Montreal's GM admits questions being raised internally after two seasons of numerous long-term injuries
No one really expected the Montreal Canadiens to be good this season, but there's no question injuries have taken a massive toll on the team's fortunes. Rookies like defenceman Kaiden Guhle and forward Juraj Slafkovský are out with long-term injuries, missing important development time. Cole Caufield, who could have been chasing a 50 goal season, has been shut down due to a shoulder injury. More seasoned players like Brandon Gallagher, Jonathan Drouin, and Mike Matheson are out of the lineup more than they are in. Paul Byron hasn't played at all, while others like Jake Evans and Joel Armia are looking at lengthy recovery times. This is now the second season in a row the Habs have had to deal with injuries and reoccurrences of injuries, and GM Kent Hughes said Saturday something has to give.
"I think we'll continue to evaluate that until the end of the year," said Hughes when asked whether the team's medical staff needs to be looked at. "Sometimes we have players who always want to come back too early. [Gallagher] is certainly one of those players who always wants to push the limit. If we tell Gally three weeks, he'll always try to be back in one and a half."
"With certain players, we have to do a bit more to protect certain players from themselves. And with others, we can probably need to push them a bit more. Last year we had a lot of back injuries. We had more than other teams in the league. When we see things like that, it makes us question things."
It's tough to know whether constant injuries like this are just bad luck, or a result of questionable decisions. Either way, Montreal will have to figure it out. Especially when it comes to ensuring the proper development of younger players.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 21 | 233 ANSWERS Montreal's GM admits questions being raised internally after two seasons of numerous long-term injuries Should Montreal consider different medical staff/practices | ||
| Yes, something is clearly wrong | 121 | 51.9 % |
| No, it's just a run of bad luck | 61 | 26.2 % |
| Not sure | 51 | 21.9 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||