The unofficial start to the off-season calendar begins with the June 1 ‘Must Sign By’ date for drafted players.
Here’s this years list of players that each club must sign by next Thursday at 5pm ET, otherwise they will lose their signing rights.https://t.co/nXfmDT1fO4 pic.twitter.com/NAT5Q41mUs
– CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) May 26, 2023
Between now and Thursday, the Canadiens’ GM will have to decide whether to offer a new contract to two of the club’s goaltending prospects. We’re talking about Frederik Dichow and Joe Vrbetic.
These are two names that are a little unknown because they’re not talked about much around town.
Dichow, a fifth-round pick of the Habs, is a goalie who hails from Europe (and has had success with this year’s Frolunda team in Sweden). Vrbetic shuttled between Laval and Trois-Rivières last year. He played a total of 28 games with the Lions, and four with the Rocket.
The two cases are different, but they’re very similar in one way or another. In fact, both will definitely be looking for a position in the AHL next year… And that could get a little complicated if they sign a new contract with the CH.
In fact, Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes are all expected to take up positions in Montreal or Laval. That doesn’t leave much room for the two main players to make their mark, unless there’s a real general surprise…
On the other hand, the scenario of them leaving the organization would give Kent Hughes a bit of a boost. After all, we’re talking about two contracts under the cap, and let’s not forget that the draft is approaching, which means there will be new signings…
And let’s not forget that other prospects are growing within the organization at the moment.
In any case, I wouldn’t have seen Vrbetic ever getting a chance in Montreal, because he hasn’t necessarily broken everything this year. It’s different for Dichow, though, as he’s showing encouraging signs of progress on the ice…
But at a certain point, the Canadiens won’t win if they end up with too many goaltenders. In such a scenario, it would limit the playing time of the prospects and, by the same token, limit the development of those prospects.
Perhaps that’s for the best.
In brief
– Oh no…
A native of Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Cam MacDonald @OlympiquesGAT and his family lost everything in the out-of-control fires there, including his @SJSeaDogs Memorial Cup ring. @QMJHL The 20-year-old forward keeps his spirits high. https://t.co/fQDUDs9bc5
– jf plante (@jfplante_Droit) May 29, 2023
– Yikes. Let’s put it this way!
Let’s hope the Stars get Jamie Benn to control his emotions better than he did in Game 3 of the series! 😅 pic.twitter.com/YeN8EwClSo
– Le 5 à 7 (@5a7RDS) May 29, 2023
– That’s a lot of games in a few days.
That’s a lot of soccer! ⚽️😫 https://t.co/JxrS58m2ny
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) May 29, 2023
– I love these videos.
Only certain people should control the music in the locker room 😂 pic.twitter.com/Z0kq3glgtt
– Ottawa Senators (@Senators) May 29, 2023