by Coach K, AllHabs.net

SAINT-LAZARE, QC — After last night’s Canadiens victory over the struggling Ottawa Senators, a debate was instantly triggered on Twitter as to what the Canadiens should do to replace Scott Gomez, who was injured during the second period.

Although details about the injury are sketchy at this time, Coach Jacques Martin said he had a “lower body injury”. Most insiders believe the injury is related to his back. With star blue liner Andrei Markov already on the long-term injured reserve list, this injury will have definite implications as far as the Canadiens’ power play is concerned.

So what does GM Pierre Gauthier do? With the obvious cap space available because of the Markov injury, the sky is the limit at this point. And you can bet the farm that every analyst on God’s green Earth will speculate as to what his next move is.

If you look at the situation objectively, there is a wide variety of things Gauthier can do.

Let’s start with the obvious, bringing another player up from the Hamilton Bulldogs. Fans for weeks have been watching the hot streak by winger Max Pacioretty. It seems that he has been able to score at will during this time, and would be a good addition to the Habs’ top six. Although this may be true, don’t expect Patch to be called up any time soon. After his rant in regards to his treatment by Coach Martin, he’ll be in Hamilton until such time that the Habs’ roster is decimated by injuries.

Then there is David Desharnais. He too has been red hot for the ‘Dogs of late, and was given a long look during the pre-season by Coach Martin. It’s obvious he would be Martin’s first choice to be brought up. The Canadiens’ coach has always be non-confrontational, and calling up Desharnais would definitely fall into Martin’s “my kind of player” category.

And then there is P.K. Subban. Let’s get something straight. It is widely recognized that Subban is highly-talented and has a certain swagger about him. A player with confidence should. There’s a saying that goes like this:

“You don’t keep your prize stallion in the stable during the Kentucky Derby!”

While I agree that Subban did take unnecessary risks in the game last week versus the Edmonton Oilers, young players need to learn from their mistakes. He knew he screwed up and manned up about it in the post-game scrum. Putting them in the press box is not always the right answer. And what kind of message are you trying to send by playing Yannick Weber in Subban’s spot? That Subban is expendable? What a joke !! Subban is the most dynamic player this city has seen for almost a decade. Let him play.

And then there’s the money from the Markov injury. Combined with the O’Byrne trade, GM Pierre Gauthier has approximately $5.5 million to work with. While top six forwards are hard to come by at any time, they are especially hard to get mid-season. Save for a team trying to dump salary, this kind of player won’t become available until teams know where they stand in the playoff picture. While Colorado Avalanche forward Milan Hedjuk is in the last year of his contract, and is on pace for a 90+ point season, he’ll demand a stiff return on a trade. And as we all know, the Habs are very stingy with their high level draft picks.

There are all kinds of scenarios being drawn up at this stage of the season. One thing is for certain, however. Nothing of substance will happen until the trade deadline begins to approach. The Habs’ have always done it that way.

(Feature image by Richard Wolowicz – Getty Images)