While nothing is happening on the ice right now, Marc Bergevin carries on planning for the future, whenever that may be and he signed another prospect to a 3 year entry level contract yesterday. A 3rd round pick in 2018 and 66th overall, Hillis spent the last 3 season with the Guelph Storm and cumulated 164 points in 155 games. Unfortunately for him, he's had to battle a lot of injuries in that span, playing just 33 games in the 2018-2019 season but he bounced back very well this year registering 83 points in 62 games.
Hillis will further bolster the Canadiens' depth chart at centre and one has to admit that it is starting to look pretty crowded down the middle. At 5'10" and 171 pounds, he's not exactly on the big side but he has displayed some playmaking qualities that are worth having him stick around for. With Danault, Domi, Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, Poehling, Evans and Weal, there are plenty of aspiring centres on the Habs' books right now and there is little doubt that Hillis will be plying his trade in Laval under Bouchard's orders (at least to start with anyways).
With this signature, the Habs now have 45 contracts out of the 50 permitted and one has to wonder if that means some of the prospects drafted alongside Hillis in 2018 won't get to put pen to paper. Once drafted, a team has to sign a player prior to a certain date before they are eligible to be drafted again. Currently, 4 players on the Canadiens reserve list must be signed before June 1, 2020 if the team wants to retain their rights: Cole Fonstad (5th round pick 2018, 128th overall), Arvid Henrikson (7th round pick 2016, 187th overall), Samuel Houde (5th round pick 2018, 133rd overall) and Allan McShane (4th round pick 2018, 97th overall). It's hard to predict anything these days considering how uncertain everything is at the moment but generally, Bergevin tends to keep some spots open contract wise for the free agency season and in case anything happens during the year. Shame for these prospects but they weren't exactly early draft picks so the current situation is not all that surprising. The Canadiens have had a lot of draft picks in the recent years and they just can't sign them all.
In other news, it was also announced that Yvon Lambert is currently recovering from an operation for colon cancer making it 3 former Habs who are currently battling cancer with both Lafleur and Lapointe having been diagnosed not so long ago.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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