The Montreal Canadiens traded for Gustav Olofsson over a year ago. Injuries have prevented him from being able to prove himself at all in the Habs organization.
The Montreal Canadiens acquired Gustav Olofsson from the Minnesota Wild at the start of last season. They sent Will Bitten to the Wild in an effort to add some insurance to their left defence. With Victor Mete, Mike Reilly, Xavier Ouellet, David Schlemko, Karl Alzner and Jordie Benn signed as left defenders, there were more questions than answers at that position.
Olofsson was originally taken in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Wild. He had a decent showing for Colorado College the following season in the NCAA and was great for Sweden at the World Juniors scoring five points in seven games.
Olofsson signed his entry-level contract with the Wild following his Freshman season. The injury bug started to bite almost immediately.
More from Habs News
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
He played just one game in the 2014-15 season because of shoulder surgery. The following season he played a total of 54 games split between Minnesota and their AHL affiliate in Iowa. That season ended prematurely because he needed surgery on his other shoulder.
In 2016-17, Olofsson got into a combined 72 games between the NHL and AHL but once again, his season ended when he tore ligaments in his knee. The next season he played 41 games with Minnesota but was sidelined for the other half of the season due to a concussion.
Last season, Olofsson was dealt to the Habs on October 3rd, just as the season was about to begin. He was sent to the Laval Rocket but figured to have a prominent role in the AHL with an opportunity to earn a promotion with solid play.
However, the injury bug just wouldn’t leave him alone and after playing just two games with Laval he was shut down for the season due to yet another shoulder surgery. All summed up, he has played just 170 games in the past five seasons. That is just over two full seasons worth of games played in five years. He is injured nearly 60% of the time.
It was announced yesterday when the Canadiens hit the ice for the first time that Olofsson would not be joining them. He is out indefinitely once again with a shoulder injury.
It is a shame as Olofsson always shows a steady presence on the ice when he is healthy. He is one of those players that doesn’t do any one thing extremely well, but he doesn’t really struggle in any aspect of the game either.
He was always known to be a steady two-way defender who is a good skater and can move the puck up ice with ease. He’s not the most physical defender but plays a smart. positional game that allows him to keep opponent’s from creating chances with any regularity.
However, it could be a while before we see him back on the ice. He signed a one year contract extension with the Canadiens in June and at this point, you just hope he can healthy again and don’t even expect him to factor into the Habs future plans.