It was just one game. That sentence holds multiple meanings, especially based on everything going on with the Montreal Canadiens recently. Their recent arguably embarrassing 6-5 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 16 was just one game, in the sense everyone should move on as fast and as much as possible, with perhaps exception to the performance of one Jesse Ylonen.
Ylonen of course scored twice in the game… came very close to notching a hat trick too, in what many are calling a breakout performance for the 24-year-old. Maybe so, but keep in mind Ylonen regularly got ice time with Nick Suzuki on the “top” line in 2023-24 with a few two-point performances from which to choose. With that in mind, no one should be surprised that he can score, given the opportunity.
The question is, how much of an opportunity should he be given or rather at whose expense should he be given that opportunity?
Keep Slafkovsky Where He Is too
Ylonen thankfully made the team out of training camp, and not just because he is now eligible for waivers. Sure, he would have been exposed and the Canadiens would have risked losing him, but the main concern should have been what is quickly becoming a widely acknowledged fact: He had done as much as he could in the American Hockey League.
Based on Ylonen’s production up to this point, it was far from a sure thing he’d attract the attention of another team on the waiver wire. He was at more risk of plateauing from a developmental standpoint and getting typecast as a career minor-leaguer when he obviously had a lot more to offer in a major-league capacity. That much is clear now. However, it’s important not to get carried away all the same.
Ylonen isn’t some magical silver bullet to all that ails the Canadiens. Moving him up the lineup will take away ice time from someone else. Meanwhile, keeping him down will continue to make the fourth line dangerous and enable head coach Martin St. Louis to roll four.
For example, all dropping down someone like Juraj Slafkovsky does is limit the former-first-overall pick’s ice time and boom. The Canadiens are right back to last season, when Slafkovsky was getting a 30th-ranked 12:13 per game, below the likes of Chris Tierney, Rem Pitlick and, well, Ylonen himself. When written that way, it’s obvious how much that presents a problem, or at least it should.
Slafkovsky should still be a priority and it should be more of a question of whether he should stay in the NHL altogether to get his game on track or not. However, sending him down now is incredibly polarizing. Some may say it could irreparably damage his confidence, prompting the argument that, hey, maybe they Habs should have started him in the AHL as a rookie and have him work his way up instead of risking having to eventually send him down. However what’s done is done.
Related: No Good Reason for Canadiens to Rush Slafkovsky to NHL
So, at this point, Slafkovsky’s likely staying with the Canadiens. He should stay high up the lineup too. Ylonen should be staying too… but where he is in the lineup. To promote Ylonen, someone else would have to drop down. Which other winger exactly, though?
Anderson Struggles to Score
Alex Newhook is still incredibly valuable in principle, and, with two points against the Golden Knights himself, he’s arguably just as “hot” as Ylonen. The Canadiens are even less likely to be giving up on Newhook after having just acquired him relative to Josh Anderson, three years into the experiment of trying to prove he’s a top-six forward.
In spite of Anderson’s meager two assists on the season, he looks to be staying with the Canadiens the balance of his initial seven-year, $38.5 million deal at this point. And, right now, with Anderson having come off his first 20-goal season with the Habs, it’s hard to justify plugging in a $5.5 million forward on the fourth line.
Trading Anderson is ideal and has been for the longest time (in the opinions of some at least). However, if general manager Kent Hughes turned down the reported hauls he could have gotten in exchange in the past, he’s unlikely to pull the trigger on anything less. All that to say, don’t count on Anderson going anywhere.
In contrast, the Canadiens probably do have designs on trading Tanner Pearson, who’s a pending unrestricted free agent. So, for the purposes of showcasing him, it would be far from ideal to demote him. Plus his line with Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher has worked fairly well.
Gallagher has meanwhile been relatively productive to start the season. Any demotion going his way would come across more like a punishment for taking an ill-advised double-minor against the Golden Knights that admittedly led to two late markers against, including the game-winning goal.
It obviously wasn’t Gallagher’s finest moment. However the Canadiens were on the verge of giving that game away altogether. That loss was a team effort. They were outplayed start to finish and, if it hadn’t have been Gallagher costing them a fine outing by Cayden Primeau, it almost certainly would have been someone else.
No Knee-Jerk Habs Roster Reactions, Please
Ultimately, demoting Gallagher would be the same kind of knee-jerk reaction promoting Ylonen would be, just in the opposite direction… and the kind of knee-jerk reaction you’d like to avoid, all things being equal. As the top of the piece reads, it was just one game. Move on.
For right now, Ylonen works on the fourth line (just like Michael Pezzetta, who, for the record, has the same amount of points on the season). Pezzetta’s arguably been more consistent, though. So, the argument to move Ylonen up should apply to him too, but, as argued above, it’s never as simple as just putting someone a higher line.
The Canadiens are blessed with a deep forward corps, but one that lacks game-breaking talent. Ylonen has his strengths, but he’s not an elite forward and he’s not going to suddenly produce like one on a team that’s generally otherwise devoid of high-end skill.
To be fair, no one’s suggesting Ylonen is bad or deserves to stay on the fourth line, only that little opportunity to move him off it exists presently. Injuries, oh G-d the injuries, will inevitably occur, at which point it makes more sense to see what Ylonen has to offer in a middle or even top-six role. In the here and now, keep Ylonen where he is, which to be clear includes Montreal. If he continues to produce, then reassess, but give it a few games at least (and not just the one).
