A wave of injuries hits the Rocket (and puts pressure on Logan Mailloux)

Yesterday, my colleague Jeff Drouin wrote about the fact that Logan Mailloux should be recalled. And while it’s true that the young man deserves an audition (and that the Habs may want to give him one this year), the fact remains that the timing isn’t great right now.

And I’m not just saying that because the Habs will have, until 2pm this afternoon, eight defensemen. #Waivers #GustavLindstrom

I’m also saying this because the Rocket just announced a wave of major injuries and the guys in place are going to have to take more. And on top of that, we’re talking mostly about long-term injuries to key players in Laval.

Sean Farrell? Six to eight weeks out. Nathan Légaré? Seven to eight weeks. Gabriel Bourque? Indefinite absence. Brady Keeper? Three months on the sidelines.

Seeing a right-handed defenseman like Keeper go down with a long-term injury isn’t good news. After all, the backup on the right is thin on the ground… and it’s not like David Reinbacher is days away from potentially finishing his season in Laval.

The Rocket’s depth is really being tested right now. It’s a shame, since things have been going well for the Canadiens’ club-school recently, but that’s part of hockey.

But here’s what’s striking. On the left, at the blue line, Arber Xhekaj, William Trudeau, Tobie Bisson, Olivier Galipeau, Nicolas Beaudin and Mattias Norlinder are there. Six of them.

The pressure will be on Logan Mailloux, who has been playing great hockey since Jean-François Houle decided to pair him with Arber Xhekaj.

Let’s see how he responds. It could tell us a lot about the future, by the way.

Extension

Right now, let’s just say that the Rocket pilot must be praying hard that the 31 other teams on the Bettman circuit will ignore Gustav Lindstrom in the waivers.