Montreal Canadiens: Mattias Norlinder Listed as Day-to-Day

Montreal Canadiens injuries are piling up as their 2021-22 training camp moves along.

There were a handful of players absent at the beginning of camp because they failed their medicals and none of Carey Price, Josh Brook, Joel Teasdale, Mike Hoffman or Paul Byron have recovered from those injuries yet.

Joining them on the sidelines since then have been Joel Edmundson, Tyler Toffoli and Cole Caufield. Now it appears Mattias Norlinder is dealing with an injury as well.

The Swedish defenceman was taken in the 3rd round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Canadiens. He has been playing pro hockey in Sweden since then, sharpening his skills including his already impressive skating and offensive instincts. The 21 year old remains a long shot to make the team out of training camp, but his offence will be a welcome addition when he does eventually make the NHL club.

Norlinder played in Monday’s exhibition game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and though he seemed to get through the game without incident, the team announced he will not play in either preseason game this weekend and it officially day-to-day with a minor injury.

The most likely scenario for Norlinder for the upcoming season was to return to Sweden and play one final season in SHL. He had ten points in 37 games for Frolunda last season and then added five points in seven postseason contests.

Another year of seasoning in Sweden won’t hurt his development, but with Edmundson dealing with an injury of his own, it may have opened the door a bit for a player like Norlinder.

Hopefully he doesn’t have any lingering effects from whatever his injury is and he can play the Habs final two preseason games next week. That would give him a chance to make a real impression and whether or not he makes the team, at least he would have a couple of chances to prove himself first.