Alexandre Carrier is in good health: no need to call a guy from Laval.

The Canadiens, as you know, have acquired the services of Alexandre Carrier. In return, Justin Barron is heading to Nashville.

The rumor going around was that the Quebec defender would not be able to play right now, as he has been on the injured list for a few days. But the good news is that this morning, he received the green light from the doctors.

He will therefore be able to play right away.

By the way, Alex Carrier has received the green light from the doctors to return to play this morning. @CanadiensMTL @TVASports

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 19, 2024

Otherwise, we could have expected to see a defender from the Laval Rocket take the road to Montreal – and ultimately to Detroit, where the Canadiens will go tomorrow after practice – to bring some depth on the road.

But since Carrier can play, it won’t be necessary.

In fact, Carrier should be able to play the last three games before the holidays (Friday, Saturday, and Monday) with the Canadiens, if all goes well. That’s good news for the Canadiens.

Carrier will also join the team in Detroit.

Alexandre Carrier will join the team in Detroit for the Canadiens’ game on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/q15sgm6SLu

— RDS (@RDSca) December 19, 2024

This means we can expect to see Martin St-Louis’ new defensive combinations as of Friday. I’m not sure how different it will be, but well.

If I were the coach of the Canadiens, I would do this:

Hutson – Matheson
Guhle – Carrier
Xhekaj – Savard
Struble

By virtue of circumstances, Jayden Struble is likely to be the one who will be benched more than the others. Before, it was between Barron and him… but now, Carrier is not there to be taken out of the lineup.

Given how long the Canadiens have been looking for a defender like him, he will play.

Extension

– Three Quebecers on the blue line and Samuel Montembeault as goalie: there will be Quebecers in abundance when it comes time to talk about the team’s defensive aspect.

– Kaiden Guhle should play more to the left with the trade, which was not the norm at the beginning of the season. This is good news since he performs better on his natural side.

– Kent Hughes made a trade to think about the present by sacrificing a defenseman of the future… who didn’t really have much of a future left. It’s rare for him to act that way due to the rebuild. But in this case, it had to be done.