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In Hainsight: Failure to Launch |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
It wasn’t an easy season in Laval, with the Habs being hit by a truckload of injuries, the Rocket’s core was hardly ever intact. Kent Hughes did his best to help the late playoffs push by making Ylonen and Harvey-Pinard eligible for the final sprint, and when they did come back to Laval they were tremendously helpful. The Rocket put up a series of great performances to qualify and it did, but it unfortunately left them running on fumes for the post season.
In the end, Laval only played two playoffs’ games in a 2 out of 3 series against the Utica Comets. On Wednesday night, in the only home game of the series, the Rocket looked flat and lifeless and lost 4-0. Last night on the verge of elimination with their backs to the wall, they managed to score halfway through the game and protect the lead up until there were only 2 seconds left, but Utica tied things up and needed less than 3 minutes to put the final nail in the Rocket’s coffin.
Just like the Canadiens, the Rocket will have a long offseason and Spring will seem even longer for Habs fans who won’t even be able to cheer on the baby Canadiens, but it is what it is. The Rocket’s end of season has at least allowed us to see that Emil Heineman is now fully healthy and that he’s more than able to perform in the AHL. In 11 games since coming over from Sweden, the left winger gathered 9 points, 7 goals and 2 assists. Part of the return obtained from the Flames for Tyler Toffoli, he had a great training camp last season and might have stuck around for longer had it not been for injuries.
There’s no doubt the Swede will be hoping to make an impression when the next training camp rolls around and he won’t be the only one. After putting up 20 points in 34 games with the big club this season, Rafael Harvey-Pinard has left quite the calling card, but you can never take anything for granted in the NHL and he’ll have to fight for a spot in September. As for Jesse Ylonen, he managed to rack up 16 points in 37 games with the Habs in this injury-ridden season, but unless Kent Hughes manages to make some significant room up-front this offseason, it would be surprising to see him stick around in Montreal.
With the Rocket now ready to hit the greens, the next date to circle on their calendar for Habs fans is May 8th when the draft lottery will take place. Unlike last season, Montreal only has an 8.5% chance of taking the big prize, but what a prize that is. It’s a shame that the Canadiens finished dead last a season too early, but who knows, perhaps lady luck will nonetheless be on their side. Besides, even if they don’t claim the top spot, there is an abundance of talent in this year’s draft and a top-5 pick would definitely yield a great player.
With the importance of that pick for the team’s rebuild, I would personally pass on Matvei Michkov if he’s still available when it’s the Canadiens’ turn to pass. Montreal just cannot afford to gamble and pick a player that may never come over to this side of the ocean in the long run. In a sense, the timing for Michkov’s first year of eligibility is just as bad as the Habs’ timing to finish at the bottom of the standings last season. With the talent that will be available when Hughes takes to the stand to make the Habs’ pick, he’s got to come away with a player who’s definitely going to be able to report to the team when called upon.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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