Bergevin: Canadiens Won't Make A Trade Simply To Shake Up Roster
It has been a rocky start for the Canadiens this season who have managed just five victories in their first 20 games of the season just months after appearing in the Stanley Cup Final. Despite that, GM Marc Bergevin told Sportsnet’s Eric Engels that he isn’t interested in making a trade to simply try to shake things up:
Notwithstanding Bergevin’s contract situation, a complicating factor in any move he tries to make is Montreal’s salary cap situation. On the surface, they have plenty of room with Carey Price and Paul Byron joining Shea Weber on LTIR. However, only Weber is out for the season so when Price and Byron are activated, they will basically be in a spot where they’ll need to match or clear money to make a move. It’s a bit early in the year for those types of trades so don’t expect much on the trade from the Canadiens anytime soon.
Jake Allen Doubtful For Saturday
- While the Canadiens were hoping that Jake Allen would be able to return from his concussion on Saturday against Nashville, that isn’t expected to happen, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The netminder was injured last Saturday against Detroit and Montreal has lost all three games since then, allowing 14 goals in that stretch.
Marc Bergevin Enters COVID Protocol
The Montreal Canadiens won’t have their general manager traveling with them for the next little while, as Marc Bergevin has a confirmed positive case of COVID-19. The team announced that he is being monitored by the Canadiens’ medical staff and following league protocols.
Obviously, this situation isn’t the same as a player that is unable to take part in games, but it still means Bergevin will need to be isolated from the rest of the staff. The team lost again last night and has just one game remaining on its current homestand.
Hopefully, the active roster avoids any outbreak and the Canadiens are able to move on without any player hitting the COVID protocol list.
Canadiens Would Consider Adding Puck-Moving Defenseman
- The Montreal Canadiens don’t look like a competitive team this season either, but they’ll move forward with two youngsters entering the lineup tonight. Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut and Cole Caufield was recalled today from the minor leagues. Still, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday in his latest 32 Thoughts column that he believes Montreal would consider adding a puck-moving defender. With Shea Weber gone and Jeff Petry struggling at times this season, the Canadiens have had a lot of trouble generating offense from the back end.
Cole Caufield Recalled From AHL
When Cole Caufield was sent to the AHL at the beginning of November, it was never meant to be for long. The young Montreal Canadiens forward has made his way back to the NHL, recalled today. To make room, Alex Belzile has been assigned to the Laval Rocket.
Caufield put on a show yesterday for Laval in a victory over the Toronto Marlies, recording nine shots, scoring once during regulation, and again in the shootout. Overall in six games for the Rocket, he tallied five points and 24 shots on goal. His demotion was mostly about confidence, and seeing a spark of that high-flying offensive ability again seems like it was enough for the Canadiens to bring him back up.
Of course, he’s not returning to a better situation in the NHL. The Canadiens have lost their last three games and are only ahead of the last-place Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division because they’ve played three more games. The team has the second-worst goal differential in the entire NHL at -23 and has a 4-12-2 record overall. A huge reason for that is a lack of goal scoring, which Caufield should help, but he’s certainly not coming into a positive situation.
The Canadiens will welcome in the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, a game that will likely see Caufield make his return to the lineup. Through the ten games he played before his stint in the AHL, he had just a single point.
Snapshots: Islanders, Norlinder, Fix-Wolansky
The New York Islanders were dealt a tough hand to start the season with a 13-game road trip, but things aren’t exactly looking up with the news that defenseman Ryan Pulock will miss the next four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Islanders sit with a 5-6-2 record, and while it’s certainly recoverable, especially considering their track record, they find themselves in an extremely competitive division with seven teams ahead of them. With a defense core that’s looked troubling at times, the team could look to get outside help via the form of a trade. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple says that while the team could put faith into their staff in AHL Bridgeport to help bridge the gap until Pulock’s return, there’s a variety of trade targets they could examine. While D-men who have experience playing on the right side aren’t usually available for trade, he lists Seattle’s Vince Dunn as a potential option who could still prove to pay dividends on the power play once Pulock returns, a role that hasn’t been filled properly since the departure of Devon Toews.
More from around the NHL:
- Montreal Canadiens prospect Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut on Thursday. The defenseman is healthy after a preseason injury sidelined him up until the last week, where he spent three games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint. The 64th overall pick in 2019 is expected to play on the second pairing alongside veteran David Savard, who’ll give him what should be a reliable defensive partner to open his NHL career.
