Habs training: Christian Dvorak still conspicuous by his absence

Here we go again.

The Montreal Canadiens have just announced that Christian Dvorak will not play again this season. The forward will undergo surgery tomorrow for a torn pectoralis major.

Too bad for the American.

This is the second season in a row that such an announcement has been made. Last year, however, it was for knee surgery… and that was in March, later in the season.

He’s only played 25 games this year, having started the season on the LTIR. He’s likely to end up there, too.

The American has one year left on his contract after the 2023-2024 season. He earns $4.45 million a year and clearly, the Habs will have a hard time trading him this summer.

If it has to happen, it may be in 14 months, at the next deadline. After all, by then, his injury history could be scary.

Earlier this morning, we wondered if such an announcement would be made, but in the case of Josh Anderson. That said, Anderson will play tonight against the Sabres.

Since no one has been recalled, expect the Habs to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Note that with a few center players (Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach and Christian Dvorak) on the sidelines, this opens the door for Mitchell Stephens to stay in Montreal.

I don’t necessarily expect him to return to Laval this year.

Extension

When Dvorak goes on the injured list, he’ll join a few guys. Three of them won’t play all year: Kirby Dach, Carey Price and most likely Chris Wideman.

Alex Newhook will return during the season (around the deadline, perhaps), but it’s still early days for him. But at least Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Tanbner Pearson are making progress.

It’s also worth noting that if Price, Wideman, Dach and Dvorak all go on the long-term injured list, Kent Hughes could have some fun and room to manoeuvre at the trade deadline.

Stay tuned.