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Montreal Canadiens: 7 Talking Points on TDG, Reinforcements and the Expansion Draft

By Sebastian High

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) Phillip Danault #24, Shea Weber #6, Ben Chiarot #8, Carey Price #31, Brendan Gallagher #11 and Tomas Tatar #90 of the Montreal Canadiens stand for the national anthem prior to their game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on February 4, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) Phillip Danault #24, Shea Weber #6, Ben Chiarot #8, Carey Price #31, Brendan Gallagher #11 and Tomas Tatar #90 of the Montreal Canadiens stand for the national anthem prior to their game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on February 4, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 02: Joel Armia #40 of the Montreal Canadiens looks on during the warm-up prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 02: Joel Armia #40 of the Montreal Canadiens looks on during the warm-up prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

3. COVID Safety

I am sure everyone in the Habs’ organization and fanbase is thankful that the team was shut down as quickly as it was following Joel Armia’s positive test to a COVID variant. Luck certainly played a role in having just a single player catch the virus, but the decisive shutdown was vital.

Now, the Habs are back to playing while the Vancouver Canucks, who did not catch the Canadiens’ lucky break may be done for the season. 14 Canucks are on the COVID protocol now and multiple are on IVs at home, a result of the quickly-transmitted Brazilian variant. The variant is also more dangerous for younger people, so there is a real cause for concern.

Given that COVID attacks the respiratory system and hockey players are extremely reliant on their cardio to perform, the long-term effects of the illness could be impactful. Some idiots in the media, including Montreal media, have criticized the Canucks’ handling of the situation and the recklessness that must have caused their outbreak while praising the Habs for their response and caution.

Pardon me, but this is absurd. The Canucks and Canadiens had identical responses and protocols. One team got lucky, one didn’t. Luckily for Habs fans, our hockey season will continue, but the fragility of a hockey season in the present pandemic has never been clearer.

The Canucks are down more than half their roster with multiple bad cases. Their playoff chances were already extremely low. I for one hope they get shut down and allow their players and staff to heal and come back healthy next season.

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