Canadiens cuts roster for season opener

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Ladies and gentlemen, your Montreal Canadiens.

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For now.

The Canadiens cut their roster to 23 players in preparation for the regular season opener against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Wednesday. (7 pm, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690, 98.5 FM) But you can expect some big changes in the next month.

Montreal expects goalkeeper Carey Price to be physically and mentally ready to take on the No. 1 role in mid-November after spending time in the NHL / NHLPA player assistance program.

And defender Joel Edmundson and forward Mike Hoffman have spots waiting for them when they recover from injuries over the next two weeks.

Later, the Canadiens will have to find a place for sprinter Paul Byron, who is a key penalty shootout killer and a member of the team’s leadership group. He underwent hip surgery in the off-season and the outlook was for a comeback in late December, but Byron skated with a member of the team’s training staff for about 15 minutes on Monday morning, indicating his recovery It is ahead of schedule.

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Reaching the 23-man limit was a painless exercise for coach Dominique Ducharme until mid-afternoon Monday when general manager Marc Bergevin claimed center Adam Brooks from the Maple Leafs waivers. With the acquisition, the Canadiens had 24 lengths and Sami Niku, who seemed healthy in practice, became the outsider and was placed on injured reserve. That means Montreal will start the season with just six defenders.

The decision to reclaim Brooks is an indication that the Canadiens need help in the center of the fourth row, where Ryan Poehling and veterans Mathieu Perreault and Cédric Paquette have been in the mix. But Brooks seems to be an odd choice. The 25-year-old is on the small side at 5ft 10 and 185 pounds and has played just 18 NHL regular season games as well as two playoff games against the Canadiens earlier this year. On the bright side, he scored four goals on just 10 shots last season, but won just 42.1 percent of his matchups.

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The Canadiens made two roster moves early Monday. Cayden Primeau, who was the No. 3 goalkeeper at camp, was sent back to the Laval Rocket, while younger defender Kaiden Guhle was returned to the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League.

There were times in preseason when Guhle showed the poise of an NHL player, but there was no way he was in the top six and Ducharme said it was better to go back to junior and watch a lot of time on the ice. He will play a leading role as captain of a young team and is sure to make a second appearance for Team Canada at the youth world championships.

“The two young men need to play and grow to maturity,” Ducharme said after the Canadiens practiced at Brossard on Monday. “We liked Guhle’s camp. He has shown great skills as a defender who will have a long career (in the NHL) and the personality of a budding leader. Everything is positive in your case.

“As for Primeau, it is important that he continues to grow by accumulating games in the AHL,” Ducharme said.

The Canadiens will hold final practice in Brossard on Tuesday before flying to Toronto for Game 1. They will play in Buffalo on Thursday.

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