Montreal's Joel Edmundson returning to Canadiens after leave of absence

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson is returning to the team after a leave of absence and is back in the city, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. As he continues to recover from an injury that’s kept him out since the beginning of the season, Lavoie reports he’s expected to make his season debut within the next two weeks.

Edmundson took an indefinite leave of absence from the team just a few days ago in order to be with his father, who’s currently dealing with cancer. It’s a promising sign that Edmundson is already back in Montreal and working toward a return.

Any change would help the Habs right now, who are reeling with an 0-5-0 start. Edmundson played more than 20 minutes a night last season, supplementing 13 points in 55 games with solid defensive play. He played more than 23 minutes a night in the playoffs, forming a formidable pairing with Jeff Petry. That’s where he could slot again once he returns to the lineup, allowing head coach Dominique Ducharme to experiment with some different pairings to stop the bleeding.

Edmundson is in the second season of a four-year, $14M deal ($3.5M cap hit) he signed with the Habs after they acquired his signing rights in September 2020.

His return could potentially mark the healthiest Montreal’s defense will be all season if there are no further injuries, as Shea Weber is expected to be absent for the entire year.