Montreal Canadiens: Three Players The Habs Should Offer a PTO

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.

Joe Thornton

Joe Thornton would be a great mentor for many reasons. Most specifically, he could be the perfect sounding board for Canadiens first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky.

Thornton was the first overall pick way back in 1997, but the 43 year old is still hanging around the National Hockey League. Of course, he isn’t the same player he was in his heyday, but he is a smart, respected, playmaking forward who played a depth role on the NHL’s best regular season team last season.

Thornton suited up for the Florida Panthers, playing just 34 games and scoring five goals and ten points. That brings his career totals to 1714 games and 1539 points. He obviously wasn’t terrific last season, but his career totals show he has basically seen it all as an NHL player.

Thornton entered the league as a hulking 6’4″ and well over 200 pound forward. He struggled as an 18 year old, scoring just three goals and seven points in 55 games. Ten years later he won an Art Ross and Hart Trophy and had almost 100 assists in a single season.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have Thornton around Montreal if Slafkovsky struggles a bit offensively this season? Who better to remind Slafkovsky that things don’t come together immediately for enormous 18 year old NHL players than Joe Thornton?

Of course, the Canadiens already have too many veteran forwards, so they would have to trade a player or two to make room for Thornton. But if they can find a taker for Paul Byron, Joel Armia or another depth forward, bringing in Thornton to lead Slafkovsky through his rookie season would make a ton of sense.

Kris Russell

If the Canadiens are going to offer someone a PTO, a defenceman would make an easier fit than a forward like Thornton. It would also be nice if the defender turned out to have a little value at the trade deadline as well.

Russell is a defensive defenceman who has been among the league leaders in shot blocks seemingly every year since they began tracking the stat. He played 31 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season, scoring two goals and nine points while averaging 15:26 per night.

The 35 year old was a bit of a whipping boy in Edmonton when he was making $4 million per season. However, when he re-signed at a much more reasonable $1.25 million for last season and was used properly as a third pairing defender, the naysayers were not so loud.

Russell can play both the left and right side, is a veteran who can be trusted to play defensive minutes and kill penalties, and could be dealt to a contender at the deadline for a mid-round pick.

He is probably waiting for a veteran to sign him, but it hasn’t happened yet and training camps are right around the corner. If a contender won’t sign him now, his next best option is to sign with a team that will use him every night and allow him to show he can still be a reliable defender so that contenders will be interested in him later in the season.

Signing with Montreal would allow him to be a mentor for younger defenders while also taking on tougher minutes so that Harris and Guhle aren’t stuck in a role they aren’t ready for this season.

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