Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Deserves A Shot In The Top Six

The Montreal Canadiens are 9-10-2 on the year and are struggling to find offence, a common theme for the franchise for multiple decades now. The Canadiens sit at 28th in the NHL in goals for per game, with 2.71. If the Habs want to turn things around, that needs to change.

Part of that blame rests on the shoulders of a few struggling players, most notably Josh Anderson, a player customarily expected to score 20 goals. He has yet to score now a quarter of the way through the season. Despite this, Anderson is still playing 17 minutes a night and on the top powerplay unit.

Meanwhile, Jesse Ylönen, a player who’s had some success this year, is not even guaranteed to play on any given night. The Habs second-round pick in 2018 has gotten into 14 games this season and is only playing 10:43 a night right now. In fact, Ylönen has played under ten minutes in four of his last five games, including the Canadiens 6-5 loss to Vegas, where he scored two goals. He played just 7:22 that night.

Despite the small usage, Ylönen has managed to produce in that time, leading the Habs in points per 60 and goals per 60. Of course, that would likely change with more usage, but it should still lead to more opportunity. For whatever reason, it hasn’t. And with the Canadiens struggles, it becomes increasingly puzzling.

Take the Canadiens victory over San Jose, for example. Ylönen barely played in that game (just 7:16 of ice-time), and yet, with a chance to win the game, St. Louis sent him out in the shootout. And boy, did he deliver, with a nifty move to win the game for the Canadiens. Surely, that led to more opportunities in the next game, right?

Well, he did play 9:52, but I’m not convinced that was due to his play, and more so because the game was pretty much non-competitive from start to finish. I can’t help but think he plays less in a tie or one-goal game. Wednesday’s game versus Columbus should be able to let us know.

To be clear, I’m not advocating that Ylönen play 20 minutes a night, nor am I advocating that Anderson play seven. But I do think, with the offence struggling the way it has, you could try something different. And Ylönen has played well enough to warrant a bump up in the lineup. He’s got a great shot, is a great skater and can make some nice passes, as evidenced by this assist on Kaiden Guhles’ goal versus Anaheim.

Ylönen has played well this season; he shouldn’t be riding the pine for such long periods, nor should he worry about sitting in the press box. He’s deserved a more extended look up in the lineup. Not just one game, but a few. If he struggles up there, you can always push him back down. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened yet, here’s to hoping it will soon enough.