season.

It’s hard not to think the NHL offseason is in its dog days when it comes to excitement. There have been some interesting trades and signings including the Montreal Canadiens bringing in Ben Chiarot and Nick Cousins, but August is when things truly slow down.

July at least had the opening of the free-agent market and an offer sheet attempt. The only thing August brings is the end of salary arbitration hearings on the 4th and the expiration of any unsigned college-drafted players on the 15th. Marc Bergevin took care of the arbitration causes before it went in front of a third party signing Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, and Charles Hudon to contracts.

As far as the college front goes, the Habs have only Nikolas Koberstein expiring. Koberstein was a fifth-round pick from 2014 and completed his final year at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Despite playing nine games in the ECHL with the Kansas City Mavericks and scoring his first professional goal, it looks as if the Montreal Canadiens are ready to pass on him.

Besides that, the clock continues to tick until September.

August is generally the month of PTOs, and there haven’t been too many announced as of yet. The Montreal Canadiens brought Simon Desprès to camp last year in an effort to get back in the league after a year in the KHL. Desprès couldn’t keep up, and he wound up signing an AHL contract with the Laval Rocket.

The Habs have more than enough depth at their disposal both in the AHL and NHL. PTOs could add more warm bodies for training camp, but the battles have been set for roster spots already.

Maybe August brings something exciting with it. For now, it feels like these next four weeks will countdown slowly leading up to training camp.

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