Defenceman Chris Wideman latest to enter Canadiens’ clinic
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There was no information on how Wideman sustained an upper-body injury or how long he will be out, but he was among the missing from Monday’s practice in Brossard and did not accompany the team to Tuesday’s game against the Devils in New Jersey (7pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
Kirby Dach and Sean Monahan were also absent and were not on the plane.
Dach has missed two games with an illness the team said was non-COVID-19 and he was deemed too contagious to travel. The Canadians said he could rejoin the team in time for Friday’s game in Philadelphia.
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The expectation was that a healthy Monahan could bring a first-round draft pick in return, but a deal is unlikely unless he can pull off a miracle cure and show he can contribute to a playoff run.
With less than two weeks to go before the March 3 close, it looks like Canadians are going to be quiet. Players eligible for unrestricted free agents on July 1 include wingers Jonathan Drouin and Evgenii Dadonov, but neither appear on the most wanted list based on their play this season.
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There have been inquiries about Josh Anderson, who has four years left on contract with a $5.5 million cap hit, but general manager Kent Hughes won’t part ways with Anderson unless a team blows him with an offer um, which starts with a first round draft choice.
Defender Joel Edmundson has also been mentioned in trade rumours, but concerns over his health mean he is likely to stay.
The only good news from Monday’s practice was the return of rookie defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who has been out since spraining his knee in Florida on Dec. 29. He wore a shirt without a contract and will travel with the team this week he will not play.
The Canadians are losing to two of the NHL’s best teams – Carolina and Toronto – and face another tough opponent in New Jersey.
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“We played well at times in the last two games and now we have to learn to graduate,” said head coach Martin St. Louis. “But it wasn’t just one thing in those games. We have injuries, we didn’t do well, but we also played against very good teams.”
The Canadians are back home to play the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and then embark on a four-game road trip to the western United States. They will be in Anaheim on the day of the trade deadline.
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