Several Canadiens players to leave the organization by Tuesday

Today is June 25. Be honest: how many of you have a headache this morning?

I can confirm that my two young teenagers had trouble getting up for work this morning.

But June 25 isn’t just the day after St John’s Day. It’s also the Wednesday before the draft (in 48 hours).

And the opening of the free-agent minus-six market.

In short, it’s usually the calm before the storm.

There’s a lot of talk among Canadiens fans about who might be coming to Montreal between now and next week, but even if it’s less sexy, there’s another question to ask before thinking about adding assets: who’s leaving?

Who is in their last days with the Canadiens organization?
Only three players will be eligible for full autonomy next Tuesday, if they don’t come to a last-minute agreement with the team: Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak and Michael Pezzetta. Of the lot, I can see Joel Armia staying, but then again..

Pezzetta hardly ever played, and Dvorak looks like he’ll be heading back south of the border.

Among restricted free agents, it’s also very slim: Emil Heineman (without arbitration rights), Jayden Struble (with arbitration rights), Jakub Dobes (with arbitration rights) and Cayden Primeau (with arbitration rights) are the only RFAs in the making.

Kent Hughes has until 5:00 p.m. Monday to submit a qualifying offer to these guys. Such an offer would allow the Habs to retain the rights of the players mentioned, but it would open the door to arbitration with Struble, Primeau and Dobes. What will Kent Hughes do? Heineman, Dobes and Struble will receive their qualifying offers. As for Primeau, he’s likely to leave… but will he be traded or simply let go?

And don’t write off the possibility of Arber Xhekaj, Josh Anderson, Patrik Laine, Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, Mike Matheson or even Kirby Dach being sacrificed in a transaction (more or less important). It could happen..

For the Rocket?
Brandon Gignac and Connor Hughes have already announced that they will continue their careers on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Alex Barré-Boulet could well follow in their footsteps, especially given the vibe of his post-season press conference in Laval.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will be eligible for restricted autonomy (and possible arbitration), and I’d be surprised to see the Canadiens go before an arbitrator for RHP. But could the two parties come to an agreement on the side?

Sean Farrell(RFA), Xavier Simoneau(RFA with arbitration), William Trudeau(RFA) and Noel Hoefenmayer(RFA with arbitration) will need a new deal if they want to stay with the organization.

Oh yes… Gustav Lindstrom has signed a five-year contract in Sweden. He’s not coming back.

With all these departures, we can easily conclude that there will be several additions announced over the next few days. Nothing is lost, nothing is created, said Lavoisier.

Hopefully, both the Rocket and the Canadiens will be able to add muscle, character and grit to their respective line-ups. That’s what’s been lacking most during the playoffs (NHL and AHL).

Changes behind the bench or in the office?
Every year or so, the Canadiens or Rocket make changes behind the bench or in the office.

Will Trevor Letowski and Stéphane Robidas remain Martin St-Louis’ two assistants? Will Éric Raymond still be the big club’s goaltending coach in September? Will Roger Grillo retain his position as consultant? Will a new, more present assistant be hired?

Will there be any changes at the amateur or professional scouting level?

Will Pascal Vincent return to Laval? If so, will he still be teaming up with Martin Laperrière, Daniel Jacob and Marco Marciano?

Stop saying that nothing will happen in the next few days. There will be changes; the only question is what they will be.