Anthony Marcotte sees Philippe Maillet recalled

The Habs sent Joshua Roy back to Laval earlier today and now have 22 players in their 23-man roster.

So you’d expect the club to recall a player, given that there are only three centers up top right now (Suzuki, Evans and Monahan)…

Because we saw how difficult yesterday’s game against the Sens was with only three center players in the line-up.

The situation is a little hard to understand because the Habs also traded center Mitchell Stephens to Laval the day before yesterday.

He had to go through the waivers and was not claimed… But many wonder about the hidden motives behind the Tricolore’s decision, because Kent Hughes had the opportunity to keep Stephens with the big club and thus play four centers.

All this to say, it would be surprising to see the Habs recall Stephens, because it just doesn’t make sense after sending him to the AHL earlier this week.

Note that the Habs can’t recall Brandon Gignac because he doesn’t have a contract allowing him to play in the National League…

And this prompts Anthony Marcotte (BPM Sports) to believe that Philippe Maillet could have a chance to make his mark with the Habs because the player is having a good time in Laval.

Lias Andersson and Lucas Condotta are two other potential candidates for a recall, but Andersson hasn’t played center all season and Condotta was moved to wing recently because he wasn’t getting the job done:

Philippe Maillet played only two career NHL games with the Capitals in the 2020-2021 season.

He’s having a great season in Laval after playing in the KHL for the last two campaigns, and it’s true that he deserves to be recalled.

Since his arrival in Laval, he’s proved that he can be used in all sorts of ways, and you know as well as I do that such players are always appreciated in the National League.

Adam Ruzicka was placed in the waivers today by the Flames, and he could come and muddy the waters.

After all, we’re talking about a player with NHL experience (114 games) who is making his mark thanks to his skills at center.

At 6 feet 4 inches and 215 pounds, let’s just say he’s got the build of a big player…

And there are links between the Slovak and the Habs, since we’re also talking about a good friend of Juraj Slafkovsky:

Juraj Slafkovsky with his fellow Slovak friend Adam Ruzicka (right) https://t.co/d23BmV1L71 pic.twitter.com/juakMv3OEJ

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 24, 2024

That said, the Hawks will get a chance to talk before the Habs, and the idea of the Chicago club claiming Ruzicka in the waivers was also shared because there’s a big, big lack of depth at center there.

Philipp Kurashev, Jason Dickinson, Cole Guttman and Zach Sanford make up the center line in Chicago… And it’s not necessarily chic.

The next 24 hours will be ones to watch for the Habs, because there should be some movement.

Kent Hughes must help Martin St-Louis by giving him another center.

In short

– The guys want to win.

– Seth Jarvis has a great personality.

– It’s going to be a bumpy ride!

– Really?