Following their elimination at the hands of the Capitals, the Canadiens have sent a pair of players to the minors to keep their seasons going. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned center Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau to AHL Laval.
This will actually be Kapanen’s first taste of AHL action. He started the season with Montreal before being loaned to SHL Timra for more playing time. After putting up 35 points in 36 games with them, he was recalled to the NHL in April. All told, the 21-year-old played in 18 regular season contests with the Canadiens, collecting two assists in a little under 11 minutes of playing time. Kapanen also picked up a helper in three playoff appearances where he logged just under seven minutes a night of action.
As for Primeau, his stint with Montreal was short-lived after being recalled last weekend following the injury to Sam Montembeault. He struggled mightily in limited action with the Canadiens this season, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 appearances. However, he was dominant with Laval, winning 21 of 25 games while putting up a 2.00 GAA and a .926 SV%. A pending restricted free agent owed a $1.068MM qualifying offer next month, Primeau and prospect Jacob Fowler will serve as the Rocket’s netminders for their postseason run.
Notably, netminder Jakub Dobes was not sent down. Montreal used one of their four post-deadline recalls as a paper transaction to keep the 23-year-old eligible to play with the Rocket down the stretch. However, it appears that won’t be the case now. Dobes could be a candidate to play for Czechia at the Worlds or perhaps the team decided that since he has been a full-time NHL goalie since late December, it wouldn’t be right to send him down now.