JiC: “Because he’s returning to Michigan, Michael Hage is becoming a decoy”

Michaël Petit
JiC: “Because he’s returning to Michigan, Michael Hage is becoming a decoy”
Credit: onhockeytv

When Michael Hage announced that he was returning to Michigan for another season, it sparked a huge reaction, but it also surprised a lot of people.

Montreal Canadiens fans are all really looking forward to seeing Hage in the Habs' uniform, and we all felt he was ready to make the jump.

I still believe he could very well have made the big league team, even if it wouldn't have been directly on the second line.

He wanted to continue his development before making the jump to the NHL by playing another season in the NCAA, but I personally believe he would have progressed even more at the highest level.

JiC also believes it would have been more beneficial for him to make the jump to the pros. However, since he's returning to Michigan this season, JiC thinks he's now becoming a bargaining chip in a potential trade. That's what he said on his podcast, Jean-Charles en Liberté.

That could definitely be a game-changer.

Clearly, he should have taken his chances with the Habs and tried to earn a spot. He has the talent for it, and he could have forced a guy like Kirby Dach out of the lineup.

Dach has great vision and can put together some really good games, but he definitely lacks consistency, and there are always concerns about his health.

For now, Dach is healthy, but for how long? Hage could have compensated for Dach's vision while also being much faster and having an excellent shot.

Hage doesn't have Dach's build, but it's not as if Dach plays a very physical game either. He'll use his size and weight a bit to protect the puck, but other than that, he's not a power forward at all.

However, I don't necessarily agree that he's becoming a “bait” player simply because he decided to refine his game in the NCAA so he could enter the NHL as a better player.

If he's a decoy right now, he most likely already was one before he made that decision.

And honestly, I can't see the Habs trading a player who dreams of playing for his childhood team. I know the NHL is still a business, but the Habs would trade Alexander Zharovsky, David Reinbacher, and possibly even Jacob Fowler before they'd trade Hage.

I'm really looking forward to seeing if he can truly dominate and to seeing how the Michigan Wolverines fare with all their exciting new additions (including Landon DuPont).


In a nutshell

– Very interesting.

– At just under $4 million per season, this is an excellent contract for the Hurricanes.

– We won't see a Nikishin–Hellebuyck trade.

– He'll temporarily fill the void left by the departures of Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger.

– Indeed, that wasn't very smart of him.

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