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Canadiens Scratch Johnathan Kovacevic

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The Canadiens have been a popular team in trade talks lately. Veteran netminder Jake Allen is drawing significant interest from teams looking for help between the pipes, and their surplus of young defense prospects has made some think a move to clear space is coming sooner rather than later. Some have discussed veteran David Savard as being the odd man out, but notably, shutdown specialist Johnathan Kovacevic was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s game against the Hurricanes upon Jordan Harris’ return from injury.

Kovacevic is, by most accounts, the Canadiens’ most adept chance-limiting defender. Acquired via waiver claim from the Jets early in the 2022-23 season, Kovacevic has gone from unknown rearguard to Canadiens blueline staple in a relatively short amount of time. However, as his five points through 33 games suggest, he’s not much of a two-way threat. In all situations, nearly 76.7% of his zone starts have been in the defensive end this season, way up even from last season’s 61.3% mark. At even strength, that number still skews conservative with a defensive zone start percentage of 70.

Even still, Kovacevic could carry some significant trade value if the Canadiens decide he’s on the outside looking in on their long-term core. His expected plus-minus rating of +1.9 is the highest among active Montreal defenders this season, and he averages 2:39 per game on the penalty kill. Toss in the fact that he’s a highly-coveted right-shot defenseman, and you have a player a contending team would love to pick up for the low cost of $767K against the cap at the trade deadline.

Trade Market Heating Up For Jake Allen

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Speaking last night on NHL Network, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the trade market is heating up considerably around Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Jake Allen. With plenty of competitive teams dealing with poor play and injuries between the pipes, Allen has been an oft-rumored trade candidate throughout much of the year.

In the report, Pagnotta indicates that before the roster freeze went into effect on December 19th, the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils had all made contact with Canadiens’ brass to gauge the price tag on Allen. With another year left on his contract after this season, Allen’s salary is set at $3.85MM, meaning any acquiring team will likely need to move around funds to acquire him.

At any rate, all signs indicate that Allen’s career in Montreal is coming to an end, as the organization appears comfortable moving forward with Sam Montembeault as the start, and Cayden Primeau serving as the primary backup. In 12 games this season, Allen has produced a very modest 4-6-2 record, carrying a .907 SV% and a 3.43 GAA.

Even though Allen had seen his name pop up in rumors dating back to last summer, the Canadiens handed a three-year, $9.45MM contract extension to Montembeault, effectively ending any chance that Allen would stay in Montreal beyond this season. Even aside from both Montembeault and Primeau already on the NHL roster, the team is still prepared to introduce 2023 draft pick, Jacob Fowler, within the next several years.

It is more than reasonable for all three teams mentioned to be interested as Carolina, Edmonton, and New Jersey are tied for last place in the NHL in SV% as a team, sitting a .879. Currently, Carolina is the only one of the three currently in a playoff position, sitting in the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, while both Edmonton and New Jersey are on the outside looking in.

Regardless of interest, it will be more difficult to ascertain the price point for Allen, given his current contract and his status as a backup goaltender. With teams having less financial ability during the season, the last time a similar goaltender was traded was on September 19th, with the Canadiens shipping Casey DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.

If Allen does ultimately end up with one of the three teams listed by Pagnotta, all three of them will likely need to move salary the other way, as currently, none would be able to assume the contract of Allen outright.

Canadiens Activate Jordan Harris Off Injured Reserve

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The Canadiens activated defenseman Jordan Harris off injured reserve Thursday, per a team release. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, Montreal returned winger Emil Heineman to AHL Laval in a corresponding transaction.

Harris is projected to return to the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes in a third-pairing role alongside Jayden Struble, reuniting a pair of former Northeastern University teammates. He missed 15 games with a lower-body injury sustained just one game after returning from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for two contests.

The 23-year-old Harris is in the first season of a two-year, $2.8MM extension signed with Montreal last February. Through 16 games this season before his injuries, Harris logged three assists and a -7 rating while averaging 18:44 per game.

