Hockey

Martin St-Louis prefers to go with 13 forwards: Samuel Blais to be waived
Mathis Therrien
Martin St-Louis prefers to go with 13 forwards: Samuel Blais to be waived
Credit: Getty Images

Now that the preparatory schedule is finally over, the various NHL teams will be making their final cuts and adjustments in preparation for the regular season. As far as the Canadiens are concerned, there would normally remain two forwards, three defensemen (including David Reinbacher and William Trudeau, who are injured) and one goaltender to be cut in order to respect the 23-player limit.

This would allow the Habs to start the season with 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders. However, it's not quite that simple, given that Habs head coach Martin St-Louis has indicated that he prefers to go with a line-up of 13 forwards instead of 14. So, if St-Louis follows his preference, the Habs will have to cut another forward, in addition to Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj.

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Of the 14 forwards remaining after the impending cuts of Beck and Xhekaj, 11 are guaranteed to make the club, and I'd go so far as to say 12, considering St-Louis' comments yesterday about Oliver Kapanen's line.

Kapanen seems pretty assured of making the club, given that he's developed great chemistry with Ivan Demidov, leaving two players whose place in Montreal isn't guaranteed, namely Joe Veleno and Samuel Blais.

And between the two, I think the Habs would prefer to keep Veleno as a 13ᵉ forward, given that he's a left-handed center, which makes him more versatile. Nothing's done of course, but I think it's a real shame that one of the two players has to be sent to the waivers, given that both really had an excellent practice camp.

Blais and Veleno stood out even more last night, but in the end, if the head coach only wants 13 forwards, that's his choice

I personally would have thought that in the current situation, where several players are standing out and playing well, St-Louis would have decided to keep 14 forwards, but hey.Nothing's done, but if the coach's preference is anything to go by, it looks bad for Veleno or Blais.

We'll be watching at 2 p.m., when we'll find out if either player is sent to the waivers, and hope no one claims Veleno or Blais. We can expect the same for Kaapo Kahkonen, who will also have to go to the waivers when he's sent back to Laval.

Jakub Dobes kept his place as Montreal's second goaltender by not allowing a goal during the preseason, forcing the Habs to send the Finn to the waivers

'En

– Great!

– To be continued on the Senators' side.

– To be continued.

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