The Montreal Canadiens’ decision to send Owen Beck to Laval has caused a lot of ink to flow, but according to Dany Dubé, this is only the beginning.
The 98.5 FM analyst is convinced that Kent Hughes will move shortly to strengthen the team’s 4th trio, and this will involve placing Michael Pezzetta on waivers.
“He doesn’t play. He won’t play in a month. » Dubé states scathingly.
“The Canadian is in a crucial phase of its season, and it cannot afford to have players who cannot contribute regularly.
So, my question is why are we keeping it in Montreal? They’re going to put him on waivers and go get a player.”
“There are some support players available in the NHL”
Dubé argues for change, insisting there are several options on the market to strengthen the club.
For Dubé, it is essential to have a reliable player who can fill a hole in the 4th line in the absence of Emil Heineman and who can make a regular contribution when needed.
“Look, I’d like someone we could use a little more often. Someone you can count on. And if you play one night, then the next day, you have to use him, you can put him in the lineup, he’ll play 10 minutes. »
Indeed, the CH is at an important turning point, while the Montreal team is in the playoffs as we speak.
The presence of a veteran could make the difference. Dubé believes options like Nashville’s Colton Sissons could prove valuable.
“Colton Sissons with Nashville. He is a contributor. He has a contract, it’s $2.8 million. He is center-left, he is 31 years old. He has 71 games of playoff experience. He fits into your lineup, then you know that you are a contributor. »
Other options like Sam Lafferty from Buffalo, also mentioned by Dubé, could interest the CH. With a $2 million contract and 21 playoff games experience, he would offer depth.
The name of Nicolas Aubé-Kubel also comes up often in Buffalo. With 30 playoff games and a robust playing style, he could be an asset.
Anthony Beauvillier, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and author of 55 playoff games, represents another interesting alternative in Pittsburgh.
The message is clear: Kent Hughes cannot sit idly by. Dubé emphasizes the importance of acting quickly to avoid compromising the team’s progress.
“When you look at the current situation, you tell yourself that we need someone who is ready to take on this role. This is a crucial position, especially in the situation the Canadian currently finds itself. »
Will Hughes be able to make the right decisions?
The next few weeks promise to be crucial for the Canadian’s future.
Listening to Dubé, Pezzetta better get ready. Because it smells like a toss-up.
Fans should also prepare themselves. Because a new plumber will soon arrive.
For Michael Pezzetta, who will be in uniform in Detroit on Thursday evening, the current situation must be simply unbearable.
There’s nothing worse for an NHL player than hearing his name mentioned in waiver rumors day after day, only to find that analysts are already talking about his replacement as if he were a simple formality.
-Dany Dubé’s words, which resonate like a final sentence, only reinforce this feeling of failure which must weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Every morning, when he enters the Canadiens’ locker room, Pezzetta knows that his future is getting darker and darker.
He must feel small in his shorts seeing his teammates fighting for a place in the lineup while he waits in the shadows, useless, obliterated.
Pezzetta understands that his time is limited and that he is no more than an extra in this organization.
It’s obvious that Pezzetta is heartbroken, but it’s also likely that his teammates are starting to sense this growing uneasiness.
Hockey is a team sport, and every player wants to contribute. Seeing a teammate lose confidence and become virtually invisible on the ice creates a heavy atmosphere.
Even Pezzetta’s closest allies, those who appreciate his energy and good humor, must wonder how much longer this situation can last before management makes a decision.
In a locker room where the culture of competition is omnipresent, Pezzetta must feel the weight of his growing uselessness every day.
The glances exchanged, the silences when he passes by the lineup board, the feeling of being a burden for a team fighting for a place in the playoffs… all of this must be a very trying psychological ordeal.
Dubé is right. The waiver has become inevitable.
What if no one claims it? Finding yourself in Laval, in an even more marginal role, or worse, seeing your NHL career end definitively.
For a player of his caliber, who always knew that his place in the NHL hung by a thread, this possibility must be terrifying.
In the storm of rumors and speculation, Pezzetta must feel more isolated than ever.
He who was once a source of contagious energy, a player appreciated in the locker room for his good humor and his dedication, is today faced with a hurricane that he cannot control.
He has to wonder what he could have done differently, if he could have proven his worth more in St. Louis, or if, quite simply, his style of play belongs to another era.
Every day spent in the stands, every hit he cannot distribute, every moment where he sees his teammates playing without him, is a cruel reminder that he has become, in the eyes of many, one player too many.
Perhaps most troubling for Pezzetta is the lack of clear communication from management. No one tells him directly that his career in Montreal is over.
Every interview with St. Louis that avoids mentioning his name, every question from journalists that revolves around possible reinforcements on the fourth line, every decision to only offer him a few minutes of ice time are all non-verbal messages that announce the inevitable.
The ax is about to fall for Michael Pezzetta. Dany Dubé’s words are not simple opinions; they come from his credible information.
The Canadian is in series mode, and there is no more room for stowaways. Pezzetta must mentally prepare for what comes next, whether it takes place in Laval or elsewhere, far from the Bell Centre.
He may be a “good guy,” as his teammates like to say, but in the NHL, kindness isn’t enough to maintain a spot in the lineup.
It’s time to say goodbye to him.
