The Montreal Canadiens are set to roll into the second half of training camp on Wednesday, and the schedule is already taking shape in Brossard.
After edging the Ottawa Senators in Trois-Rivières on Monday night, the Canadiens took a planned day off Tuesday to mark the midpoint of camp. Everyone is due back on the ice Wednesday morning, with Team B opening the day at 10:30 AM, followed by Team A at 11:50 AM and Team C at 1:00 PM.
Thursday is the day to circle if you want the closest thing to a live look at competition inside camp. Teams A and B will practice at the same time at 10:30 AM, then meet in a scrimmage on ice 2 at 11:30.
Team C will work on ice 1 at 11:45. So far, that is the only scrimmage on the calendar.
That Thursday session will also be the Canadiens’ final preseason game, and once it’s over, the trimming begins. How Martin St-Louis handles those decisions is still the big question.
Will he lean on NHL contracts, or will the most deserving players actually earn the jobs? The answer is still pending.
The organization has shown it’s willing to make tough calls before. Joel Armia was put on waivers after an underwhelming camp, and a similar conversation could be coming for Kirby Dach if his intensity doesn’t pick up soon.
The wrinkle there is obvious: Dach is still a former third-overall pick with a big-frame center profile, which could tempt another GM to take a chance. His injury history matters, but not quite as much when a team is considering a waiver claim instead of giving up assets in a trade.
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Kaiden Guhles prolonged absence has only widened the opening for Reinbacher, giving Montreal a closer look at how he fits into the mix right now rather than somewhere down the road. The competition is still crowded, with Adam Engstrm and Jayden Struble also pushing for roster spots, so nothing is being handed out yet, but Reinbacher has clearly made this more interesting than it was a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger question is how the rest of the forward group settles and which defense pair gets the first real test once the games count. Montreal still has some moving parts in the bottom six and on the third pair, and the preseason has suggested those spots may be handled with a little rotation early on rather than locked in immediately. [Read more 🡒]