We knew the Logan Mailloux moment would come, without knowing exactly when. The time has come.
The Canadian recalled the Laval Rocket defender late Monday evening. He will rejoin the team on Tuesday and will likely play the first game of his career in the evening against the Detroit Red Wings.
It will also be the 82e and last meeting of the Habs this season. The Rocket does not play until Friday.
Mailloux, 20, is having an excellent first professional campaign. His 47 points in 70 games place him tied for third among American League defensemen, and fourth among rookie players, all positions combined. His brilliance even earned him an invitation to the circuit’s All-Star Game.
After Mailloux made a good impression at his first training camp with the Montreal Canadiens last fall, it was clear that he needed to work on the defensive side of his game in the minors. Several times this season, Jean-François Houle, head coach of the Rocket, has praised the young man’s improvement in this regard.
Houle more than once stated bluntly that Mailloux was “ready for a recall”. That’s done.
On the occasion of the club’s last lap in 2023-2024, the Montreal public will be able to see two high-caliber hopes of the organization at work, while Lane Hutson should play his second match, he who lived his NHL baptism Monday in Detroit.
Controversial
The Ontarian’s arrival in the fold of the organization was, let us remember, amid controversy. At the 2021 draft, the general manager at the time, Marc Bergevin, caused a stir by selecting the Ontarian in the first round (31e in total).
In 2020, while playing in Sweden, Mailloux distributed an intimate photo of his sexual partner to his teammates. The local court found him guilty of various charges and fined him. The matter had surfaced on our side of the Atlantic just before the 2021 draft session and, given the extent of the situation, the defender himself had publicly asked not to be drafted. Bergevin and his deputies, however, persisted.
This decision by the Habs shocked the hockey world as well as the political class and civil society. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others, denounced it. Sponsors had threatened to disassociate themselves from the team.
Under high pressure, Geoff Molson spoke up to calm things down. Taking “responsibility” for his own “lack of judgment”, he insisted on the fact that drafting Mailloux was a “mistake”. Gary Bettman, commissioner of the circuit, declared that Mailloux could not skate in his league until he received special authorization to do so.
Satisfied with the young athlete’s personal development during the year following his draft, the new CH administration awarded him his first NHL contract in October 2022. After concluding his junior internship in the spring of 2023, Mailloux began his career professionally last fall in Laval.
Just before training camp, the Habs’ vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, said of his player that he was “in a good position” to receive the green light from the circuit authorities. “If he gets to the NHL,” he qualified, before adding that “it won’t be a problem when the time comes.”
Mailloux met with senior NHL executives during the summer, and everything suggested that this discussion was positive. All season, the echoes from Laval have reported the seriousness and maturity of the former London Knights.
However, it was not clear if another high-level meeting had to be organized, or if additional authorizations had to be provided by the NHL, before the defender plays in Montreal.
It was not possible to find out more about this Monday evening. Our request for details went unheeded by the organization.
reference: www.lapresse.ca