The Montreal Canadiens organization has been hit with a busy stretch of turnover, and the Laval Rocket were the ones who laid it all out.
After a summer wave of departures, the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate posted a rundown of the movement, and the list is a long one: 11 names are out the door, with players heading to the NHL, Europe, the NCAA and other destinations.
Joshua Roy is among the biggest changes. He was traded to the Utah Mammoth, while Samuel Blais is off to the Ottawa Senators.
Two more familiar names are also on the move to New York. Marc Del Gaizo and William Trudeau are both joining the Rangers in Manhattan.
Luke Tuch is another player taking the next step, leaving for the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Europe has pulled in several others as well. Nate Clurman is headed to Sweden, Charles Martin is going to Slovakia, and Egor Goriunov is returning to the KHL.
Benjamin Gaudreau is making the jump to the NCAA, while Tobie Paquette-Bisson is staying in the American Hockey League but switching organizations. He’ll continue his career with the Providence Bruins, Boston’s AHL affiliate.
The departures also include five players who were under contract with the Montreal Canadiens and signed elsewhere in the NHL.
It’s a lot of movement for Laval, but it also reflects the kind of development work the organization has been doing there. Even so, those exits leave real gaps to patch, and Kent Hughes and John Sedgwick still have work to do, even with July already well underway.
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