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All Habs Headlines: Training Camp, Commodore, Walsh, Gomez, Armstrong

January 15, 2013

01.05.10.sports.MHockey — Walsh is playing for a contract this season. (PHOTO: Quinnipiac Bobcats)

All Habs Headlines: Tuesday January 15, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1986, a rookie goaltender by the name of Patrick Roy recorded what would be the first of many shutouts in an illustrious Hall of Fame career, as the Canadiens blanked the Winnipeg Jets 4-0.

ALL HABS HEADLINES

► Updates from Training Camp: For a third consecutive day, coach Michel Therrien – despite his insistence that he’d experiment with different combinations – iced the same lines at forward in training camp today. That again meant the following:

Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole
Galchenyuk – Eller – Gionta
Bourque – Prust – Moen
Armstrong – White – Dumont – Gallagher

Tomas Plekanec continues to skate on his own, apart from his teammates, while nursing a rib injury. Though we’re still four days away from the opener, his status for the first game is increasingly up in the air. On the blueline, Mike Commodore (wearing No. 25 and a permanent smile) joined the other players for the first time which created an odd number of bodies and meant Tomas Kaberle was bouncing between pairings, playing with Commodore at times and with Josh Gorges (as yesterday) at others. Commodore also took some shifts with Jarred Tinordi, with the two frequently partnered this season for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Petteri Nokelainen, still nursing a back injury, skated on his own on sheet ‘B’ at Brossard. Alexei Emelin continues to sport a cage in practise stemming from an injury in the KHL.

Those in attendance got a first look at potential powerplay units, with the David Desharnais line practicing with Andrei Markov and Kaberle at the point to start the day off. A second unit was comprised of the Lars Eller line along with Raphael Diaz and Yannick Weber. Interestingly, a third pair of point-men was Francis Bouillon with winger Rene Bourque – perhaps a coach’s experiment.

Alex Galchenyuk again scored a nice shootout goal, and will definitely be a help to the team in that department if he remains on the roster. Another area he can help is the powerplay, with Therrien indicating after practice that if he makes the team, then he’ll most likely be used in such a role. Here’s his latest highlight-reel marker:

The five Hamilton Bulldogs called up for Thursday’s scrimmage – Louis Leblanc, Mike Blunden, Patrick Holland, Michael Bournival, and Frederic St. Denis, have reported to camp and will join the rest of the group on-ice tomorrow.

Read more: Un spectateur important

Walsh is playing for a contract this season. (PHOTO: Quinnipiac Bobcats)

► Walsh a Quiet Leader at Dartmouth: NHL prospects playing in the college ranks tend to be further out of the spotlight than those playing in the CHL, a generalization that certainly applies to 2009 Montreal draft pick Dustin Walsh. Walsh hasn’t had an easy college career, seemingly struck by the injury bug on a near-annual basis, but when he has been in the line-up, he has produced well. This season – a grizzled veteran having been through numerous Canadiens’ development camps and always seeming oh-so-close to netting a contract – Walsh has also taken on a leadership role, wearing an ‘A’ for the Big Green, while on pace to set career highs in goals and points.

The Habs’ brass will have to take a decision on Walsh’s future by this summer, as the college senior must be signed or will become an unrestricted free agent. One would think Walsh’s production, combined with the time the team has already invested in his development, make him a shoe-in for at least an AHL contract, but him remaining healthy the rest of this season might be the ultimate deciding factor. Moreover, with a number of prospects coming due for deals in the next few seasons, the Canadiens must also decide if Walsh will fit within the 50-contract limit as an organization.

► Gomez To Be Set Free?: The NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement today that teams have the opportunity to buyout players immediately instead of only at season’s end to prevent awkward situations of a player waiting for the period to open (hello Scott Gomez and Wade Redden). Thus, the Canadiens have the right to buyout Gomez now, though they would continue to be on the hook for his cap hit this season as if the buyout had yet to take place. Of course, just as if he were bought out in the summer, his cap hit will disappear for next season.

The downside to this news is that having Gomez sit out allowed him to fall under the rule of players demoted to the AHL, which is that the first $900K of their salary would come off the team’s cap. Now, by allowing him to continue his career elsewhere, the team will be on the hook for the full $7.3M cap hit, which weakens the team’s ability to both get P.K. Subban under contract and keep Alex Galchenyuk‘s $3.2M cap hit on the roster. Thus, there is no real benefit to the team – besides no longer counting towards the aforementioned 50-contract limit – other than “doing the nice thing,” by not forcing Gomez to sit out the year and allowing him to find a new home sooner.

Gomez must clear waivers before his current contract is nullified, though it should be little more than a formality at this point.

► Armstrong eager for Saturday: New Hab winger Colby Armstrong is saying the right things if he wants to quickly endear himself to Canadiens faithful.

“I was on the other side of it, but coming here after what happened with me the last couple of years, and with the buyout, I want to kick their butts,” he said of the team’s home opener against his former club, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Armstrong, however, is currently battling for a full-time spot in training camp, as he has formed part of a 4-man fourth line rotation through the first three days alongside Ryan White, Gabriel Dumont, and Brendan Gallagher. While he maybe safe for the time being, things will get a little more crowded once Tomas Plekanec rejoins the fray, so Armstrong will have to earn his ice time.

► Signed gear at Hockey Party: For the Canadiens opener, All Habs has teamed with McLean’s Pub to throw a Hockey Party for all hockey fans in Montreal. It goes without saying that there will be good food, refreshing beverages, trivia prizes and a superb sports atmosphere. In addition through its ‘Rocket Power‘ program, All Habs will be raffling signed merchandise from Max Pacioretty and Carey Price in support of the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation. Be sure to RSVP today to reserve a seat!

► Get Pumped! The lockout was tough on hockey fans around the NHL, and most are excited that we are finally on the verge of the puck dropping once again. But if you’re one who is taking a little longer to warm up to the idea of the Montreal Canadiens hitting the Bell Centre ice for a shortened season, we have two excellent videos that are sure to get the blood pumping and hairs standing.

First, All Habs own video editor @Saraa26 has created “Welcome Back Habs Warriors!”