Roy in Laine’s place on the 2nd line?

Patrik Laine’s injury opens up a spot in the Canadiens’ offensive lineup.

We’re heading for a battle between Oliver Kapanen and Emil Heineman for a spot, because both have been doing relatively well since the start of camp.

Jeff Gorton (Sick Podcast – The Eye Test) praised Kapanen, saying that the center opened the eyes of the organization. It proves he’s playing the right way:

“Oliver Kapanen is a guy who’s come here & played really well & has opened our eyes. We have a situation with him where we have him for camp & if he doesn’t make our (Habs) team, he’s gotta go back to Sweden . We’ll probably take him…we’ll keep him as long as we can to make… pic.twitter.com/iFniRJoAOW

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) September 30, 2024

Jeff Gorton followed up by talking about Joshua Roy, and that’s where the discussion got pretty interesting.

Speaking of Roy, Gorton said that the Québécois “might” get a bigger chair this season… And what that tells me is that Roy might actually get a chance to start the season on the team’s 2nd line alongside Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook.

That would make sense:

I think Joshua Roy is a guy who could find himself in a bigger role. – Jeff Gorton

Joshua Roy isn’t the most experienced guy in the National League, but he has qualities that can be used on a top-6.

He’s smart, and he’s offensive enough to find ways to produce in the NHL.

The forward needs to be more involved on the ice consistently, but there are results when the effort is there:

Some hard work and determination from Joshua Roy leads to Arber Xhekaj opening the scoring!

Oh, and peep the one-handed pass!

: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/dWwDpNDRws

– NHL (@NHL) February 22, 2024

Jeff Gorton also had good things to say about Lane Hutson.

The Habs VP confided that management is even more impressed by the defenseman every time he steps on the ice… Because he never stops improving and because his talent is exceptional.

It all adds up to one thing: Hutson may only have two games under his belt in the NHL, but he’s already highly regarded within the Habs organization.

Overtime

– 50,000 is a lot of food!

Enter @IGAQC‘s Aim for the Food contest between now and Nov. 6 for the chance to win prizes, including $50,000 in groceries and a replica jersey signed by Samuel Montembeault!

Contest details ↓ #GoHabsGo

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) September 30, 2024

– Good question!

Which team will finish the 2024-25 season atop the Metropolitan Division?

The regular season kicks off in North America on October 8th! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/ZaoBfU48Vd

– NHL (@NHL) September 30, 2024