- At this point, it does not appear as if the Canadiens will be signing college prospect Brett Stapley, reports Mathias Brunet of La Presse. The 23-year-old center will be wrapping up his college career next week with Denver and has picked up 41 points in 39 games for the Pioneers this season, putting him in the top 20 of NCAA Division I scoring. If Montreal doesn’t sign the 2018 seventh-rounder, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on August 16th.
Canadiens Rumors
Latest On Martin St. Louis
- One other interim coach who has overseen a resurgence in his team’s form is Montreal’s interim head coach Martin St. Louis. The Hall of Fame player has a 10-9-4 record, which is not an incredible run on its own but a massive improvement over the state of the team under former head coach Dominique Ducharme. St. Louis has deep connections with the two heads of the new Canadiens’ front office, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, and according to Friedman “unless he doesn’t want to do it, [St. Louis] is coming back.” The Canadiens’ future looks set to revolve around the duo of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and those two have been playing significantly better under St. Louis than they were under Ducharme. Specifically, the biggest improvement has come from Caufield, who was just named the NHL’s “Rookie of the Month“. Given the turnaround of the team overall under St. Louis and his recovery of Caufield’s highly anticipated rookie season, it makes sense that St. Louis would continue as Canadiens head coach beyond this season.
Update On Jayden Struble
- The Montreal Canadiens’ 2019 second-round pick Jayden Struble is one year away from hitting unrestricted free agency as a college graduate, so increased attention has been paid to his thought process on if he wants to turn pro. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that Struble “needs to decide” if he wants to continue his college career at Northeastern University, where he has 36 points in 73 games played over the course of three seasons. If he signs, Struble would be another addition to a Canadiens defense pipeline that has seen the recent additions of Justin Barron (via trade) and Struble’s Northeastern teammate, Jordan Harris.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Lucas Condotta
The Montreal Canadiens have signed college free agent Lucas Condotta to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins in 2022-23 and will carry an NHL cap hit of $830K. Condotta will join the Laval Rocket on a professional tryout agreement for the rest of the season.
Undrafted, the 24-year-old forward has spent the last four seasons at UMass-Lowell, only really becoming a consistent offensive presence this year. As a senior, he scored ten goals and 23 points in 33 games, play that reminded of his days in the OJHL where he was an offensive star.
He also served as captain this season for the River Hawks, and trailed only Andre Lee–recently signed to an entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings–and Carl Berglund in team scoring.
While this obviously isn’t a turning point for the organization, it is the first time that new manager Kent Hughes has dipped into the college free agent waters. Whether that becomes a trend for the Canadiens remains to be seen, but with his and Jeff Gorton’s background, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Joshua Roy
The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to terms with Joshua Roy on a three-year, entry-level contract, that will begin in 2022-23. The deal carries an NHL cap hit of $857K and as CapFriendly notes, does not include any bonuses for the third year. Roy, 18, currently plays for the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL.
Selected 150th overall in 2021, Roy looked like nothing more than a lottery ticket at last year’s draft. After scoring 36 goals and 92 points in 50 games with Sherbrooke this season, it looks like the Canadiens will be able to cash this one in. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Roy has been considered a top prospect. The young forward was the first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL draft, after dominating Quebec minor hockey with a shot that looked like it could score goals at the pro level.
After requesting a trade away from the Saint John Seadogs, and finding a new home with the Phoenix, he finally got serious about his conditioning and has become the outstanding offensive player that people saw as a youngster. For the Canadiens, he represents a late-round steal, if he can continue on his current development path, and become the player who was once expected to go in the first round.
Whether that actually happens still remains to be seen, though this entry-level contract is a nice step along the way. The deal can still slide forward one year should he fail to make the NHL team next season (which does still seem unlikely), meaning they’ll have quite some time to help him reach his potential.
Canadiens Notes: Drouin, Pezzetta, Tyler Pitlick, Price, Ylonen
The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Jonathan Drouin will remain out of the lineup after re-aggravating his injury Monday night against the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens say that it is possible Drouin will need surgery, however he is first going to seek a second opinion. Complicating the matter, however, is that Drouin is currently isolating after being in close-contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, Drouin will wait until he is out of isolation to seek that second opinion, further delaying the potential recovery for the injury.
Drouin has had a solid season when he’s in the lineup, putting up 20 points in 34 games for Montreal, but has struggled with injuries, missing 30 games. This IR stint will be Drouin’s third of the season and could potentially spell the end of his 2021-22 campaign. The forward has one more year at $5.5MM on his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency after the 2022-23 season.
- TSN’s John Lu reports that forwards Michael Pezzetta and Tyler Pitlick will not travel with the team to New Jersey tonight ahead of tomorrow’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The two were injured in tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and did not return to the game.
- Lu also notes that Carey Price may join the team on the road soon, however that will depend on his recovery from a non-COVID illness that recently flared up (link). Although the illness is certainly not a positive, Price’s possible return to travel for the team is encouraging, as his future had at times been questioned with his lower-body injury.
- In the wake of the above injuries, the Canadiens announced they have recalled forward Jesse Ylonen on an emergency basis. Ylonen, Montreal’s second-round pick in 2018, has played just eight NHL games in his career, seven of which have come this season. In those seven games, Ylonen has one goal and one assist. In 45 games with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, Ylonen has 12 goals and 18 assists.
Canadiens 'Assistant Coach Luke Richardson Placed In COVID Protocol
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that Assistant Coach Luke Richardson was placed in COVID protocol and will miss tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Richardson, who turned 53 today, is in his fourth season behind the bench for Montreal, but is likely to miss at least a few games as he is in protocol.
Jeff Petry Out Indefinitely
- The Canadiens announced that defenseman Jeff Petry is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old has had a tough season both in terms of his production (16 points in 57 games) and defensive play while the team wasn’t able to find a suitable trade for him at the deadline to honor his request to be moved. William Lagesson will make his Montreal debut against Toronto tonight in Petry’s absence.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Jordan Harris
The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have signed defenseman Jordan Harris to a two-year, entry-level contract that will begin this season. Harris, 21, was the Canadiens’ third-round pick in 2018, 71st overall, and had spent the last four years in the NCAA at Northeastern University.
Jonathan Drouin Placed On IR With Upper-Body Injury
- On top of being in COVID protocol for a close contact, the Canadiens announced that winger Jonathan Drouin has been placed on IR with an upper-body injury and is out indefinitely. The 26-year-old had just returned to the lineup after missing 22 games with a wrist issue and it’s unclear if this injury is related to that one or something different altogether.