As the Montreal Canadiens continue their rebuilding plan based on the NHL Entry Draft and player development, their prospect pool continues to expand and improve into one of the NHL’s best.
This leads to a constantly shifting depth chart and one that provides a small window of opportunity for those prospects to find themselves in the middle of the pack when it comes to the Habs’ list. One of those prospects is 2019 third-round pick Mattias Norlinder.
Canadiens’ Norlinder Final Opportunity
Drafted as a 19-year-old overager in 2019, Norlinder was immediately hailed as a potential NHL defender. At the time, the Canadiens’ prospect pool was thin. The 2019-20 season saw him return to Sweden, meanwhile, the depth chart on left defense had names such as Jacob Legerrier, Otto Leskinen, and Xavier Ouellet. There were far fewer up-and-coming defenders then, so he was immediately high on the list. Because of this, he received immediate attention.
His style of game was also in scarce supply at the time, as a mobile puck-moving defenseman. His ability to skate the puck up ice smoothly and quickly, or make an accurate pass through traffic was also in short supply in the system back then. His ability to transition the play under control out of his zone or into the offensive zone is the style that is highly sought after in the modern NHL. When he was on the larger ice surfaces, his game, built on good vision and hockey IQ, worked fantastically. His skating was dynamic, with excellent edgework and an ability to change direction at top speed, which made him look like a potential middle-of-the-lineup offensive weapon.
However, once he arrived in North America, the weaknesses in his game were highlighted, and in some ways also amplified. His gap control, especially in his own zone, never adjusted to the new rink size. Despite his evident hockey IQ, he never adjusted to the increase in the pace of play brought on by the lack of space. He was unable to make decisions quickly enough, which forced him to second-guess himself and play with very little confidence. That delay in decision-making made his defensive play in the American Hockey League (AHL) a problem, which as a defenseman is a concern.
Because of this, combined with injuries and lost time from returning to Sweden, he lost his role with the Laval Rocket. Add in the plethora of defense that was drafted in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Draft classes and it’s no surprise to see him slide down the depth chart as several of those picks, such as Kaiden Guhle , Lane Hutson, and even undrafted players like Arber Xhekaj have provided performances that display positive growth in their development.
Canadiens Defender Not Returning
According to Grant McCagg, a well-connected former Canadiens scout, Norlinder has played in a Swedish Hockey League (SHL) exhibition game, and that indicates he won’t return.
With the return of AHL veteran defenders Jayden Struble, Tobie Bisson, and Nicolas Beaudin, along with a possible addition of one of the several rookie defensemen on the Canadiens’ roster, it shows why he would go back to Sweden as he is being pushed out of any significant role he once held on the AHL roster, and has very little hope of getting a legitimate NHL opportunity in Montreal. This simply adds Norlinder to a list of prospects who have gotten passed over by other prospects.
This is something that happens to players in every NHL organization, it’s not a “failure” on the team or the player’s part. It simply demonstrates the fact the Habs’ prospect pool has improved dramatically in a short span of only three years. With all the defensemen playing in the NHL and AHL, general manager (GM) Kent Hughes has the option of allowing him to play out the final year of his NHL contract while on loan to a club in Sweden for the season. He could then choose not to place a qualifying offer on him, letting his restricted free agent (RFA) status expire, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA). In the end, his time with the organization will likely end with him having played only six games in the NHL. It would be a surprise at this point to see him play a seventh.
Even with his 6-foot-1 194-pound frame, he struggles to play a physical style. It is hard to ignore his defensive struggles, if he were a winger, it would be easier, but for a defenseman, it is a massive red flag. These two issues alone would make it hard for him to become a top-four defenseman in the NHL.
With the abundance of skilled left-shot defensemen, who can play a physical style, are highly mobile, and can provide offense, it makes Norlinder expendable. If no NHL team is willing to trade for him, Hughes is better served to allow his contract to just come to an end, or even place him through waivers to terminate his contract and allow him to find opportunities elsewhere. A few seasons ago, losing Norlinder would’ve been a much more difficult situation to endure, but things have changed because the Canadiens’ prospect pool has provided several better NHL options.
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