The Montreal Canadiens made the final cuts to finalize their roster yesterday. However, they still have a crowded blue line and will need to sort it out in the near future.
The Montreal Canadiens finalized their roster to begin the 2019-20 season yesterday. They put a number of veterans on waivers, including Matthew Peca, Dale Weise, Karl Alzner and Charles Hudon. They also chose to keep Cale Fleury and Nick Suzuki who made the roster as 20 year old rookies.
That left them with one cut left to make and they elected to send down Ryan Poehling. Poehling had a great camp as well, but missed time with a concussion. The limited time on the ice ultimately made it an easy decision for the Habs to let him start the year in the minors.
With Poehling being the last player cut, the Canadiens currently have 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders on their NHL roster. Normally, the Canadiens would carry 14 forwards and seven defenders.
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Having two extra defenders on the roster makes for a crowded blue line. Especially when you consider that Noah Juulsen has been back skating and hopefully will soon return from injury that has limited him from the beginning of training camp. Like Poehling, Juulsen would need some time in the minor leagues before putting on the Canadiens jersey again, but he played well last season and is ready for an NHL role when healthy.
A healthy Juulsen returning to the lineup would give the Habs nine defenders at the NHL level. Making the blue line more crowded than expected was the great play of Cale Fleury during training camp that earned him a surprising role on the opening roster.
It appears Fleury will play opening night on the third pairing with Brett Kulak. Victor Mete, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot make up the top four. Veterans Mike Reilly and Christian Folin are likely to be the healthy scratches after disappointing preseason performances. Carrying both of them on the roster is not ideal. If Fleury plays well and the defenders stay healthy, it will be difficult to get either of them in the lineup.
With Juulsen hopefully inching closer to a return, there is really no need to hang on to both Reilly and Folin. Even if Juulsen remains on the injured reserve, there is not much room for both Folin and Reilly.
The Canadiens avoided placing another player on waivers by sending Poehling down instead of shipping out a veteran defender. With Juulsen injured, and Fleury just 20 years old and having no NHL experience, I would think the Habs elected to keep both Reilly and Folin in case Juulsen does not return soon and Fleury struggles once the regular season begins.
Not many teams around the league carry two extra defenders, and I wouldn’t expect the Canadiens to do it for long. If Fleury struggles early on, he will be sent down to the Laval Rocket, which does not require exposure to waivers. If Fleury plays well early in the regular season, it would be bad news for Reilly and Folin.
I think the Habs will go with this roster configuration to begin the season, but just until they have a better read on what Fleury brings to the lineup. If they can count on him to play every day, Folin and Reilly will be shopped for a late draft pick. If a trade can not be worked out, I would expect to see one of them on waivers and sent to the Rocket, which would make room for Ryan Poehling to be called up.
The 13 forward and eight defenseman roster is a bit of an odd one. But I do not think we will see the Canadiens keep it that way for very long. The better Fleury plays, the quicker a veteran defenseman “safety net” will be shipped out.