Habs Mailbag: Canadiens won’t make Lane Hutson a power play specialist

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Will Montreal field seven defensemen for part of the season to make things easier for Lane Hutson?

Darren – Habs and Avs on X (@DK4lighting)

That’s possible, especially early in the season. But it would also come with its own set of problems, meaning limited ice time for the young defensemen while also not being able to field four lines up front. I think Hutson would do better playing a lot of minutes in Laval than a few in Montreal.

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Tony Marinaro asked Kent Hughes about the possibility of starting the season with seven defensemen and 11 forwards when the general manager was a guest on Marinaro’s show recently new program Le Forum on French radio station BPM Sports.

“That’s more of a coach’s question, but as a GM, I see it that way,” Hughes said. “I don’t necessarily want to hide Lane Hutson and make him a power-play guy (with the Canadiens). We want Lane Hutson to be the best defenseman he can be. If that means playing fewer minutes but in the NHL — or maybe not every game — we’ll do that.”

Hughes added that if the Canadiens feel Hutson would have a better chance of developing in the AHL, they would move him to the Laval Rocket.

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People talk and ask if Patrik Laine’s salary ($8.7 million) is currently higher than Nick Suzuki’s ($7.857 million). No one asked the right question. I wondered if Laine plays well and the Canadiens like him, would they forget about Suzuki’s imaginary cap when they re-sign him? I have a feeling Laine 2.0 will be a beast.

Nicolas Dumais on X @ElectronicMan83

Suzuki has four years left on his contract, and Hughes — who didn’t sign Laine — will surely sign another player for more money than the captain as the rebuilding process moves forward and the NHL’s salary cap increases. Laine could definitely be that guy.

I have a feeling that an unexpected player could spring a surprise at camp. Do you agree?

Chantal Barbeau

Training camp is usually full of surprises. Forward Florian Xhekaj will be looking to surprise just as his brother Arber did two years ago when he was traded to the Canadiens without ever being drafted.

Former Canadien Chris Nilan mentioned several times on The Gazette’s Hockey Inside/Out Show last season that the team needs “more men” — big guys who are tough to play against, especially in the playoffs. Florian is 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds.

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Another player who could be a surprise is left winger Luke Tuch, selected by the Canadiens in the second round (47th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, who is participating in his first NHL training camp after spending four years at Boston University and compiling 10-20-30 in 39 games last season. Tuch is listed at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.

If both Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau stay healthy, how do you think they’ll split the game? I’m going with 52-30 with Monty carrying the load. Of course, how they play will dictate how it goes.

Sheri Taylor

I think you’re right on both counts. The No. 1 job will be up for grabs for Montembeault once the season starts, while Primeau will look to improve his consistency and show he’s a legitimate NHL goalie in the final season of his contract. Primeau also wants to push Montembeault to take the No. 1 job.

“We motivate each other,” Primeau said late last season. “I’ve said it all year. We have a friendly rivalry, a friendly competitive spirit. We want each other to succeed. But at the end of the day, we both want the net. We both motivate each other, and that’s a good camaraderie and relationship.”

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Assuming the offense takes a leap this season and the players are healthy and capable of even career-bests, do you think the goalies can improve beyond the low .900 save percentage and 3.16 goals against average? And if not, will HuGo (Hughes and Jeff Gorton, vice president of hockey operations) step in to speed things up?

LePetitViking on X @halfnthebag

Montembeault finished last season with a 16-15-9 record, a 3.14 goals against average and a .902 save percentage, while Primeau was 8-9-4 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

The Canadiens were third in the NHL, allowing an average of 33.4 shots per game. The only teams to allow more were the San Jose Sharks (35.1) and Columbus Blue Jackets (34.4).

Given the Canadiens have added more young defensemen to their roster this season after trading Jordan Harris to Columbus and Johnathan Kovacevic to New Jersey, I expect both goalies to face even more shots, making it harder for them to improve their GAA and save percentage.

I trust HuGo to be patient with goalies if they struggle and continue to monitor the development of Jacob Fowler at Boston College, where he went 32-6-1 last season with a 2.14 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

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