The Montreal Canadiens are heading into a roster size problem

2) Are the Montreal Canadiens running into a roster size problem? And if so, who should be moved to make everything fit?

SC: During this year’s NHL trade deadline, it was clear the Canadiens were going to be sellers, not buyers, shipping away players for picks, realizing they were out of the playoff picture. Typically, when teams are stuck in this scenario, they’ll go with a more what do we have to lose lineup, giving promising prospects and minor league players a shot in the big leagues.

Dale Weise, Jake Evans, and even Karl Alzner all fall into this category, and with this potential playoff format, the Canadiens should restructure their roster accordingly. Having a defence-first mentality based around Carey Price could work in this regard, and creating a good mix of these more promising AHLers and proven NHL veterans could help this further.

However, I still think players like Weise should be sent down, as I don’t think they’ve shown enough to be worth sticking with the team through this playoff run. It’s simply a matter of deciding who you think fits best into the system you choose to go with.

EL: As mentioned before, the Canadiens find themselves in a play-in series vs the Pittsburgh Penguins and will need to field a line up ready to try and pull off an upset. At that point and time, they will need to rethink their 4th line because that line is basically a line you would see in Laval. I really think they need to reevaluate having a line of Weise, Evans and Vejdemo, which was the 4th line played in their last game before the pause against Nashville. I also think Alzner on the back end is not the right fit and should be scratched or sent to Laval.

OW: Even after this season, where the likes of Weise and Christian Folin will be gone, the Montreal Canadiens are going to have more bodies than they can allow. For starters, there’s been ongoing talk that Ilya Kovalchuk and Nate Thompson will be back. That would lock up a spot on the wing as well as the fourth-line centre position.

Charles Hudon moving on frees up a spot, but Marc Bergevin will need to find something to do with Jordan Weal. Everything is easier if Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling spend the entire season in the AHL, but that does handcuff some options, especially if one of or both walk into training camp drastically improved.

What about the season after? Say Kotkaniemi and Poehling are ready for the full-time gig while Cole Caufield and Jesse Ylonen can make a splash?

Players will need to start moving around to make room for the younger talent. The depth players on one-year deals are one thing, but it will come down to the point where either an older vet is kept in place of a younger player or vice versa. This could be what has a player like Paul Byron leave the organization.