The Montreal Canadiens have dealt with plenty of injuries this season. It sounds like news could be coming soon on Victor Mete and of course, it is not good news.
The Montreal Canadiens have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season. They started the year healthy and played well, going 11-5-3 in their first 19 games with a mostly healthy lineup. Then the injuries piled up and so did the losses.
The Habs lost both Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron in that 19th game of the season which was a statement win over the Washington Capitals. It was supposed to put the Habs firmly in the contender bracket of the league standings, but here we are on trade deadline day and the team is selling every free agent on the roster.
Drouin and Byron were just the top of the iceberg when it came to injuries. Shea Weber, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher all missed significant time this season. Victor Mete also missed a few games, but it appears he could miss many more in the coming weeks.
Mete was injured on Tuesday night when he blocked a shot against the Detroit Red Wings. He left that game without returning and then sat out as the Canadiens played the Capitals and Ottawa Senators in the last few days.
It sounds like bad news could be coming very soon for Mete. He has already missed a week so it is no surprise that he is dealing with something more than a bruise. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Mete could be dealing with a broken foot and we will hear an update on his status today.
I feel we’re going to have more today on Victor Mete. Could be a broken foot. @CanadiensMTL
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) February 24, 2020
It is disappointing news for sure, and we await an official confirmation from the team but it looks like we won’t see Mete any time soon. A broken foot typically takes six to eight weeks to recover from which beings us to the end of March or into April. The Habs season will end on April 4th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There is no need to rush Mete back as the team will not be battling for a playoff spot at that time. The Habs are selling assets today as we have already seen Marco Scandella, Ilya Kovalchuk and Nate Thompson moved leading up to this afternoon’s trade deadline.
With these bodies moving out and some needing recovery time before they can play, the Canadiens may need to add a player or two just to ice a team for the final six weeks of the season.