Advanced metrics label the 5-foot-11 American as a slightly below-average defender, posting a 46% Corsi share at even strength that exceeds only Kaiden Guhle and Gustav Lindström among Canadiens defensemen this season. He’s still got a few seasons ahead of him to continue his development, however, and there remains optimism that he can break away from the Canadiens’ large group of mid-tier defense prospects to lock down a top-four role by the time he reaches restricted free agency again in 2025.

Meanwhile, Heineman returns to the minors after making his first NHL appearances late last week in back-to-back games. Averaging only 7:50 in road tilts against the Blackhawks and Wild, Heineman failed to take a shot on goal but recorded two hits and a +1 rating. The 22-year-old will continue his development in Laval, with whom he has one goal and four points in seven games this season. Heineman missed most of October and all of November with an injury.

Canadiens Notes: Savard, Lindström, Monahan

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On an extraordinarily young Montreal Canadiens blueline, veteran David Savard has played a crucial role. The defensive stability he provides on the ice has paved the way for Mike Matheson to play the best hockey of his career, and his 21:26 time-on-ice (including a team-leading 3:40 per game short-handed) has helped the Canadiens achieve a better-than-expected start. But despite how much value he is delivering to Montreal, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels writes in his most recent mailbag that the Canadiens are “going to have to seriously consider moving” Savard “in short order.”

The rationale behind trading Savard is twofold: first and foremost, he could very well return a premium draft pick or prospect due to his quality play, the fact that he’s a Stanley Cup-winning right-shot defenseman, and the fact that he’s affordable for the rest of this season and under team control for $3.5MM for 2024-25. Additionally, the emergence of Jayden Struble combined with the need to re-integrate Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj into the NHL lineup means trading Savard would clear room needed by those players. And it would also be useful with an eye to the team signing top prospect Lane Hutson after his NCAA season concludes. So while Savard is an extremely important defenseman for the Canadiens now, it appears his days in Montreal could be numbered.

Some other notes regarding the 24-time Stanley Cup Champions:

  • Since the Canadiens’ upcoming defensive logjam could very well cause David Savard to be traded, it also indicates that Gustav Lindström is unlikely to maintain his spot on the NHL roster with the Canadiens for much longer. According to Engels, the Canadiens are likely to waive or trade Lindström whenever Harris returns. The 25-year-old was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings this offseason and has scored four points in 14 games, averaging 15:16 time-on-ice per game. He has played four games for the AHL’s Laval Rocket this season and could soon become available to the rest of the NHL once again.
  • Up front, the number-one Canadiens trade candidate is center Sean Monahan. It must be said that a significant factor impacting Monahan’s trade future is his health, as the seven-time 20-plus goal scorer has suffered significant injuries in recent years. According to Engels, the Canadiens have not yet “concretely discussed an extension” with Monahan, and he could be one of the top forwards available on the market come trade deadline season.

Prospect Quentin Miller To Be Traded In QMJHL

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  • The trade deadline is fast approaching in the CHL and several NHL-drafted prospects will be on the move in the next couple of weeks. One of those appears to be Canadiens goaltender Quentin Miller as Kevin Dube of the Journal de Quebec reports that Miller will be moved to QMJHL Rimouski on Friday.  The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick back in June and has a 3.05 GAA and a .901 SV% with Quebec so far.  Even though the trade has been agreed to in principle, Miller is expected to make one more start prior to the swap.

Mitchell Stephens Now Waiver-Eligible Again

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  • Canadiens center Mitchell Stephens played in his tenth game of the year Friday against Chicago. This means that he will have to pass through waivers in order to return to the minors.  Stephens cleared waivers back in the preseason but was recalled at the beginning of the month.  He has a goal in those ten appearances while winning a little over 55% of his faceoffs.

