Samuel Montembeault would like to keep all the guys in Montreal

Today (at midnight) the NHL trading freeze will end. The teams will therefore be able to start maneuvering again as they wish and will have the possibility of making exchanges.

We’ve been talking about it regularly for a few weeks, but the deadline for transactions is coming sooner than we think. By March 3, the various NHL teams have the luxury of being able to fine-tune their respective line-ups for the playoffs and for the end of the season.

As every year, there will be teams who will be buyers, and others who will be sellers. Everything indicates that the Canadian will end up in the second category, while Kent Hughes should follow the plan he has had since day one.

It is in this perspective that we could see guys leaving. The names of Sean Monahan, Josh Anderson and Joel Edmundson have been heard in various rumors and one wonders if they will still be with CH the day after this famous deadline.

However, if it was only Samuel Montembeault, there would be no change in town. He told Anthony Martineau during an interview a few weeks ago that he would like to keep all his buddies in Montreal:

Of course, I would like Kent to keep all the guys in Montreal! It’s never easy to see guys leave, especially ones that have been there for a long time. But whatever the management plan, it will be up to us to adjust. –Samuel Montembeault

I recently sat down for a good 20 minutes with Samuel Montembeault.

We talked about him, the 2023 draft, J. Slafkovsky, C. Price, M. St-Louis, K. Hughes’ next decisions, and the positives/corrections of this season.https://t.co/DiMTOJqHy2

— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) December 27, 2022

I can only imagine the smile on his face when he made that comment. But he is aware of the fact that it does not work like that in the NHL because it is a business.

It also means that there is a beautiful atmosphere in the bedroom at the moment. The guys have fun together and it’s not for nothing that Monty would like there to be no changes to the CH roster.

On the other hand, I really like his comments when he says it will be up to the players to adjust. The Canadian is in the middle of a reconstruction period right now and it’s normal to go through this kind of moment.

Speaking of this reconstruction, the goalkeeper admits that the process “doesn’t change much” for the players. The important thing for them is not to focus on the plans of the team or those of Kent Hughes, but to focus on the next game in order to give the best possible effort.

It shows in the coaching that is given to the players and it is transmitted in the successes of the team. The club is not playing to lose (it is one win away from playing for .500) and it is the young players on the team who benefit from this in terms of their respective development.

The Canadiens have played 34 games so far, which means there’s still a lot of hockey to play. Like many, I am especially looking forward to seeing how the club will respond to adversity in the second half of the campaign, when the team’s schedule will be tougher than at the start of the season.

And, it will be just as interesting to see what changes will be made to the roster between now and March 3. Who will leave? Who will stay?

We will have the answer to this question in almost nine weeks.

A lot of

– Filip Mesar is appointed assistant captain for the Slovaks. Devils prospect Simon Nemec will wear the C on his jersey.

Team Slovakia’s captains for the 2023 #WorldJuniors

C: Šimon Nemec #NJDevils
A: Filip Mešár #GoHabsGo
A: Libor the German@HockeySlovakia pic.twitter.com/zBBDULparn

— Matej Deraj (@MatoDeraj) December 27, 2022

– Charles Hudon is recalled by the Avalanche.

????https://t.co/SpWfVUe9tW

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 27, 2022

– We expected that.

Unsurprisingly Dennis Williams confirms that Thomas Milic will be the starting goalkeeper tomorrow for #ECJ against Germany #MondialJunior

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) December 27, 2022

– The end is near for JJ Watt. He will have had a whole career.