The Montreal Canadiens sold off a few veteran pieces ahead of the deadline, and have been dealing with a tremendous number of injuries this season.
It has forced them to dig deep into the depth chart to fill out a roster for every game. The Canadiens have incredible already used 42 different players in games this season. That is sure to continue to rise as a few young players are likely to make their debuts with the team in the near future.
Justin Barron was acquired in the trade that sent Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche and he could play as soon as this weekend.
It also appears that prospect Jordan Harris is on the cusp of signing his entry level contract with the Canadiens. With a openings on the left side of the defence after Ben Chiarot and Brett Kulak were traded on deadline day, there is a spot for Harris to step right into the lineup.
Harris just saw his final college season come to a close earlier today. His Northeastern Huskies lost in overtime to heavily favoured Western Michigan. It appeared Northeastern’s goaltender Devon Levi made an incredible, acrobatic save, but on review it showed the puck barely crossed the goal line.
Luke Grainger gives @WMUHockey their first ever NCAA Tournament victory on this wrap around.
— EVERYTHING COLLEGE HOCKEY (@TeamECH) March 25, 2022
Levi was SO close from keeping this out of the net.
But the Broncos are moving onto Sunday! #LetsRide pic.twitter.com/zTQYZWc9Q5
This ended the Huskies season and Harris fourth and final year of college hockey. Harris was a top pairing blue liner for the Huskies for the past three seasons and though he is best known for his smart, effective, defensive game, he also scored 20 points in 38 games this season and 19 points in just 19 games last season.
There was some worry when Harris did not sign after his strong Junior season that he would elect to become a free agent. If he just waits until August 15th, he can sign with any NHL team.
However, all signs seem to be pointing towards Harris signing with the Canadiens very soon to close out this season at the NHL level.
While Harris’ plan all along may have been to sign with the Habs, the chances of this happening certainly increased when Kent Hughes was hired as the team’s general manager. It also didn’t hurt that Martin St. Louis took over as head coach.
Why? Because Hughes once coached Harris way back in peewee and a couple of Harris teammates this season are Jack Hughes, Riley Hughes and Ryan St. Louis. Those last names look familiar? It is because the Hughes boys are the sons of the Habs general manager and Ryan’s father is the new head coach of the Canadiens.
It was thought maybe Harris would wait to become a free agent and sign somewhere closer to home like Boston. But he may feel more welcome with the Canadiens who are now being run by a few of his buddies dads.
Also, Marc Antoine Godin, a writer for The Athletic recently wrote an article all but guaranteeing that Harris will sign once his seasons ends.
A Canadiens fix while you wait for a trade? Here is this week's notebook:
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) March 21, 2022
🏒Yes, Jordan Harris wil sign
🏒A better version of Mike Hoffman 5-on-5
🏒The ballad of conditional 1st rd picks
🏒Ty Smilanic as seen by his coach
🏒Swagger is the new buzzwordhttps://t.co/mIiflN2dS1
If Godin isn’t enough, Elliotte Friedman, probably the best insider in the business, tweeted almost immediately after Northeastern’s loss that he expects Harris to sign a two-year entry level contract very soon.
When Friedman says something is about to happen in the hockey world, it is about as safe a bet as you can make. While there was some worry amongst Habs fans that Harris could be lost for nothing, it sounds like there is nothing to worry about after all.
After signing, Harris will likely practice with the team for a few days before making his NHL debut. When he does, he could be the 43rd different player, or 44th if Barron plays in the meantime, to play for the Canadiens this season.
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