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What if the Montreal Canadiens plan to rely on rookies and sophomores?

By Omar L

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 14: Jake Evans #71 and Alex Belzile #60 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrate after Joel Armia (not pictured) #40 scored a goal on Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 14, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 14: Jake Evans #71 and Alex Belzile #60 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrate after Joel Armia (not pictured) #40 scored a goal on Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 14, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – JANUARY 11: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

Getting into the sophomores points me right to Ryan Poehling and Cale Fleury. Even though he didn’t get any games in the playoffs, Fleury did play 41 games making the Habs out of camp. He is definitely ahead of Josh Brook in the value department as he looked comfortable playing in those games despite having a stretch of overwhelming. Room is the biggest factor, but a pairing of Romanov and Fleury would be an interesting experiment (despite coming at the cost of Victor Mete out of the lineup).

Poehling is another story. It was disappointing that he didn’t get a look in the playoffs and that it was a self-inflicted reason. And with question marks around the AHL, there’s a chance he can fight for a spot on the roster, but he needs to do just that. This isn’t a Michael McCarron situation; Poehling has the tools and must bring them out consistently. Having him in a third-line checking/shutdown role with someone like Phillip Danault would pay off pretty well.

Moving back to rookies, you have to wonder if whether the Montreal Canadiens fast-track Cole Caufield a bit. Big 10 sports have been postponed for the fall, which includes Caufield’s Wisconsin Badgers. In fact, team activities are in an active pause as they await test results.

If there is no college hockey and no AHL and the OHL isn’t a good enough environment, do the Habs sign Caufield and have him join the team?

The idea seems promising and opens a boatload of new roster issues with lack of room on the wing as it is, but that could be an offensive boost. By no means am I saying Caufield will be the answer to their consistent scoring woes at 5v5 and on the power play. But it could be an interesting experiment to throw him on the right with Poehling and Danault (sticking to that same hypothetical).

Next. Taylor Hall free agency. dark

These are just questions to be had ahead of the official opening of the off-season, which will start at the beginning of next month. Bergevin should be active and should be looking for trades. However, if nothing comes about from them, It wouldn’t be surprising for the organization to look at what they’ve been doing already and consider it the answer. That being relaying on their youth.

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