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Hutson is still producing points — he ranked third among NHL defensemen entering Friday’s games — but he’s also learned how to better manage the risk/reward factor this season. That’s why we don’t see as many stunning plays and he has a plus 3 differential.
With 10 points in 11 games, Hutson is actually ahead of his offensive production from last season, when he had a total of 0-7-7 after 11 games.
Where do David Reinbacher and Michael Hage fit into the Habs’ future plans? Are they pieces from this year or pieces from next year?
Billy Charlebois
After recovering from a broken hand in a pre-season game and playing his first game with the Laval Rocket on Friday night, the Canadiens are hoping Reinbacher can stay healthy for a full season and play big minutes in the AHL. As Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent said, Reinbacher still has a “lack of mileage and lack of experience” and needs to improve his defense while also continuing to develop physically.
I would describe Reinbacher as a player for next year and it may take even longer before the 21-year-old is ready for a full-time spot with the Canadiens.
The same goes for Hage, who is off to a great start in his sophomore season at the University of Michigan with 6-9-15 totals in his first nine games. If the 19-year-old decides to leave college and turn pro after this season, I think the Canadiens would like him to play in Laval next season. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hage played a game or two with the Canadiens at the end of this season to burn off the first year of his NHL entry-level contract.
Do the Habs wait until Alexander Zharovsky’s KHL contract expires in May 2027, or do they try to get him next April, like they did with Ivan Demidov, to give him a taste of the NHL?
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Zharovsky is off to a very impressive start to the KHL season as an 18-year-old with Ufa Salavat Yulayev, posting 5-9-14 totals in 13 games after the Canadiens selected him in the second round (34th overall) of this year’s NHL Draft.
But I don’t think the Canadiens will be in as much of a rush to get him to the NHL as they were with Demidov after selecting him with the fifth overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft. Demidov is 6-foot-4 and 192 pounds, while Zharovsky is 6-foot-4 and 163 pounds and needs more time to develop physically.
The Habs have had relatively quiet trade deadlines, even when they were able to sell. Given the results early in the season, I would expect the Habs to be able to add something at this season’s deadline. I’d like to see them add a player like Jason Dickinson or Ilya Mikheyev, both of whom have reasonable expiring contracts and can contribute significantly to the middle six and the penalty kill. Do you expect HuGo to be active on the deadline?
Valois P. Ambrosino, Toronto
That all depends on where the Canadiens stand in the standings at the NHL trade deadline on March 6 and how Oliver Kapanen and Kirby Dach perform.
Jeff Gorton, the president of hockey operations, and GM Kent Hughes have shown they won’t make a trade at the deadline just for the sake of making a trade. Patrik Laine can become an unrestricted free agent next summer and appears to have no future with the Canadiens, so I imagine Hughes will want to trade him and get something in return. Mike Matheson can also become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but I expect Hughes to re-sign him before then.
Dickinson and Mikheyev are both centers for the Chicago Blackhawks, but at ages 30 and 31 respectively, I don’t see them fitting into the Canadiens’ future plans.
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