Let's hope Rafaël Harvey-Pinard doesn't fall victim to the surplus of forwards

I’m going to let you in on a big secret. The kind of secret that must remain between us, since it’s information that must not circulate elsewhere under any circumstances. Are you ready?

The Habs have a surplus of forwards.

Seriously, everyone knows that Montreal has a surplus of forwards. The same is true of the defensemen and goalies, but since Joel Edmundson left, the solutions are simpler. Up front, however, it’s a different story.

In fact, when you look at the list of forward players who have a contract that means they have to go through the ballot to go to Laval, you can see that there are a lot of people at mass.

Nick Suzuki
Cole Caufield
Brendan Gallagher
Josh Anderson
Mike Hoffman
Christian Dvorak
Joel Armia
Kirby Dach
Sean Monahan
Jake Evans
Rem Pitlick
Michael Pezzetta
Philippe Maillet
Lias Andersson, whose signature adds a candidate for a city job

Alex Newhook doesn’t yet have a contract, but he’ll fit into that category, too.

RFAs Lucas Condotta, Mitchell Stephens and Jesse Ylönen will not be exempt from the ballot when they sign. Of the lot, Ylönen was a favorite in Montreal last year.

As you can see, it’s getting crowded at Mass. And I haven’t even mentioned Juraj Slafkovsky, who may pass the ballot but won’t start the season in Laval.

Obviously, there will be some injuries along the way, but still. We know that Christian Dvorak may not start the season on time (he’ll be back soon, if all goes well) and maybe that’s the case for someone else too.

Yet the organization said he would back in March → https://t.co/Mes7hnHdsw

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) July 2, 2023

In all of this, there’s the name of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard that shouldn’t be forgotten. After all, when you look on Cap Friendly, he’s ” Waivers Exempt”, which means he doesn’t have to go through the ballot to go to Laval.

And even if he doesn’t deserve to go down, I’m afraid that despite his strong second half of the season, sending him down to start the season is a necessary evil.

After playing several games on the first trio with Nick Suzuki, it’s understandable → https://t.co/NtHXrFP0yh

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) April 23, 2023

After all, if a spot needs to be freed up, maybe thinking that Laval is a temporary solution for him will go through management’s head. That said, I hope it doesn’t.

After all, congestion or not, this guy belongs in the NHL.

In gusts

– Speaking of Lias Andersson.

I was told that the reason Andersson is considered a player with a bad attitude is that he threw his medal into the stands at the WJC.

If that’s really the reason, it’s hilarious. He was a kid. And hated losing. That works for me.

Adults complaining about that stuff is cringe.

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) July 2, 2023

– Excellent outing.

Pitcher redeemed himself well, so. https://t.co/U8gFUtpLOQ

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) July 3, 2023

– Does Mike Babcock deserve a second chance? [98.5 FM]

– Well done.

I always appreciate when players leave teams with respect and appreciation for opportunity. Kerfoot is a high character guy. 👇 https://t.co/Vu61WL0nzu

– Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 3, 2023

– Connor Bedard makes himself at home in Chicago.