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Montreal Canadiens: Three Players The Habs Should Offer a PTO

By Ken MacMillan

Apr 29, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Joe Thornton against Montreal Canadiens. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY
Apr 29, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Joe Thornton against Montreal Canadiens. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY /
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The Montreal Canadiens just wrapped up their rookie tournament with an impressive victory over the Ottawa Senators rookies. This followed two earlier games against the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils where the Habs rookies came out on the wrong end.

There were impressive performances during the rookie camp, with recent draft picks Filip Mesar and Owen Beck really standing out among the Habs rookies. Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj also gave glimpses of what could become a very nasty and physical Canadiens blue line in the near future.

We also got our first real look at Juraj Slafkovksy in a Canadiens jersey, and he showed plenty of speed and skill in the two games he suited up for in the event. We already knew he was a big, physical and mature left winger, but we got to see the highly skilled side of him that wasn’t talked about as much after he was selected ahead of others like Shane Wright and Logan Cooley.

Now, attention will turn to the Montreal Canadiens main training camp. That will begin later this week as the team looks to prepare for the 2022-23 season. While it is destined to be a rebuilding season, there will be important steps taken by many young players this season and it could prove to be a very important building season in the long run.

The team still has a couple of holes they would like to fill before the season begins. They do have plenty of veteran forwards, and younger ones ready for the next step, to choose from up front.

But, the back end is lacking a bit of depth. Joel Edmundson, David Savard and Mike Matheson are the top three, but who else will round out the defence? There are many young options, including Guhle, Xhekaj as well as Jordan Harris, Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder, but are any of them ready for a full time NHL role?

In case they are not, it would be nice to have another veteran defender, or two, in training camp as insurance. Ideally, these players would come in on professional tryouts (PTOs) because they are not guaranteed a roster spot, but could be signed if the younger defenders show they aren’t ready.

Who is still out there and could sign a PTO to join the Habs this season? Let’s take a look at three options.

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