There was a time when Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton thought they had the most dominant defense in the NHL long term.
A promising succession of young talents – David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux, and Justin Barron – had allowed management to imagine a dominant blue line for the years to come.
But today, the reality is quite different. In place of Matvei Michkov, the electrifying attacker who could have changed the offensive face of CH, Montreal finds itself with David Reinbacher.
In place of Artturi Lehkonen (or Justin Barron), we now have Alexandre Carrier, a 28-year-old defender, modest but reliable.
The story could have been different if the Canadian had dared to draft Matvei Michkov fifth overall in 2023. But fear of the unknown – notably his KHL obligations – and a pressing need on defense led Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to select David Reinbacher, a supposedly safe choice.
But Reinbacher, while still young and full of potential, suffered a serious knee injury that put his development on hold.
Logan Mailloux, once seen as an exceptional raw talent, slumped into mediocre performances in Laval, both offensively and defensively.
And Justin Barron, sold as the future of the defense after being acquired against Artturi Lehkonen, has never been able to convince in Montreal.
His departure for Nashville in the Carrier trade closes a disappointing chapter.
Any long-term plan is a fragile projection. And that of the Canadians, centered on a strong blue line on the right, is crumbling before our eyes.”
Carrier is not a bad player. With his experience and defensive profile, he offers welcome stability to a chaotic defensive brigade.
He can play important minutes, neutralize the best opposing attackers, and excel on the penalty kill.
But he is far from being the transformative player the Canadian needed.
“Carrier is a supporting defender, not a cornerstone,” one analyst pointed out. “It stabilizes the ship, but it doesn’t propel it.”
The problem lies in the context. Montreal, in the midst of a reconstruction process, could have relied on more spectacular talents or risked bold moves to accelerate its progress.
But instead, the team seems resigned to plugging holes, without any real ambition.
The Justin Barron trade is indicative of management’s strategic shortcomings. Acquired in a trade that cost Artturi Lehkonen, Barron never achieved the expectations placed on him.
But his departure raises another important question: what remains of the original plan?
The right flank of the defense was to be the pillar of the Canadians’ future.
Today it looks more like a panic zone than a solid base.
Logan Mailloux, long sold as a future star, is stagnating in his development. And Reinbacher, although still promising, has a worrying injury.
As for Barron, his departure is a total failure.
The Carrier trade isn’t without controversy in Nashville either. Although it is clear that the Predators are looking to reduce their payroll and rejuvenate their roster, many are critical of the departure of a player as reliable as Carrier.
"It’s a movement that looks like panic," said a Nashville analyst.
“Trotz is getting rid of Carrier to make room for less expensive players, but that doesn’t guarantee improvement.”
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton seem trapped in their own decisions. The obsession with filling the right flank of the defense has eclipsed chances of a lifetime.
And today, the result is a roster that lacks both elite talent and clear direction.
The Montreal Canadiens could have drafted Matvei Michkov, a generational talent. He could have kept Lehkonen, a versatile and reliable attacker.
He could have been more aggressive in his pursuit of young, established players. But instead he finds himself with a disappointing right flank, a rebuilding project in jeopardy, and a leadership that must answer increasingly pressing questions.
It’s not that Alexandre Carrier is a bad player. This is because he is the very incarnation of a plan that failed.
Meanwhile, Logan Mailloux is on a slippery slope, and time is against him.
As the Montreal Canadiens strive to rebuild a competitive team, it becomes increasingly clear that Mailloux is no longer a certainty, but an enigma.
His disappointing performances, his worrying attitude and his inability to meet the expectations placed on him cast a shadow over his future in the organization.
If Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton hoped to build a solid blue line around promising youngsters like Mailloux, Reinbacher and Barron, that vision failed.
Barron is now in Nashville, Reinbacher is injured, and Mailloux looks more like an uncertain long-term project than a viable short-term solution.
The organization’s bet seems to fail at all levels.
