A week after recalling him, Joshua Roy is back in the minors. The Canadiens announced on Monday that the winger has been re-assigned to AHL Laval.
The 21-year-old played in 23 games with Montreal last season, notching nine points in that stretch which had him as a presumptive favorite to land a roster spot coming out of training camp. However, Roy struggled in the preseason, resulting in him being one of the final cuts in October.
Roy got off to a nice start with the Rocket this season, tallying eight goals and eight assists in 17 games to earn a recall to the big club. But the offensive success didn’t follow him to the Canadiens as he was held off the scoresheet in four appearances with Montreal while he was limited to just under 11 minutes of action per game.
With the assignment, the Canadiens now have two open roster spots and are only carrying the minimum number of forwards. However, Roy’s re-assignment could signal that Patrik Laine is ready to return to the lineup. He sustained a knee injury during the preseason and while he was able to avoid surgery, he has missed the better part of two months rehabbing from it and it appears as if he may be in line to make his Montreal debut on Tuesday.