Habs Mailbag: Goalie controversy would be a good thing for ...
Will Alex Burrows be running the power play again next season and would the Canadiens think about trying Lane Hutson as a forward?
Author of the article:
Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette
Published Jun 29, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 4 minute read
What’s the probability of another Canadiens goaltending controversy this season? The emergence of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau last season occurred while sharing the net with Jake Allen. Do you think the two-goalie system will lead to a goalie controversy — Part Deux — as Primeau gets more opportunity?
Scott Hinckley Port Saint Lucie, Fla.
I think management would embrace a goalie controversy because that would mean both Montembeault and Primeau are playing well. Montembeault will start the season as the No. 1 goalie, but management will want Primeau to push him. Having said that, I don’t think the plan will be for either one to play more than 50-55 games. Primeau is entering the final season of his contract, earning US$890,000, and will be highly motivated to prove he is a legitimate NHL goalie. Montembeault will be entering the first season of his three-year, US$9.45-million contract and will want to prove he’s a legitimate No. 1.
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“We push each other,” Primeau said at the end of last season. “I’ve been saying it all year. We have a friendly competition, a friendly competitive spirit. We want to see each other succeed. But, at the end of the day, we both want the net. We’re both pushing each other and it’s a good camaraderie and relationship.”
Do you foresee Alex Burrows continuing to start next season running the power play?
Tony Martins
We should find out soon whether Burrows will be running the power play again and whether he will even be back with the Canadiens. His contract expired at the end of last season. The Canadiens also need to find a new head coach for the AHL’s Laval Rocket after Jean-François Houle left to become head coach at Clarkson University, his alma mater. There’s no salary cap on coaches and I think it would be a good move for the Canadiens to bring in another coach as a power-play specialist.
I know Montreal has one of the stronger prospect pools in the league, but I was curious who you believe is a prospect that doesn’t get as much attention that could surprise in a few years.
Matthew Mazzalonga
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Florian Xhekaj did get some attention after the Canadiens selected him in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, mainly because he’s the younger brother of Arber. Nick Bobrov, the Canadiens’ co-director of amateur scouting, described Xhekaj as a “unicorn” after he posted 13-12-25 totals and 76 penalty minutes in 78 games to go along with a minus-17 differential two seasons ago with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Last season with the Bulldogs, who moved to Brantford, Xhekaj had 34-31-65 totals in 63 games to go along with 81 penalty minutes and a plus-17 differential. At 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Xhekaj could develop into a legitimate power forward with the Canadiens and would be a steal as a fourth-round pick. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the Rocket next season.
Although this is unlikely to happen, I thought it would be fun to explore if Habs management would consider moving Lane Hutson to forward. He could possibly be a top-six forward they need. I’ve been a Habs fan since the late 1960s and I don’t recall them ever converting a defenceman to forward. I believe the Leafs converted Wendel Clark, which worked out quite well.
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Roland from Bradford, Ont.
Clark was indeed a defenceman with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades when the Leafs selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 1985 NHL Draft. Clark had 32-55-87 totals and 253 penalty minutes in 64 games the previous season with the Blades and was also a defenceman with Team Canada when it won gold at the 1985 world junior championship. Clark went on to post 330-234-564 totals in 793 NHL games as a forward, along with 1,690 penalty minutes. The Canadiens selected Rick Chartraw as a defenceman in the first round (10th overall) of the 1974 NHL Draft. The Canadiens were stacked on the blue line at the time — led by the Big Three of Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe — so Chartraw was often used as a forward on a team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups, starting in 1976. Jim Roberts is another player who was used as a defenceman and a forward during his two stints with the Canadiens in the 1960s and ’70s. He earned five Stanley Cup rings. The game has changed a lot since those days and become much more specialized, so you rarely see players going from defence to forward. I don’t expect the Canadiens to use Hutson as a forward — although it would be fun to see.
If you have a question you’d like to ask for our weekly Habs Mailbag, you can email it to [email protected]
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