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Canadiens Activate David Savard Off Injured Reserve

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The Canadiens activated defenseman David Savard off injured reserve Sunday, per a team release. He will return to the lineup tonight against the Predators after a 22-game absence due to a hand fracture. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, the Canadiens assigned defenseman Mattias Norlinder to AHL Laval.

Savard has played just five games this season, sustaining the fracture on October 23 late in a game against the Sabres. The 33-year-old has registered two assists and posted middling possession numbers in a short sample, controlling 44.7% of expected goals when paired with Mike Matheson, per MoneyPuck.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is expected to reinstate Savard in a top-pairing role in his return to the lineup. Doing so will provide some relief for 22-year-old Justin Barron, who’s seen some tough assignments alongside Matheson in Savard’s absence and will now line up against slightly easier competition in a second-pairing role.

Savard is in his third season with the Habs after signing a four-year, $14MM contract as a free agent in 2021. The 2021 Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay has missed 20 games each in the past two seasons with various injuries, and he last played a full 82-game season in 2018-19 as a member of the Blue Jackets. Since signing in Montreal, Savard has served the rebuilding squad well, averaging 21:32 per game and logging six goals, 33 assists, and 39 points in 129 games.

Norlinder, who does not require waivers, heads back to the minors after a nearly three-week stint on the NHL roster. He did not appear in a game, however, instead sitting as a healthy scratch for nine straight contests. It’s puzzling not to see the 23-year-old inserted into the lineup after he had a strong training camp, although he’s sputtered out of the gate to start the season in Laval. In 14 games before the callup, Norlinder had just two points and a -15 rating. He’s played six NHL games since Montreal selected him 64th overall in the 2019 draft, all coming in the 2021-22 campaign. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer upon the conclusion of his entry-level contract, but he’s looking like a non-tender candidate and could find himself seeking a contract elsewhere.

Tanner Pearson Will Not Return To Game

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  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Tanner Pearson would not return to the team’s game tonight due to an upper-body injury. Since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in an offseason trade, Pearson has produced at a relatively tepid rate, scoring four goals and eight points in 26 games, which is still good for eighth on the team in scoring. Already with six players currently residing on the team’s injured reserve, the Canadiens may have to dig into their organizational depth even further if Pearson is set to miss significant time.

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Monahan Reaches Games Played Bonus, Hopes To Sign Long-Term With Montreal

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  • Canadiens center Sean Monahan reached his $15K bonus by playing in his 26th game of the year against Los Angeles on Thursday, relays Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. That brings his total compensation for the season to an even $2MM.  Monahan opted for this one-year deal last spring, electing to stay in Montreal where he had early success before multiple injuries ended his year.  So far, he has stayed healthy and indicated to Cowan that he’d love to sign a long-term deal to stick with the Canadiens.  If that doesn’t happen, he’ll likely be one of the more prominent rentals to keep an eye closer to the trade deadline, as long as he isn’t injured at the time.

Latest On Canadiens Goalie Trade Possibilities

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  • LeBrun also reported in his piece today that “the Montreal Canadiens are still hoping to move a goalie,” and that they don’t want to keep three goalies on their active roster for the full season. LeBrun reports that the team is “listening to offers” on Cayden Primeau and Jake Allen, two names that make sense to deal since Samuel Montembeault recently signed a three-year extension. That being said, the team has yet to receive a trade offer for either player and trading Allen could be challenging due to his $3.85MM cap hit and the fact that he has the right to submit a seven-team no-trade list.

Sabres, Kraken Exploring Goalie Market

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With teams now at the quarter mark of the season, they now have a greater sense of what they have and what they need.  Two of those teams – the Sabres and Kraken – appear to have determined that goaltending help is high on the priority list as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that both squads are looking at what’s available between the pipes.

For Seattle, Philipp Grubauer has struggled mightily out of the gate, putting up his worst numbers in now his third season with the team.  Joey Daccord won the backup battle in training camp but hasn’t fared much better, posting a save percentage of just .898.  Meanwhile, they still have Chris Driedger at AHL Coachella Valley but he hasn’t seen regular NHL action for a couple of years now.