Is Mailloux still a hope to be developed, or is he already an asset to be liquidated? This increasingly legitimate question casts doubt on the organization’s plans.
While his raw talent is undeniable, his lack of maturity and consistency could turn him into another one of those “promising” players who end up fading into obscurity.
For the Canadian, the situation is critical. Continuing to bet on Mailloux means investing valuable resources in a player whose future is uncertain.
Trading it now means risking seeing it explode elsewhere. One way or the other, Kent Hughes will soon have to decide, as the luxury of patience begins to wear thin.
But for Logan Mailloux, the message is even simpler: pull yourself together or disappear. At 22, excuses are no longer enough, and broken promises are unforgiving in a league as unforgiving as the NHL.
The young defender is at a crucial crossroads, and each day that passes without concrete progress brings Montreal closer to a final decision.
Ultimately, Logan Mailloux isn’t just fighting for an NHL job. He fights to save his career, his reputation, and the hopes that so many people have placed in him.
Time is running out, and the reality is brutal: if he doesn’t get things right now, he risks being the last to understand that the NHL isn’t waiting for him.
The failure of the Canadiens’ defensive rebuilding plan rests largely on Logan Mailloux’s failure to live up to the high expectations placed on him.
From the start, Mailloux was expected to be one of the pillars of this vaunted blue line, but his stagnation, glaring on-ice deficiencies and lackadaisical attitude compromised the vision that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton had for the future of the team. ‘team.
Logan Mailloux was presented as a first-rate solution to stabilize the right flank of the Montreal defense.
With his imposing stature, his powerful shot and his ability to produce offensively, he embodied the future of the defensive brigade.
Yet his performances in Laval and during his brief appearances in Montreal revealed a player far from ready for the rigors of the NHL.
Not only did Mailloux not meet expectations, but he also became a weight in the Canadian’s overall strategy.
His promising start to the season with the Rocket gave way to a brutal fall. His offensive impact, once his trademark, has faded.
His defensive shortcomings, often masked by his offensive qualities in the junior ranks, became glaring against professional opponents.
Adding to that an attitude that leaves something to be desired, Mailloux not only slowed his progress, but he also broke the trust the organization had in him.
Hughes and Gorton’s plan relied on three diamonds: Mailloux, David Reinbacher and Justin Barron. With Barron now in Nashville and Reinbacher injured, Mailloux should have been the cornerstone of this project.
But his regression exposed the flaws in the plan. Instead of a dominant and complementary trio, the Canadian finds himself with major questions.
Mailloux, expected to provide a seamless transition from the current era to that of a future competitive team, has failed to establish himself as a reliable piece.
His problems understanding the game, his questionable decisions and his lack of impact in key moments slowed the development of the Montreal blue line.
Without Mailloux to stabilize the defense, the overall reconstruction project lost its coherence.
This fiasco highlights a deeper problem: the difficulty of accurately projecting the development of young players.
Mailloux could have been a resounding success, but his lack of consistency and maturity made it a risky bet which, for the moment, is not bearing fruit.
The Canadian had bet big on him, and this confidence now seems misplaced.
The result is a plan that collapses. With Barron traded and Reinbacher out of the game for now, the team had to fall back on Alexandre Carrier, an experienced defender but far from the long-term solution.
Mailloux should have been the key to this defense. Instead, he became the symbol of what is wrong with the management of the Canadiens’ hopes.
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton’s plan failed mainly because of Logan Mailloux. This young defender, supposed to embody the future of the Montreal blue line, failed to deliver the goods.
His potential remains immense, but his performances and behavior jeopardize not only his career, but also the long-term ambitions of the team.
Without the expected progression from Mailloux, the Canadian had to improvise and reevaluate his priorities.
Hughes and Gorton hoped to build a formidable defense, but the foundations proved far too shaky.
And it all begins and ends with Logan Mailloux, a promising prospect who, so far, has failed to deliver on his promises.
