The Montreal Canadiens will be entering the 2024-25 season training camp with what fans believe will be an open door for some young defenders to step through. General manager Kent Hughes has made two trades to help unblock the log jam on defence of young, skilled blueliners. Trading Jonathan Kovacevic and Jordan Harris opens up an NHL roster spot on both the left and right sides of the blue line.
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The hopes for rookie or sophomore defenders to take a roster spot and make an immediate impact are likely unrealistic. In reality, Hughes will be forced to keep more veteran defensemen, at least for the start of the season.
Canadiens Rookie Hopes
Head coach Martin St. Louis showed the team that he was willing to make the difficult decisions to create a meritocracy, even if it meant cutting a veteran player.
Even though Hughes and company inherited Joel Armia’s deal from previous management, that doesn’t lessen the impact of seeing the veteran sent down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Laval Rocket. Something that eventually led to Armia battling his way back and having a career-high in NHL goals (17) in a season. This meritocracy is what the rookie defenders are hoping for as they enter the main training camp. That includes 2023 top-five pick, David Reinbacher.
“That’s been my mentality, I trained for that (to make the NHL roster) all summer. There will be a hot fight with the other guys that will be healthy and will push us to another level.”
In that same interview, Reinbacher made it clear he is healthy and ready. His play this summer for Austria during their failed attempt to qualify for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games shows that confident, mobile defender Hughes drafted.
What gives the young Austrian some hope is the fact that a Reinbacher and Kaiden Guhle pairing could eventually become one of the stronger pairings in the NHL. They both have NHL size, excellent mobility and a defensive IQ that allows their calm demeanours to be put to good use against top opposition. They complement each other very well as each has weaknesses that the other makes up for with their strengths. But that is likely not enough to get the Austrian an NHL roster position.
Reality for Canadiens Youth
Despite the efforts of the coaching and managerial staff to build a meritocracy, where a player’s performance makes the decisions for who makes the roster, there will still be a large element of asset management, especially when the Canadiens have an embarrassment of riches of young skilled blueliners. Fans all have their favourites and predictions for those players to make the roster. However, that isn’t the lock some may believe.
Beginning with young phenom Lane Hutson, who, despite an impressive NHL debut with two points in his first two NHL games, as well as the unwavering support from fans, there’s still a possibility he goes to the AHL. During an interview with Tony Marinaro on French language BPM Sports, Hughes mentioned that the 20-year-old’s role is still likely to include some time spent with the Laval Rocket to start the season.
“I don’t want to hide Lane Hutson… we want Lane Hutson to turn into the best defenceman that he can become. If he needs to improve his game and he’s better off in the AHL, we’ll send him to Laval.”
-Kent Hughes
Another young defender is Arber Xhekaj. “The Sheriff” signed a two-year deal this summer, and the affordable $1.3 million makes his addition cap-friendly. He could technically end up as the “seventh” defenceman because of what he brings to the roster; a booming shot, a punishing physical style, and an intimidation factor. He can rotate in based on needs from one game to the next.
The inside track belongs to those who are no longer waiver-exempt eligible, such as recently re-signed Justin Barron to a very friendly $1.15 million per season for two years. This, and his lack of waiver exemption point directly to it being Barron’s time. Last season, he made the club out of training camp, but failed to seize an opportunity when David Savard got injured. He then was eventually sent down to the AHL. But he returned and finished the season having played 48 games. In that time, he averaged 18:38 in ice time, placing him fourth in usage for defencemen who played over 40 games. His seven goals and 13 points in 48 games show he can provide the offensive play that modern defenders are relied upon to provide. This season will be his opportunity to show that he can be a more consistent player not only offensively, but defensively as well.
There will always be opportunities for AHL call-ups based on injuries or even surprise trades. While Mike Matheson has become the Canadiens’ top defender, that makes him highly visible. His 62 points and an average ice time of over 25 minutes per game make him highly desirable to contending teams. While it is unlikely that he will get traded, it’s not impossible.
Just because there will be few openings to start the season, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for the rookies. With Savard in the final year of his four-year contract, he is going to be the center of many trade rumours, and if he does get traded, another top-four spot will be opened up to allow for another youngster, such as Logan Mailloux, to graduate to the NHL roster.
