It’s no secret that the Habs’ roster is overly rich in defensemen. They would ideally exchange them for forwards, of which they require more.
It also clarifies why the Habs should draft a forward in a perfect scenario. andtrade up in the event that Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom are unavailable at No. 5.
Which defenseman will move is the question at hand. The Flames are among the teams that are reportedly interested in Arber Xhekaj, but the Habs have no plans to trade him away.
But David Pagnotta (The Fourth Period) cleared things up a little in his piece of the day. He even claims that the club has no intention of trading Lane Hutson, Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, Logan Mailloux, and David Reinbacher. However, he includes Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble, Justin Barron, Adam Engström, and Mattias Norlinder in a second group of “defensemen the Habs don’t want to trade but who seem less untouchable.”
Actually, it makes sense when you examine Pagnotta’s categories. The second group is obviously inferior to the first, and the top five players will only depart if the Habs win their prize. Nevertheless, it’s unexpected to see Norlinder listed among the players who, in Pagnotta’s words, “the Habs don’t want to trade.”
Does Kent Hughes still think the 24-year-old defenseman will make a name for himself in the NHL in the future? Just under a year ago, he may have had a decent training camp, but the months that followed were atrocious, and at the end of the season, he was sitting in the Laval seats having only managed nine points in 50 games (with a differential of -14).
Since Norlinder will be a restricted free agent this summer, I still believe he is headed back to Europe in a few weeks. However, if Pagnotta is correct, you have to question whether the team won’t want to give him one final opportunity the following season.
For all intents and purposes, Norlinder must be worthless on the trade market. I hope the Habs take advantage of the opportunity if a team offers anything for his services.
Whether or not the Habs have given up on Norlinder entirely remains to be seen, but if Pagnotta is to be believed. That’s hard for me to believe. However, there must be a rationale behind his choice of Norlinder over, say, Jonathan Kovacevic or William Trudeau.
Naturally, Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog are at the center of it all.
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