End of season brings many defensive questions for Montreal and Laval

The Canadiens now have five games left in their season. That wraps it up.

There are also four regular-season games left for the Laval Rocket, who are currently fighting to get into the spring dance. The club hopes to add some playoff games as well.

Will Jean-François Houle make it?

There are still many questions to be asked, both in Montreal and Laval. That’s true offensively, but it’s also true defensively, where there’s good congestion for the future.

And that’s without counting Lane Hutson and Adam Engstrom, who could be added along the way in the next few days or weeks.

If we look at the defensemen under contract with the Habs (with the exception of Chris Wideman and Brady Keeper, who are injured and have no future in Montreal), we still have a lot to wonder about.

Here’s one for each defenseman currently playing in Montreal/Laval.

David Reinbacher, Laval : Will he be able to keep up the pace between now and the end of the season to help the Rocket make the playoffs? Without Justin Barron for the short term, he’s one of two healthy right-handers in Laval.

Logan Mailloux, Laval : Will he get an audition upstairs? With the regular schedule winding down and the Rocket needing him, let’s just say that to do so without affecting the Rocket, it would have to be tomorrow, or next week against Detroit.

William Trudeau, Laval : Can he get back into the running for a recall? Probably not this season, but next camp he’ll want to give the club a try.

Mattias Norlinder, Laval : Can’t wait to finish the season and leave the organization? You’d think so.

Justin Barron, Montreal : How good a chance will he have at the top between now and the end of the season? We know he’s here because of injuries and that he’ll be back down for the playoffs (or before), but he’s auditioning right now.

Johnathan Kovacevic, Montreal : Will he play often? He’ll want a chance to finish the season strong, but if everyone else is healthy, he’s not the club’s #1 option, let’s say. I think he’s likely to play a few games, though.

Kaiden Guhle, Montreal : Will we see him again this season? He was injured on Thursday and we haven’t seen him since. Seeing him finish the season would be ideal.

Arber Xhekaj, Montreal : Where is he injured? We don’t know anything other than that “upper body” is involved, and we also know that he will undergo a thorough examination to test his state of health. Is that why he’s in Uncle Sam’s country?

Jayden Struble, Montreal : Can he get his mojo back ? After all, he slowed down in the second half of the season, and seeing him limit his mistakes would help him for the rest of the season.

Jordan Harris, Montreal : How can he make himself indispensable? With all the defensemen in town, if he wants to stay long-term, he’d better help himself by giving Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton reasons to keep him around.

David Savard, Montreal: Is this his last game in town? We know the trade rumours will start up again in his case…

Mike Matheson, Montreal : How many points will he finish the season with? There’s not much at stake with him, so we’ll see if he can add to his 10 points and 47 assists in the Flanelle’s last five games of the season.

If you want to round out the defensive picture, one has to wonder if Samuel Montembeault will be able to come back a bit and finish the season strong, if Cayden Primeau will stay the course and if Jakub Dobes will take the Rocket to the playoffs.

These are the three goalies under (healthy) contract with the Canadiens who play in Montreal and Laval.

In bursts

– A long time, you say?

– Of note.

– Notice to interested parties.

– Lions news.

– He’s right.

– Happy reading.