Michael Hage: It was his injury that changed the original plan

Maxime Truman
Michael Hage: It was his injury that changed the original plan
Credit: X

Michael Hage was too good for “the league” yesterday in Brossard.

Surrounded by players drafted later than him, less physically prepared, younger, and/or simply invited to participate, Hage looked like a man among children.

He scored two goals, added an assist, and scored in the shootout. Yesterday, there was Hage… and everyone else.
Including Alexander Zharovsky…

So why won't he be playing with the pros—in Montreal or Laval—this October? Why did he decide to play a third year in the NCAA (even though the Canadiens' management believes he's ready for the pros)?

There are several possible explanations.

1. Hage says he wants to return to school (which is a good decision in itself) because he wants to make the leap to the pros and have an impact when he does, rather than just trying to keep up with the crowd. He's aware of the giant strides he's made since arriving at Michigan and wants to use the 2026–27 season to iron out a few kinks in his game so he can make the leap to the pros “more ready.” He wants to spend a year as a leader, being used in every possible role to further his development, before coming to Montreal (or Laval).

2. Reread the last few sentences of point 1 and add to that the fact that Max Pacioretty is Michael Hage's mentor and assistant coach at Michigan.

Reminder: While shuttling back and forth between Hamilton (AHL) and Montreal, Pacioretty had stated loud and clear that he preferred to stay in Hamilton as long as he wasn't ready to play a significant role in the NHL. He'd rather play a key role in Hamilton than try to scrape by in a minor role in Montreal.

There's clearly some Max Pacioretty influence behind Michael Hage's decision.

3.
Michigan will likely be the favorite to win the Frozen Four
next year.

No fewer than 15 players drafted by NHL teams will wear the Wolverines' navy blue and yellow colors. How could anyone not seriously consider the option of winning it all in the NCAA while playing a leading role (as the top center)?

Especially since Alexander Hage, Michael's younger brother, might make the Wolverines' roster…

4. People close to the CH have also told me that Michael Hage really enjoys the lifestyle his status as a student-athlete at Michigan affords him. Friends, the gym, college games, campus life, just chilling…

In short, the perfect life for a 20-year-old!

It's understandable that he'd want to extend that for another year before experiencing the “vida loca”
in Montreal. Especially since college players can now get paid south of the border…

5.
Michael Hage REALLY
wants to play center in the NHL. He'll obviously be willing to play wing if asked to, but his goal is to play center.

If he had signed this summer, I'm not convinced he would have been ready to play center on the second line… and with Jake Evans, Phillip Danault, Alex Newhook, and Kirby Dach all under contract, there wouldn't have been a spot at center on the third or fourth line for Hage.

He believes he'll be able to play regularly at center next year, after another year of playing a key role in the NCAA.

6. Yesterday, my colleague Pat Guillet spoke for a few minutes with Michael Hage's mother. She told him that if he hadn't been injured at the end of the season, her son would very likely have signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens in April.

According to him, that injury at such a crucial time has slowed his development somewhat.

He didn't do it, and whether he signs this summer or in April 2027, he'll burn a year off his entry-level contract.

Without that leg injury, Hage might have played in the playoffs and would most likely be a member of the Habs or the Rocket this fall. Damn injuries in sports…

He'll sign with Montreal in April

Several people familiar with Hage's situation firmly believe that he will sign his entry-level contract once the Wolverines' season is over.

He wants to play here. He'll be ready to help the Canadiens or the Rocket.

Of course, there will always be speculation about the possibility that Hage was offered to another team (the Maple Leafs) last March and that this frustrated him…

That the Canadiens were only willing to offer him a contract with the Rocket to finish the 2025–26 season and that this disappointed him…

But people close to Hage all say the same thing: he won't turn his back on the Canadiens and will sign with the team in April.

We just have to be patient until then…

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