Unfortunately, there may be some ill will toward Michael Hage for declining the opportunity to sign an entry-level deal with the Montreal Canadiens to stay at the University of Michigan for another year. It is well within the player's rights, but Canadiens fans believed he could be their second-line answer this season.
While it would solve some lineup issues, there were no guarantees he could play that role already, and staying in Michigan could serve him well.
Hage's early junior-year success isn't doing much to quiet fans who believe he took the easy way out by staying in the NCAA. The forward has 14 points in his first six games, and if he keeps up that pace, voters will have to pry the Hobey Baker Award from his hands. He will also play with the U.S. Collegiate Selects at the Spengler Cup this season, prompting jokes that he'll accept the invitation to play anywhere except Montreal.
A source of Canadiens fans' angst this season is the competitiveness of the Atlantic Division. Montreal looks good at 4-3-1, but their nine points make them one of only two teams in the division without double-digit points. It's early, but it is almost a guarantee that a good team won't make the playoffs in the East this season, with the Metropolitan's third seed likely inferior to whoever finishes sixth in the Atlantic.
Hage will be a great end-of-season addition to the Canadiens, but if they are the unlucky team that finishes sixth, that might not matter. However, this is a piece to promote optimism, and if Montreal can get into a playoff position, they'll be in a great spot if Hage finds his form quickly coming out of college.
Michael Hage can lean on Chris Kreider's veteran experience
Let's look at Chris Kreider's playoff history to see what kind of impact Hage can make. No, not the 2014 playoffs, since that's been covered ad nauseam since he signed with the team whose beloved goaltender he once took out of the postseason. We're talking about the 2012 playoffs, when a recently turned pro Kreider played zero regular-season games with the New York Rangers before recording seven points in 18 playoff games and helping the team advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Kreider could've signed with the Rangers to start the 2011-12 season, but he stayed at Boston College and averaged over a point per game. His success with the Eagles that season, including winning the National Championship, gave him the confidence to join the Rangers in the postseason and become a major contributor.
The Michigan Wolverines will be right in that mix this season, and they could win it all and let Hage follow Kreider's exact path. Canadiens fans' only hope is that Hage's NHL postseason debut ends with a bit more success than another Eastern Conference Final defeat.
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