A youthful injection has impacted the Montreal Canadiens roster, this has deliver some good and bad - growing pains to be exact - but there has been some real promising play.
I could swoon all day about Lane Hutson honestly; as could everybody else and I have written many times about the kid. But a guy who is emerging as a real player for the future, Emil Heineman, doesn't seem to be getting the attention he deserves. I could also argue quite successfully that Heineman deserves a promotion.
Artturi Lehkonen was the type of player that did it all so well for the Canadiens, which Colorado Avalnche general manager Joe Sakic took notice of. Ahead of the Avalanche Stanley Cup winning run in 2022, Sakic acquired Lehkonen. The Habs received Justin Barron and a second round pick ('24) in exchange for Lehkonen.
Maxim Lapierre thinks Emil Heineman has something special!@Lappy14: "He's got something special that kid and I want to see him for a long time with a real chance ... I see a little bit of Lehkonen in Heineman"#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/Y3X7JVNoLK
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) November 28, 2024
For my money, since Lehkonen departed Montreal for Denver the Habs have needed a player of his ilk in the lineup. I understand why he was dealt and the return featured a guy who could develop into a top-four defenseman. At this juncture, the trade has tilted in favour of the Avalanche, who won a Stanley Cup, with Lehkonen being an integral part of the win.
Barron is looking better, but I still feel nervous when he holds the puck for too long in his zone. There are some positives though. With Mike Matheson out Hutson was promoted to power play one, and Barron running the top of the second unit. Barron's combination of size and mobility is interesting, if he can be more confident with his shooting and clean up his defensive zone work, he could be a nice piece for the Habs' defence.
Back to Heineman though
Lapierre compared Heineman to Lehkonen, I would say he is not quite the same level. But he is a guy who gets in the way with smart positioning and uses big hits to aid the team defensively. Offensively he is powerful and hard to defend on the rush, but he is even more of a threat in space with his heavy shot and quick release.
I agree with Lapierre that Heineman would look like a nice fit in the top six, I believe that if he played with more skilled players, there would be improvements. Heineman has a devastating shot, which would hurt the opponent if he played with a strong playmaker; it could open up many scoring chances for No. 51. Lehkonen was a strong shooter as well, though he didn't have the quality of Heineman's shot - nor the frequency.
I'm not sure why he continues to be buried in the bottom six, but I think that if Martin St. Louis made a swap of Heineman the return would be worth his while. Heineman has played with Joshua Roy and Jake Evans. I like Roy a lot, but I think that Heineman would benefit from playing with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Put your best players together, I don't see why Heineman's game wouldn't mesh with Caufield and Suzuki.