- It’s another prospect returning to the lineup as Columbus’ Trey Fix-Wolansky is making his season debut for AHL Cleveland tonight after an eight-month absence. The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig notes that the forward had ACL surgery in March. Fix-Wolansky wasn’t picked until the seventh round in 2018, likely due to his 5′ 8″ height, but proceeded to light up the WHL the following season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, scoring 37 goals and 102 points in just 65 games. After having an impressive first professional go-around with Cleveland last year as well, look for Fix-Wolansky to get an NHL look sooner rather than later.
Guillaume Brisebois Clears Waivers
Nov 17: While Brooks was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights, Brisebois cleared and has been assigned to the AHL.
Nov 16: The Montreal Canadiens have placed Adam Brooks back on waivers after suiting up just four times with the team. Brooks had been claimed from the Toronto Maple Leafs off waivers earlier this season. Should Toronto put in a claim and are the only team to do so, they would be able to send him directly to the AHL. The Canadiens have also moved Mike Hoffman to injured reserve, retroactive to Saturday.
Meanwhile in Vancouver, the Canucks have placed Guillaume Brisebois on waivers, designating him for assignment to the AHL should he clear. Brisebois was on season-opening injured reserve, but this move suggests he’s nearing a return to action.
Brooks, 25, registered a single point in those four appearances for Montreal. The 2016 fourth-round pick has just 22 NHL regular season games under his belt, with four goals and nine points total. A natural center, he has shown the ability to score at a high rate in junior and the AHL, but is undersized and has yet to receive a true top-six opportunity.
Toronto does have an open roster spot and the cap space to carry Brooks, after sending Joey Anderson back to the minors yesterday.
It seems unlikely that Brisebois will be claimed, given he is coming off injury and has just nine games of NHL experience. This is a move that would have been done at the end of training camp in a normal situation, but the Canucks shouldn’t have much trouble getting him through to the minor leagues where he can get back up to speed.
Vegas Golden Knights Claim Adam Brooks
The Vegas Golden Knights have added a depth forward, claiming Adam Brooks off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
This is the second player to start the year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and end up with Vegas through waivers, as Brooks will re-join Michael Amadio with the Golden Knights. Today’s claim comes from the Canadiens though, where Brooks played four games after being snatched earlier this season.
The 25-year-old forward has experience at wing and his natural center position but has only suited up for 22 regular season games to this point. There is real skill in the former Regina Pats superstar, but Brooks has been limited to bottom-six roles to this point. Perhaps Vegas, who are dealing with several injuries and COVID absences, will give him a shot in more offensive opportunities in the coming days.
It’s an interesting connection between Brooks and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. The former is from Manitoba and played his junior hockey in Saskatchewan, while the latter is from Saskatchewan and ran the Brandon Wheat Kings in Manitoba for decades. In fact, McCrimmon would have seen Brooks up close and personal during his breakout 2015-16 season, when he scored 120 points in 72 games in the WHL.
Brendan Gallagher, Mikael Backlund Issued Fines
Both Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher and Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund have avoided suspension, incurring fines for their respective incidents instead.
Gallagher has been given a $2,500 fine for his punch on New York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow at the end of another frustrating loss for the Canadiens. He was given a two-minute minor for roughing and a ten-minute misconduct. Notably, the fine is not actually the maximum allowable in this circumstance.
Backlund meanwhile faces a $5,000 fine for his cross-check on Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny. The check sent Konecny dangerously into the boards, and resulted in a two-minute minor penalty. In this case, it is the maximum allowable under the CBA.
Both players will have these fines considered when determining any future supplementary discipline.
Injury Notes: Canadiens, Pitlick, Sullivan
Ahead of Sunday’s road tilt for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins, head coach Dominique Ducharme provided injury updates regarding a few Canadiens players. After leaving Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Jake Allen has been assigned a day-to-day status while he undergoes evaluation for a more detailed evaluation. Allen left the contest after a net-front play which resulted in him colliding with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. Ducharme also notes that Mike Hoffman is absent from the lineup with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, as Adam Brooks draws into the lineup in his place. It’s Hoffman’s second instance of injury this season, missing the team’s first three games of the season with a lower-body injury.
- Calgary Flames forward Tyler Pitlick is absent from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s classified as day-to-day, per the team. Forward Walker Duehr was inserted into the lineup, making his NHL debut. Pitlick has just two assists in 12 games this season, playing a bottom-six role, but remains a strong defensive presence if nothing else.
- After being activated from the league’s COVID-19 protocols today, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t think he’ll be available for Thursday night’s game in Montreal due to border restrictions. Sullivan will be behind the bench for Sunday’s game against Washington and Tuesday’s game against Buffalo barring any unforeseen circumstances. The Penguins have dropped three out of five as they finally look to be close to healthy for the first time this season.