Canadiens To Loan Nicolas Beaudin To Play In Spengler Cup

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  • The Canadiens will loan defenseman Nicolas Beaudin to Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup, reports BPM Sports Radio’s Anthony Marcotte (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played in the event on a loan last year as well.  Beaudin, a 2018 first-round pick by Chicago, has been in and out of the lineup with AHL Laval this season, recording six assists in 13 games so far.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.

Who are the Canadiens thankful for?

Mike Matheson

Mike Matheson has had a tale of two careers.

He was good in his first few seasons in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, showcasing his terrific skating and his ability to carry the puck out of the defensive zone. But shortly after signing an eight-year extension the warts in his game began to show and he became a lightning rod for criticism in the Sunshine State.

It wasn’t long after that Matheson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Colton Sceviour for Patric Hornqvist. Matheson was able to rehabilitate his game and looked like a good fit with the Penguins long-term. However, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall inexplicably wanted to change up the Penguins’ defense and in one day bulldozed his defense core by trading John Marino to New Jersey and Matheson to the Canadiens. Both trades have been a disaster for the Penguins, but the Matheson one stings for several reasons.

Since coming over to Montreal, the 29-year-old Matheson has dressed in 79 games, during that time he has 13 goals and 42 assists and has averaged almost 25 minutes a night in ice-time. He has been a catalyst for the Canadiens offense, and a mentor to many of Montreal’s young defensemen.

Although he has dealt with some injury issues, Matheson has been a driving force for the Canadiens and one that should continue to be an important piece for them in the coming seasons.

What are the Canadiens thankful for?

The Jeff Petry trades.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens made a trade back in July 2022 that sent defenseman Matheson to Pittsburgh in exchange for veteran defenseman Petry and Ryan Poehling. It was a questionable trade at the time for the Penguins as they were giving up a much younger defenseman for a 36-year-old defender with an inflated cap hit. A year after the deal, it’s safe to say that the trade was an absolute heist by the Canadiens. Jeff Petry has been traded twice since the original trade and Poehling was non-tendered and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Petry was traded by the Penguins to the Canadiens this past August in a move that Pittsburgh had to make to facilitate the Erik Karlsson trade. The Penguins traded Petry, goalie Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick. Hoffman was then moved to the Sharks and Pitlick has toiled in the AHL.

The trade was a great move for Montreal to acquire two futures while unloading two bad contracts. But they weren’t done yet. The Canadiens then traded Petry to the Detroit Red Wings for little-used defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025. Finally, Montreal was able to complete the trade tree by shipping DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.

When all was said and done, the Canadiens were able to turn Pitlick, Hoffman, and a retained salary on Petry into Legare, Pearson, Lindstrom, and three 2025 draft picks. It was a creative move by Montreal, that will help them continue to build up their farm system or allow them to acquire additional players should they be more of a contending team in 2025.

What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?

A Josh Anderson resurgence.

Many critics panned the Canadiens’ trade for Anderson back in October 2020 and for good reason, the trade was followed by the announcement of a seven-year $38.5MM extension that seemed like a massive overpay. In hindsight, it probably was, given that Anderson is carrying a $5.5MM cap hit and hasn’t come close to the 47 points he put up during the 2018-19 season. Since joining Montreal, Anderson has topped out at 32 points (twice), but he did have 40 goals over the two seasons before the start of the 2023-24 season.

This year has seen Anderson struggle more than he has in previous seasons. Through 31 games, the 29-year-old has just four goals and five assists and has been a drag on almost everyone he has played with this season. It’s been a frustrating season for the Burlington, Ontario native, one that he has acknowledged publicly. Just two nights ago, Anderson had an incredible game against the New York Islanders in which he scored two goals and was named the first star of the game. Afterwards, during a post-game interview, Anderson was serenaded by the Canadiens faithful and seemed genuinely humbled by the applause. With any luck, Anderson can use the game to catapult himself back to the heights he experienced when he put up 27 goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets five years ago.

If he can get back to his game, it could go a long way to the Canadiens making an unlikely push for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

What should be on the Canadiens holiday wish list?

