Montreal Canadiens: Who Will Be Odd Man Out When Jesperi Kotkaniemi Returns?
The Montreal Canadiens will have a difficult roster decision to make when Jesperi Kotkaniemi returns to the lineup. He is reportedly due back very soon so we should see a roster move in the near future.
The Montreal Canadiens have not made many roster moves yet this season. We are now 17 games into the season which is about 20% of their schedule in the books. Yet, we haven’t seen much in the way of roster changes. Of the 23 players who were on the opening night roster, none of them have been traded and none of them have even been demoted to the minors.
The only real change we have seen to the Habs roster has been the addition of Ryan Poehling. He was called up a week ago when Jesperi Kotkaniemi was placed on the injured reserve with a sore groin.
Kotkaniemi’s injury isn’t serious and he is due back very soon. He could play the Habs next game which is Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. If he is going to play that game, someone is going to have to be removed from the Canadiens roster before Tuesday evening.
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One candidate to be sent down would be Poehling since he was essentially called up to fill in for Kotkaniemi. However, Poehling played well enough in training camp to earn a role with the team, and has played well enough during his first few games filling in for Kotkaniemi to earn a longer audition.
If not Poehling, who is going to be removed from the roster in the next few days? Jordan Weal could be the one to go. He has been a healthy scratch for seven games this season and has only been in the lineup for two of the Habs last eight contests. He has three points in the ten games he has played.
If it is not going to be Weal, it could be one of the Canadiens extra defenders that is shipped out of town. Most teams around the league carry seven defencemen on their roster but the Habs have had eight since the beginning of the year.
Of those eight, Brett Kulak, Mike Reilly, Cale Fleury and Christian Folin have spent time in the press box. Fleury, a 20 year old has only been scratched five times and is playing better and better lately. Kulak has been sat out eight times and Reilly nine. Folin has the most scratches by far with 12 already this season.
If the Canadiens are going to activate Kotkaniemi in time for Tuesday’s game they are going to have to move someone off the roster. If that player requires waivers before being sent down, he would have to be placed on waivers on Monday and then assigned to the Laval Rocket after he clears at lunch time on Tuesday.
It’s possible we could see a trade of some sort before Tuesday’s game, but I would guess that Folin will be the odd man out. The Habs already have another spare defender on the roster in Mike Reilly. Even if they lose Folin on waivers for nothing, they could turn to Noah Juulsen if they need another right defenceman in the future.
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Somebody has to leave the team in the next few days to make room for Kotkaniemi. We could see Poehling sent back down, or a trade of Weal or Reilly but I will be keeping an eye on the Monday waiver wire at noon eastern to see if Christian Folin’s name appears.