Canadiens: Three Possible Scenarios At The Blue Line
Only fools never change their minds. As unlikely as this scenario is, it might be a possibility that the Canadiens use next season to let some of their young defenders develop in Laval first before making the big jump.
Romanov-Savard
Edmundson-Free Agent
Free Agent-Wideman
This scenario will likely only work if some extra salary other than Jeff Petry were to be unloaded. Wideman would return and you’d need a pair of cheap defenders from free agency. Furthermore, this is the approach the team could take if they decide to let the younger players thrive in Laval and let the older players go through another losing season in order to have a chance at Connor Bedard.
That being said, Hughes went on record saying that he wants the best environment for every player. So having rookies play 82 games in the NHL off the bat doesn’t seem like the best option at this time.
"Our priority will be to put our youngsters in the right environment to develop. Bringing in three rookies to play on our defensive brigade for a full 82-games is not a risk we're going to take." - Kent Hughes
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) May 7, 2022
He'll play NHL games for sure, but don't expect him to stay all year.
The Laval Rocket however, would be stacked at the blue line with a myriad of combinations to chose from: Guhle, Barron, Harris, Schueneman, Clague, Josh Brooks, Mattias Norlinder, Arber Xhekaj.