A goal-scoring forward.

The Canadiens forwards need to score more as they rank near the bottom of the NHL in goals and are currently on pace to not have a single 25-goal scorer. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki both registered 26 goals last year but have just eight each thus far through 31 games, while Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher are far removed from the back-to-back 30-goal seasons, they each enjoyed from 2017-2019.

The Canadiens need a game-breaker, which is much easier said than done. Most teams are looking for this type of scorer and they are almost impossible to acquire in today’s NHL. The Canadiens do have a surplus of young defensemen they could choose to trade from, but they would need to find a trading partner that is interested in trading away one of the most coveted pieces in today’s NHL.

The Canadiens have been patient with their rebuild and have made some savvy moves to acquire good young prospects and defensive depth. At some point in the near future, they are going to have to take a risk on an offensively gifted forward. Whether that happens via trade or free agency remains to be seen but they will need to acquire a forward that can put the puck in the net.

Harris Returns To Practice, Canadiens Intend To Sign Hutson After College Season

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  • Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris took part in a full game day skate for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury last month, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has played in 16 games so far in his second full NHL season, picking up three assists and 28 blocks while averaging a little under 19 minutes a night.  Earlier this week, Montreal indicated that Harris was still 10-14 days from returning so he’s still likely a game or two away from being available to suit up.
  • Still with Montreal, GM Kent Hughes made an appearance on The Sick Podcast (video link) where he indicated that they plan to sign prospect Lane Hutson after his college season comes to an end. The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick in 2022 and has been quite productive offensively with Boston College, notching 68 points in 54 games over his first two seasons so far.  The Canadiens are likely going to use Hutson down the stretch which means he will burn the first year of his entry-level deal this season even if he only plays in a handful of games.

Canadiens Recall Emil Heineman

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The Canadiens recalled high-end left-wing prospect Emil Heineman from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday, per a team announcement. To make room on the 23-man roster, winger Tanner Pearson, who is out six weeks with an upper-body injury, was moved to injured reserve.

If the 22-year-old Heineman draws into the lineup tonight against the Penguins, it would be his NHL debut. It’s not a guarantee, however, as the Canadiens have 13 healthy forwards on the active roster. Heineman would likely play a third- or fourth-line role in the event he enters the lineup, relegating either Joel Armia or Michael Pezzetta to the press box.

Heineman is already in his third NHL organization after the Panthers selected him 43rd overall in 2020. The Panthers moved on from him less than 12 months after the draft, dealing his signing rights and a 2022 second-round pick to the Flames in exchange for center Sam Bennett in April 2021. Less than a year after that, Calgary flipped his rights to the Canadiens as part of the package that got them Tyler Toffoli near the 2022 trade deadline. Heineman signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens within a few months of the second trade.

Montreal loaned him out to his Swedish Hockey League club, Leksands IF, for most of last season, where he fell short of his SHL career-highs with eight goals and 15 points in 35 games. After Leksand’s brief playoff run concluded, Heineman finished out the 2022-23 campaign with Laval, recording seven goals and two assists in 11 regular-season games. The strong start to his North American professional career made some believe he could crack Montreal’s roster out of camp this year, and although he was a late cut, Heineman was eventually assigned to Laval before opening-night rosters were due.

An injury suffered early this season sidelined Heineman for most of October and all of November, but he returned to the Rocket lineup this month and has three points and 11 shots on goal in five games post-injury. A speedy winger with a high-end shot, Heineman could bring a skill element missing from Montreal’s depth forward group with Kirby Dach, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Newhook all sidelined with long-term injuries.

He is ranked as the third-best left-wing prospect in Montreal’s system behind 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky and 22-year-old American Sean Farrell by Dobber Prospects. At this stage, a long-term future in Montreal’s top six seems unlikely, but he certainly has the potential to churn out a lengthy career as a legitimate third-line scoring threat.

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