The die might be cast but one could say that the game was rigged against Ryan Poehling from the minute he went down with a concussion over a week ago. It's a shame really because this young man dominated both the development camp in June and the rookie camp at the start of the month but when the time came for the final auditions, he couldn't play. Sure, he was back for the final preseason game but the fact remain that he only played 2 out of the 7 exhibition games the Habs took part in and that wasn't enough according to Marc Bergevin:
That being said, Bergevin did also mention that he didn't believe that Poehling would be in Laval for too long:
To be honest, I'm amazed that some are surprised by this move. It just made sense. Bergevin does not like to lose assets for nothing so he wasn't going to wave Reilly and Folin. He's said time and time again that having depth on D is a good thing besides, those guys are not young prized prospects of the organization, there is no issue with them being 7th and 8th D-men on the team. They're not improving, so what if they are in effect on the practice squad? That being said though, Poehling's injury just made it easier for Bergevin to make that move. He didn't expect to have to keep Cale Fleury up, he said so himself to the press that prior to camp, he thought he was a long shot. Fleury's performance left him no choice though and both Reilly and Folin became surplus to requirement. Now though, if teams are after some cheap depth on D, maybe they'll give Bergevin a call (looking at you Winnipeg, even though you claimed Carl Dahlstrom on waivers today).
Also, sending Poehling to Laval is the right thing to do for this young player in the circumstances. He missed over a week and needs to get his legs back besides, right now, looking at the centre line, had he stayed he would have been the fourth line centre. That role would not have been enough to truly benefit the youngster. In Laval, he will get to play a lot of minutes and he'll be able to work with Joel Bouchard. From a development standpoint, I truly believe that it's more beneficial to work with him than with Claude Julien.
So, where does that leave the Habs roster Wise? Well, today, this were the lines and duos at practice:
A few comments on those lines:
-Tatar-Danault-Gallagher is the Canadiens' top line deal with it. In an idea world, danault might not be the 1st line centre but right now, this is the best option. Those 3 players had a career year together last season and you just cannot split them up.
-I know, it might seem weird to see Lehkonen on the 2nd line but let's face it, Jonathan Drouin did not have a great training camp and besides, the Finnish line wasn't all that successful last season so splitting him and Kotkaniemi might not be the worst idea. Besides, he is, as Julien would tell you, very good without the puck and will cover for Domi or Suzuki who are more offense minded;
-Drouin on the third line makes sense. See above commentary re: the lack of success of the Finnish line and also, who's to say that Drouin, once he's done sulking, won't develop some chemistry with KK? That's the best thing that could happen to both of these players. As for Armia well, I don't believe he's showed much in training camp but I guess his big size buys him a top-9 ticket;
-It's no surprise to see Thompson and Weal have booked their spot on the 4th line as for Paul Byron well, he's always played whichever role the coach needed him to play. As for Cousins, he looks like the one who won't dress for opening night.
As for the blue line:
-No, Mete should not be on a first pairing but, the reality is, this is the best option, for now at least and until Bergevin gets any reinforcement.
-Chiarot was signed to play with Petry and that is what is happening, no one should be shocked with this.
-Kulak-Fleury is a young but good pairing. It's hard no know what would have happened had Noah Juulsen stayed healthy but this is meaningless at this point. Bergevin said that the second opinion he got in the States changed nothing and he's still injured. As for Fleury, he now sports number 20 leaving number 83 behind, a true sign that he has made the NHL.
In a little over 48 hours, we'll get to see this brand spanking new line-up in action against NHL competition with 2 points on the line. It will be for real and that's when we may be able to tell if this year's edition of the Canadiens has a real shot at making the post season... Call me crazy, but I really think they just might make it....
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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