Canadiens Roster Composition Complicated By Outside Factors

The Montreal Canadiens appear to have few roster spots available, but the makeup of their roster is still open and could make for an interesting conclusion to training camp.

The NHL requires that its clubs hold a maximum of 23 players on their roster.

For salary cap reasons, some teams may be limited to starting the season with only 21 or 22 players, making the battles at training camp even more intense and intriguing.

Then there’s also the NHL waivers consideration, with youngsters like David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux and Jayden Struble not requiring waivers.

Factor in Justin Barron requiring waivers to be sent down to the AHL, and now head coach Martin St-Louis and general manager Kent Hughes have a major puzzle on their hands.

Montreal Canadiens Running With 13 or 14 Forwards

The Montreal Canadiens’ first 11 forwards seem pretty much locked in with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans and Joel Armia.

Joshua Roy looks like a very real possibility to join the group above and complete the Canadiens’ starting lineup at forward.

So who will be the extra and how many will the Canadiens carry?

Over the last two seasons, Michael Pezzetta has started the season as the extra forward, but could newcomer Alex Barré-Boulet or youngsters like Owen Beck or Oliver Kapanen bump him down the depth chart and onto the waiver wire?

It’s a worthwhile question, as the Canadiens have a few considerations to make here.

First off, Beck and Kapanen would not require waivers to be cut from the roster. Kapanen can easily be returned to Sweden to play top minutes with Timra IK, while Beck can be sent down to the Laval Rocket in the AHL and called up at a moment’s notice.

Barré-Boulet would have to be put on waivers if he does not crack the Canadiens roster. It’s also worth remembering that he’s been plucked off the waiver wire before, spending a short stint with the Seattle Kraken before being reclaimed by the Tampa Bay Lightning two seasons ago.

But, beyond that, there is also the roster composition issue, as carrying 14 forwards means the Montreal Canadiens can only carry a maximum of 7 defencemen, to go along with their two goaltenders.

Breaking Down The Defence Corps

The defensive brigade makes the composition of the forward group even more complicating.

The Montreal Canadiens’ top-4 is basically locked in, with Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, David Savard and Arber Xhekaj slated to start the season in Montreal.

Then there’s a dogfight between Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble, Justin Barron, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher for the final spots in the lineup.

With Barron requiring waivers, it is very easy to assume he’ll have one of those spots, either on the bottom pair or as an extra. Meanwhile, it’s looking more and more likely that Hutson will be starting the year with the Canadiens.

Do the Canadiens then send down one of Struble or Mailloux to Laval, along with the 19-year-old Reinbacher? Or do they keep eight defencemen?

Due to the risk of losing some of their forwards to waivers, which isn’t as much an issue on defence beyond Barron, it’s more likely than not that they run with seven defencemen.

Either Struble or Mailloux would get top minutes in Laval and would be the first call-up in case of any injuries, a much better outcome than sitting in the stands for multiple games at a time.

Makes the decision logical, unless one of the youngsters absolutely forces the issue.

Likeliest Outcome For Montreal

Given the age of the Canadiens’ young defensive brigade, it’s more likely than not that they run with seven defencemen on October 9 on opening night.

Needlessly losing a forward to waivers would only hurt their forward depth, be it for the Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket. Now, if a youngster like say Kapanen is able to force the issue and crack a roster spot, the Canadiens may be more willing to put one of their forwards on waivers, knowing they have their depth in tact.

But, outside any major surprise, it’s very likely they start the year with a 14F-7D-2G formation on opening night.