Garrioch notes that Montreal is among the teams the Kraken have spoken to.  The Canadiens are one of the few teams still carrying three netminders on its active roster – the recently extended Samuel Montembeault, veteran Jake Allen, and youngster Cayden Primeau who is no longer waiver-exempt.

With a little over $2MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly, Seattle does have a bit of flexibility to work with.  If they can clear out Driedger’s contract as part of any swap, they’d free up an additional $2.35MM to work with as that’s the cap charge they incur with Driedger being with the Firebirds.

As for Buffalo, Garrioch reports that they’re believed to have been sniffing around a veteran netminder.  Devon Levi, when healthy, hasn’t played at the same level as he did down the stretch last season, resulting in a recent demotion to AHL Rochester.  Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken over the number one role for the time being (current illness notwithstanding) but has just 59 NHL appearances under his belt.  Veteran Eric Comrie is also with the team but has a 4.01 GAA and a .861 SV% in his seven starts so there’s definitely room to upgrade.

Garrioch suggests that Allen is one of the goalies Buffalo is believed to have looked at.  The 33-year-old has another year on this one on his contract with a $3.85MM AAV.  His numbers are a bit better than Comrie’s with a 3.74 GAA and a .898 SV% in his ten starts.  Buffalo has ample cap space to take on Allen’s full deal although they could also offset some of the cost of any possible trade by including Comrie’s $1.8MM expiring deal as part of any swap.

It has been out there for a while that the Oilers are looking for goalie help with the early struggles of Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner.  Now, it appears they’re not the only ones looking for an upgrade at that position.

Snapshots: Senators Trade Rumors, Arber Xhekaj, Ridly Greig

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The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch recently shared that teams have been reaching out to the Senators to see if top forward Drake Batherson is available. However, Garrioch reports that Ottawa isn’t looking for a large-scale trade, and is instead shopping around winger Dominik Kubalik. This could be in an effort to make space for Shane Pinto, who is currently serving a 41-game suspension after violating the league’s sports wagering rules.

Kubalik is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and carries a $2MM cap hit this season. The 28-year-old has managed four goals and five points through 19 games this season, also adding six penalty minutes and a -10. Kubalik previously scored 30 goals and 46 points in the 2019-20 season, his rookie year in the NHL. His scoring took a step back following the exciting rookie year, but he managed 20 goals and 45 points in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season.

And while those are certainly fine numbers for a cheap, depth forward, it’s easy to see why Batherson is the one teams are interested in. The 25-year-old winger currently has 14 points, split evenly, through 19 games this season. He’s coming off of a career-year that saw him record 22 goals and 62 points in 82 games last season. The breakout year was apart of a steady climb in scoring, with Batherson recording 34 points in 2020-21 and 44 points in only 46 games during the 2021-22 season. The young forward is also cost-controlled through 2026-27, carrying a cap hit of $4.975MM in each of the next four seasons.

Other notes from around the league:

Alex Newhook To Miss 10-12 Weeks With High Ankle Sprain

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Canadiens winger Alex Newhook left Thursday’s loss to Florida with a lower-body injury and it will keep him out for a while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Newhook will miss the next 10 to 12 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

The 22-year-old is in his first season with Montreal after being acquired from Colorado just before the draft in June for the 31st and 37th picks along with prospect blueliner Gianni Fairbrother.  Despite taking a step back with the Avalanche last season, the Canadiens saw fit to give Newhook a four-year contract over the summer, one that carries a $2.9MM cap hit; he will still be a restricted free agent at its expiration.

Newhook has done well with his new team this season, taking advantage of the more prominent role he has in Montreal’s lineup.  He is tied for the team lead in goals with Cole Caufield with seven while being tied with Sean Monahan for fourth in points with 13.  He’s also averaging 16:34 per night after failing to log 14 minutes per contest in his two full seasons with Colorado.

Montreal already made their recall to replace Newhook on the roster yesterday when they brought up Mitchell Stephens from AHL Laval.  For now, at least, Monahan is being shifted to the wing, allowing Stephens to center the fourth line.

