The stands or the AHL: It doesn’t matter, the Habs need to send Struble a message

Since the start of the season, we’ve rarely seen the Jayden Struble we saw last campaign.

In 23-24, there was a progression in the defender’s game. He was solid defensively, he made almost no mistakes, his decision-making was good… and that’s why he earned the trust of Martin St-Louis.

In the last month of the 23-24 season, he spent an average of 18 minutes (17:59) per game on the ice.

Now, I don’t know if he’s been hit by the second-year jinx… But Struble is no longer progressing.

He’s been averaging 14:11 per game since the beginning of November, and yesterday, without saying he cost the game because the Canadiens were down by a goal, he hurt his club by being undisciplined.

The Wild took advantage of a four-minute power play (high stick) to score, and the Minnesota outfit never looked back after that.

This prompts me to make the following observation: the Canadiens need to send a message to their defenseman.

Whether it’s leaving him out or sending him to Laval for a few games… It takes something.

Because down below, there’s one guy in particular who deserves the chance to play in the NHL right now. I’m talking about Logan Mailloux, who is burning up the AHL offensively.

Would he be playing in the NHL if he were better defensively? The question arises → https://t.co/imVtDfpayg

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) November 15, 2024

Why not send Struble down to recall Mailloux?

Actually, let me ask the question again.

Why not send one of the 2943 left-handed defensemen down because he’s not performing… And then recall one of the very few right-handed defensemen in the organization?

If we take this a step further, we know that Mailloux is an offensive defenseman. And we know that right now, the Canadiens need players who can create things offensively.

To put it another way, I’d rather see Mailloux be good offensively in Montreal (even if he makes mistakes) than Struble, who hasn’t been much use in Martin St-Louis’ line-up lately.

That said, Kent Hughes likes to see his youngsters succeed in the AHL so far this season, and that makes sense.

But at some point, if the Habs want to go for it on merit (which they should)… Struble has to go and Mailloux has to get his chance.

Would it hurt that much to see Mailloux learn in the AHL at the expense of a player who isn’t performing up to expectations?

You decide.

Overtime

– He’s really good.

Nobody in NHL history reached 300 wins faster than Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Another milestone for the future Hall of Famer! pic.twitter.com/HUWYnrJUEE

– NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) November 15, 2024

– Still!

On the board with a bang. @Canucks forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki clocked in at 93.38 mph on his first NHL tally Thursday night – one of the hardest shots that resulted in a goal this season.

More from NHL EDGE: https://t.co/7oEEQBRUTd #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/TBnMIlcfZa

– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 15, 2024

– His style is so unique.

Kirill Kaprizov mix to start the year pic.twitter.com/m8dqDu3rZp

– Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) November 15, 2024

– I can’t wait for tonight.

Mike Tyson, at the age of 58, is going to fight Jake Paul tonight and things might get weird.

Before they do…a reminder of what he used to look like in a boxing ring. pic.twitter.com/T1Sed6nkDh

– Sid Seixeiro (@Sid_Seixeiro) November 15, 2024

– Wow!

Tabarouette, that’s Montreal!#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/uT6bClYCOf

– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) November 15, 2024