3 players traded: It’s crazy how much the Canadiens’ blue line has changed in the past eight months.

Dose
Crédit: Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Life changes quickly.

At the end of the last season, the Canadiens had a completely different defensive lineup than they do now.

For the second-to-last game of the campaign, which was played in Detroit, the blue line lineup looked like this:

That night, Lane Hutson was playing his very first game in the NHL.

But what stands out when looking at the photo is that we see three defensemen who are no longer part of the Montreal organization at this time.

Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, and Johnathan Kovacevic have all been traded in the last eight months.

And that also means that half of the defensemen who played that night are gone.

That’s crazy…

There have been a lot of changes in recent months, but the current defensive lineup could be spending a lot of time in town.

After all, here are the defensemen who will be used tonight:

  • Matheson, Guhle, Hutson, Savard, Carrier, and Xhekaj

There exists a world where in eight months, Mike Matheson is no longer here. And there is also a world where in eight months, David Savard is not here either.

I have a hard time seeing Kent Hughes trading both of his veterans by the deadline, and according to what’s circulating, it’s mostly Savard who might leave soon.

But if Savard leaves (let’s say Mailloux takes his place) and the others are still there, which should technically happen unless there is an injury… The defense will be almost intact.

There will be some stability if that happens, and that’s not bad in my eyes. It’s in those moments that the guys understand their role perfectly, which makes for fewer guys mixed into the lineup.

You may have noticed that I didn’t mention Jayden Struble, but his situation seems a bit different. He now has to go through waivers before being sent to the American League, which limits the options for the Canadiens… But he seems to be in the same boat as Michael Pezzetta, who has only played three games this season.

To be continued.

Quick Hits

– Tyler Johnson wants to keep playing.

– Indeed.

– Yeah… Things aren’t looking good for Roman Josi.

– Already?