Season over for Dvorak: Many potential candidates for a Laval recall

Earlier today, the Canadiens announced that Christian Dvorak’s season is over. The forward suffered a torn pectoralis major and will have to go under the knife to heal his boo-boo.

This means that the club must now juggle another injured forward… And it means that the club will obviously have to recall a forward from the Rocket, because the Habs currently have 11 forward players.

The Tricolore will be playing with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen tonight, but that won’t be the case for the rest of the season, after all.

Marc Dumont (Montreal Hockey Now) wondered who would be recalled from Laval, and right off the bat, he says the options are limited.

That’s true in a way, because Brandon Gignac doesn’t have an NHL contract and because Riley Kidney (ill) is sidelined at the moment.

Dumont sees Philippe Maillet being recalled, if the Habs want to leave Joshua Roy in the AHL to hone his development skills:

But there are other guys who, in my eyes, could have the chance to be recalled soon.

Emil Heineman is probably the most logical candidate because he got his first taste of the NHL earlier this season. He played two games with the Habs in December and knows the drill.

Otherwise, I’d like to see the Habs give Sean Farrell a chance to shine. The forward is doing well in his first pro season (16 points in 22 games) and also has some NHL experience (6).

But the energy of a guy like Xavier Simoneau could also help the Habs’ lineup. We’re talking about a support player who has a nice offensive output in the AHL this season (16 points in 25 games), and it’s his fighting spirit that makes him an interesting player for any coach. His style is very similar to Brendan Gallagher’s, for example.

Lias Andersson also comes to mind. The forward, who can play both center and wing, had a dazzling start to the season in Laval… But then he got hurt and didn’t collect any points in his last seven games. He certainly doesn’t look like the Lias Andersson of the early season.

I can’t wait to see the Habs’ decision. On the face of it, if management wants to go with the most deserving, it’s Gignac who should be recalled. However, the fact that he’s without an NHL contract puts a spanner in the works, and I don’t see Kent Hughes panicking and adding another contract to his list.

It will be interesting to follow.

Dvorak’s injury… What does it mean for Monahan?

The Habs have lost another center for the season in Christian Dvorak.

Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are also injured (Newhook could return by March) and this will complicate the work of Martin St-Louis and Kent Hughes.

Nick Suzuki, Sean Monahan, Jake Evans and Mitchell Stephens are the four remaining centers in the Habs’ line-up… And the club’s depth is starting to look a little tough. Especially since Newhook is better on the wing.

But Dvorak’s injury could also change things for Monahan. Monahan is seen as a potential trade chip between now and the next trade deadline, and we know how important he is to the Habs.

He’ll be even more so with Dvorak gone, that said. And we wonder whether this will play a role in Kent Hughes’ ultimate decision.

If there is a deal, the Canadiens will have a big salary bump.

The club has a current cap space of exactly $3.4M, but things will change if Dvorak ($4.45M) is placed on the long-term injured list.

And if there is a deal, Kent Hughes will still have to look for reinforcements at center. Kind of like he did with Chris Tierney at the end of last season.

All we know, in the midst of all this uncertainty, is that the Habs will be shaking things up between now and March 8.

In gusto

– A little bird tells me he’s in for a good game.

– Whew.

– Looks a lot like this.

– Good news. Glad to see he’s doing well.

– The Mets add depth to their lineup.