Newhook joins a quickly growing list of players on Montreal’s injured reserve, one that now has more than $24MM on it, per CapFriendly (Twitter link).  Carey Price’s playing days are over which has him on LTIR.  Up front, Rafael Harvey-Pinard will miss another month while Kirby Dach is done for the year.  Meanwhile, on the back end, Chris Wideman has yet to play this season, David Savard has missed more than a month, while Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris recently landed on IR themselves.  That said, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie relays (Twitter links) that both Savard and Xhekaj skated today which means those two could be getting closer to a return.

Canadiens Recall Mitchell Stephens

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The Canadiens recalled veteran utility forward Mitchell Stephens from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Friday, according to a team announcement. The news comes after top-six forward Alex Newhook sustained a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Panthers, suggesting he’ll miss some time.

This is Stephens’ first recall since signing with the Canadiens as a free agent in 2022. The 26-year-old, who has amassed 72 NHL games with the Lightning and Red Wings over the past five years, failed to crack the Canadiens’ roster out of camp in back-to-back seasons and has instead spent the entirety of his Montreal tenure on assignment with Laval. He last skated in the NHL in 2021-22, suiting up in just 27 games with the Red Wings as he missed most of the season with a lower-body injury.

Stephens, who played just 28 AHL games between 2019 and 2022, has taken his return to full-time duty in the minors in stride. He’s off to a good start this season, recording three goals and 12 points through 16 games with the Rocket. The 2015 second-round pick of the Lightning has always been a solid producer at the lower level, notching 137 points in 219 career AHL games across eight seasons.

Stephens is the highest-scoring player among the likely call-up options for the Canadiens at this stage. Team points leader Joshua Roy, selected 150th overall in 2021, is still just 20 years old. The Canadiens likely want to keep Roy with Laval to aid in his development. Second-leading scorer Brandon Gignac is not signed to an NHL contract, while Sean Farrell, who’s tied with Stephens in points, is out indefinitely with an injury sustained this week.

Without the need for a center in the lineup (Newhook was playing on the wing), Stephens will likely sit as a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game against his former team, the Red Wings. Instead, grinder Michael Pezzetta will likely enter the lineup in Newhook’s absence after sitting as a healthy scratch for the last two games.

Stephens, who signed a one-year, two-way deal with a salary guarantee of $385K to remain a Hab last summer, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Sam Montembeault To Three-Year Extension

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9:49 AM: This new extension does not include trade protection, per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.

9:06 AM: The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Sam Montembeault to a three-year extension. The new deal will carry an average salary of $3.15MM.

Montembeault has been in the midst of extension talks for much of the season, as Montreal has weighed the options of re-signing or trading the 27-year-old goaltender. There’s been no shortage of trade rumors surrounding the Montreal crease, as the team is currently carrying three goaltenders in Montembeault, Cayden Primeau, and Jake Allen. What’s more, they haven’t decided a starter between the trio yet – with Montembeault playing 10 games on the season, Allen playing in nine, and Primeau playing in five.

Montembeault has proven the most effective of the three options through the early season, recording a 5-3 record and .910 save percentage in his 10 outings. This continues his trend of improving performances with the Canadiens, after setting a .891 save percentage in 2021-22 and a .901 save percentage last year. Montreal acquired Montembeault off of waivers from the Florida Panthers ahead of the 2021-22 season and signed the netminder to a two-year, $2MM contract prior to the 2022-23 season. Montembeault has totaled 113 games through his five-year NHL career, setting a 38-48-13 record and .897 save percentage.

With Montembeault now extended, Montreal has all three of their goaltenders signed through next season. With stability in net, the team can turn their focus to their six pending free agents. This includes Sean Monahan and Tanner Pearson, the only pending-UFAs on the roster. The team is slated to have $2.42MM in cap space at the trade deadline and $8.1MM in space next summer, per CapFriendly.

Dmitri Kostenko Changes VHL Teams

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  • Canadiens prospect Dmitri Kostenko is on the move in the VHL as the league announced that the blueliner has been moved to Yugra for cash considerations. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2021 (87th overall) and spent last season with KHL Kunlun but dropped down to the lower level this season.  Montreal holds his NHL rights indefinitely as there is no transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Federation.

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