Montreal Canadiens: The future of Tomas Tatar and Jeff Petry

The Montreal Canadiens have upcoming decisions ahead, including how to improve the Laval Rocket, what to do with Tomas Tatar, Jeff Petry and Claude Julien.

1) Are the Laval Rocket ready to contend for a playoff spot and eventual championship?

Elias Laradi: At this present point and time, the Laval Rocket are coming close, but due to a lack of depth on the Montreal Canadiens roster, most of its good players are with the big club. Once Montreal figures out it issues and has a more stable line up that will give the opportunity to Laval to be a force in the AHL. Laval is still a great place for young players who start with the Habs but still need time to develop and grow to their full potential.

Sebastian High: I sure hope the Rocket can make the postseason in 2021. It has been far too long since the Habs’ AHL affiliate has been competitive, and I do actually believe that Laval will see playoff hockey next season. They should have solid goaltending with Cayden Primeau leading the charge and with one of Lindgren, McNiven and Demchenko taking the bulk of the remaining starts. While losing Alzner will be a huge relief for the Canadien’s Salary Cap structure, it will hurt the Rocket.

However, with Romanov’s arrival, Laval should gain a decent defenseman, whether it be Romanov himself or the player forced to vacate his NHL spot. With Josh Brook, Xavier Ouelette, Otto Leskinen, Gustav Olofsson, and one of Noah Juulsen and Cale Fleury, Laval’s blue line will be in good hands. The biggest turnover from this past season should be seen on offence, where the additions of Cam Hillis and Jesse Ylonen should increase the scoring threat. The return of Joel Teasdale should also not be discounted, and with Ryan Poehling and potentially Jesperi Kotkaniemi remaining in Laval, the makings of a playoff team are set.