The Canadiens have been without an extra player for nearly a week now

Dose
Crédit: Twitter screenshot

Before the trip out West, the Habs didn’t really have any extra players. All the guys who were healthy had a place in Martin St-Louis’ line-up.

During the trip out West, the club had some extras. Joshua Roy only played when Kirby Dach couldn’t and Marc Del Gaizo probably didn’t even come close to playing.

And since the club’s return to Quebec, the Habs are back to just 18 skaters.

Unless there’s a recall soon, we already know which players will be playing tonight. And when I say “players” in my previous sentence, I don’t mean goalies.

Did it strike you or not?

Would the Habs benefit from a little internal competition? Hard to say. After all, at the moment, things are going pretty well for the Habs, who are playing inspired hockey.

So, for the time being, Kent Hughes’ objective is clear: to have as few guys upstairs as possible, so as to be able to collect money under the salary cap on a daily basis.

Without Carey Price’s contract in the way, it’s now possible to do just that, to gain flexibility in the run-up to the trade deadline. And it could pay off in a big way, if the GM plays his cards right.

Since the Canadiens spend a lot of time at home in November, it’s easy to imagine that, if need be, a guy from Laval could quickly be recalled to fill a hole.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Note that the Rocket will be playing on the road a lot in the next few days, but that these will be games in places where recalling a player quickly isn’t a huge issue. #Belleville #Springfield #Hartford #Providence

So if the Canadiens are in a bad spot, recalling a player isn’t a big deal.

(Credit: Rocket)

Remember, if Kaiden Guhle and Patrik Laine were healthy, the Canadiens might have more active players on hand. After all, if both guys were back tomorrow morning, I don’t see which player would be traded to the Rocket.

But the guys are injured, so it’s a hypothetical scenario.

overtime

– It’s coming.

– To be continued.

– Joe Veleno: what do you think of his production? [JdeM]

– Reminder: it’s game day.