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Five players who could benefit from Rafaël Harvey-Pinard’s injury

 Andrew Taylor
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Five players who could benefit from Rafaël Harvey-Pinard’s injury
Credit: Photo by Vitor Munhoz/NHLI via Getty Images

The bad news is in: Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will be out of action for the next four months due to leg surgery.

For the Habs, this means there’s an opening up front on the heels of training camp. And inevitably, there are players who will try to fill it.

Right now, here are the players who are pretty much guaranteed (or totally guaranteed, in many cases) to break into the Canadiens’ forward line-up. All this can change (injury, transaction, etc.) quickly, of course.

  • Nick Suzuki
  • Cole Caufield
  • Brendan Gallagher
  • Josh Anderson
  • Christian Dvorak
  • Joel Armia
  • Kirby Dach
  • Alex Newhook
  • Jake Evans
  • Juraj Slafkovsky
  • Michael Pezzetta

The top 10 are expected to play in the first game of the season, and Pezzetta could either play or be in the stands. Normally, though, he’ll break into the 23-man lineup.

That leaves up to three forward spots up for grabs. Who’s going to fight for those spots?

Joshua Roy could have made the list above. His chances of making the club were great before RHP was injured, and they’re probably even greater now.

I can see him playing the first game of the season… barring a (very) bad camp. He’s got a place to lose.

Alex Barré-Boulet is a guy who will have to pass the waivers to go to Laval. He already had a chance of making the club, but now he’s got a little nudge from life to break into the early-season line-up.

My colleague Maxime Truman’s “problem” has naturally been solved.

With all these guys, that means there are 13 guys who possibly have more chances than the others to break into the lineup. Michael Pezzetta has a chance of starting the season in the stands… and so does Alex Barré-Boulet, depending on the identity of the 14th forward.

If one more youngster makes the club, ABB could be a replacement. If not, the Quebecer could play the first game of the season. Here’s who he could be up against in camp.

Oliver Kapanen will show up at the Habs camp hoping to earn a spot. Will he succeed?

Owen Beck has earned himself a flash recall by the Habs in 2022-2023. After a good end to his OHL career, he’ll be hungry for the next camp. We see him going to Laval to start his pro career, but a good camp can change everything.

Emil Heineman lost some feathers last year, but the Habs still have to love his potential. If he has a good camp, he can shuffle the deck in the coming months.

Guys like Sean Farrell, Luke Tuch, Filip Mesar (or not…), Jared Davidson or Florian Xhekaj (later in the season?) are also worth keeping in mind. They could be eligible for a recall at some point during the season, if the puck rolls in their favor. To be continued…


Overtime

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– Have a good listen.

– Rangers want to win.

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