The Montreal Canadiens have a very difficult time scoring goals. Their first five games saw them score just four times and not win any games at all.
They did explode offensively against the Detroit Red Wings, but the Red Wings have a way of allowing other teams to score a lot of goals. The Habs were brought back down to earth with a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
Scoring is a huge issue, but it might just be the defence that is to blame for that and not the forwards.
The Canadiens defence was built around a bundle of big, hard hitting, defensive minded veterans. Shea Weber was the rock of the defence for years and though he used to be a threat offensively, we saw that diminish over the years and now he is gone in sorta-retirement. This season, his spot in the lineup was replaced by defensive minded David Savard.
Ben Chiarot is another defensive defender and Joel Edmundson is yet to play this season, but he is cut from the same cloth as Savard and Chiarot. Brett Kulak is yet another big defender that doesn’t offer a lot of scoring and isn’t great at transitioning the puck up ice quickly.
Jeff Petry seemed to get better and better each year offensively but he hasn’t looked great in that area this season. That leaves the number six defender, whether that is Chris Wideman or Sami Niku ti be the puck mover on the blue line. Alexander Romanov is okay in this area as well but the 21 year old still has some polishing to do with his game before he is a big offensive threat.
It is hard to get the puck to goal scorers like Cole Caufield, Mike Hoffman, Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, and Josh Anderson if the defence can’t move the puck out of their own zone with possession.
Luckily for us Habs fans, the makeup of the blue line could change in a hurry. A quick look at the Habs contract situation tells us there are a few defenders who are likely in the last season with the team.
Chiarot’s contract is up at year’s end, as are there contracts of Kulak and Wideman. That opens up three of the seven spots for new defenders on next year’s roster. Their combined cap hits are $6.1 million but with Nick Suzuki starting a huge contract extension next year and Romanov being a restricted free agent, the Canadiens won’t be able to spend big in free agency to upgrade the blue line.
But that’s okay, because there are a plethora of puck moving defenders about to be banging on the Habs door looking for ice time.
Start with Gianni Fairbrother who has four points in his first six games of the AHL season with the Laval Rocket. The 21 year old was a third round pick of the Habs in 2019 and is quickly making a smooth transition from the Juniors to the pros this season. He had 17 points in 23 games for the Everett Silvertips last season and is putting up points at the pro level now.
Jordan Harris is an interesting case. He is in his fourth season with the Northeastern Huskies of the NCAA. Though he could technically become a free agent in August if he just waits, he said in the summer he still had full intentions of signing with the Canadiens. He is a terrific two-way player at the college level and has been for three consecutive seasons now.
He has the flexibility to play both sides of the ice, like when he moved to the right side to play at the World Juniors even though he is a left shot and he scored 19 points in 19 college games last season. Harris will still be 21 when his college season ends in the spring and he will be the most NHL ready of any defence prospects to start next season.
His teammate, Jayden Struble is in his third year with the Huskies after being a second round pick of the Canadiens in 2019. He is a very strong, and defensively responsible defender, but he chips in plenty of offence and joins the attack with his strong skating stride as well. There is no guarantee that he turns pro next season, but if he does he will quickly push for ice time with the Canadiens.
Mattias Norlidner is another young defender that will be on the Habs radar soon. He had a pretty strong training camp this year but it was cut short due to injury. He is a tremendous skater who will play his third pro season in Sweden this year and it is just a matter of time before he is flying up and down the ice with the puck for the Canadiens.
Having pro experience probably gives Norlinder the inside track on earning a job next season over the others, but Harris plays such a confident, poised two-way game that he could step into a big role and not the team at all. Fairbrother and Struble are probably falling behind Norlinder and Harris, but they will be pushing for ice time next season as well.
What it all adds up to is a handful of good skating young defenders who have put up offence joining the team next season. It isn’t out of the question to see Kulak and Chiarot replaced by Norlinder and Harris to begin next season.
Romanov Petry
Edmundson Harris
Norlinder Savard
Could be a top six with puck movers on every pairing and a couple of trusted veteran defenders helping show the youngsters the ropes as well. It would also be a blue line that helps move the puck up to the forwards who are capable goal scorers.
I wouldn’t expect a bunch of points out of Norlinder and Harris as rookies, but putting them on the team would make the defence faster and more able to skate the puck out of their own zone and attack the other team’s zone with speed. It would be a lot more fun to watch than the current group of plodding defenders who seem to be sucking the offence right out of this team this season.
It’s a shame we have to wait another year before all of these young defenders are NHL ready because the team could use some help today.