{"id":11219,"date":"2017-06-16T23:58:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-17T03:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=11219"},"modified":"2017-06-17T15:45:54","modified_gmt":"2017-06-17T19:45:54","slug":"charles-hudon-protect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/06\/16\/charles-hudon-protect\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Canadiens Should Protect Charles Hudon with Final Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Expansion draft just around the corner, the LWOS Habs writers have decided that \u00a0Montreal Canadiens\u00a0<\/strong>should\u00a0<\/b>protect\u00a0Charles Hudon<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>with the last spot at forward. After going through the players eligible for the Expansion draft, it was determined that Hudon deserved the final spot. \u00a0Originally the spot seemed to be Alexander Radulov<\/strong>‘s for the taking. However having been left unsigned the Canadiens are better off using the spot on a signed player. Charles Hudon recently signed a two-year deal with the Canadiens that made it seem likely they want to give him a chance.<\/p>\n

Unlike many of the prospects in the Habs system, Hudon has played three years of professional hockey in North America. The rule for the expansion draft is if a player has played two years or less in either the NHL or AHL, he is exempt. Therefore, many other highly touted prospects are completely exempt from expansion<\/p>\n

Player Profile:<\/h2>\n

Name: Charles Hudon
\n<\/strong>Position: left wing\/ Centre
\n<\/strong>Age:23
\n<\/strong>Height\/Weight 5’10” 195 pounds
\n<\/strong>Cap Hit: $625K- Two years<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why the Canadiens Should Protect Charles Hudon<\/h2>\n

In terms of offensive ability, Hudon looks like he could be a long-term answer for the Habs that will be arriving sooner rather than later. He has adapted to the pro-game quite well, totaling two 25-plus goal seasons in each of the last two, including two 50-point campaigns.<\/p>\n

He has proven that he can produce offensively in the NHL, Hudon has four assists in six NHL games. Despite the small sample, Hudon has left good impressions throughout the organization. His AHL numbers have been excellent, with 57 points in 75 games as a rookie, 53 in 67 games his second year, and 49 in 26 this year. He has put up 19, 28, and 27 goals in those seasons. This could have been the reason that he finally got his one way contract with the Habs for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

His defensive game while not excellent, is considered to be effective enough for the NHL level.<\/p>\n

He also brings versatility that could allow him to play any forward position that he would need to fill.<\/p>\n

Making An Argument for Hudon<\/h2>\n

There are other players such as a veteran like\u00a0Tomas Plekanec<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>who could protected instead. However, with Plekanec only scoring 28 points in 78 games last season, he may be losing his value. Next season, he is expected to count for $6 million against the salary cap (earning $5\u00a0million in actual salary), which is way too much for a player who scored only 28 points. Plekanec has been a full-time Canadiens forward since 2005. However, last season showed the he can no logner be the effective second line centre he had been previously.It could be time to move on from Plekanec. Leaving the Kladno native available gives the Habs the option to search for a younger more skilled option via trade or free agency.<\/p>\n

While, Plekanec can still be effective at 34, he is coming closer to the end of his career. While, also coming off down year. However, at 23 Hudon\u2019s career is just getting started. \u00a0It would be time for the Canadiens to move on from their once first line centre.<\/p>\n

This also would allow Hudon a better chance to make the opening night roster. However, he has seemed ready for the past two seasons as he\u2019s dominated the AHL\u00a0scoring 28 and 27 goals respectively. It could be very risky to allow a player like Hudon to be exposed, especially when an expansion team will be looking to start out young.<\/p>\n

The Habs should at least consider protecting the Alma native before deciding what to do with him. Losing him for nothing could be a terrible mistake while losing Plekanec creates some much needed cap room to help improve the team.<\/p>\n

They Could Protect Hudon to Trade Him<\/h2>\n

If the Canadiens organization feels that the versatile young forward isn\u2019t a fit, they could protect him to trade him. A young player like Hudon has value around the NHL. If the Canadiens are looking to improve their team, especially at center, throwing Hudon in a package will sweeten the deal.<\/p>\n

However, the Canadiens really should give him a chance. \u00a0He could be the answer to the Canadiens recent scoring woes in the near future.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Although he\u2019s goaless in his first six NHL games, he has the shooting ability to score and with consistent playing time will show this. \u00a0Last season he was brought misfortune when he injured his shoulder during his third game and he never got another opportunity. \u00a0At camp in September, Hudon should be hungry to get his spot on the NHL roster.<\/p>\n

After three years of success, it is Hudon\u2019s time to get a real chance.<\/p>\n

Protected List 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, 1 goalie:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

G: Carey Price<\/strong><\/a> (NMC)<\/p>\n

D1:\u00a0Jeff Petry<\/a>\u00a0(NMC)
\nD2:\u00a0Shea Weber<\/a>
\nD3: Jordie Benn<\/a><\/p>\n

F1:\u00a0Max Pacioretty<\/a>
\nF2:\u00a0Brendan Gallagher<\/a>
\nF3:\u00a0Alex Galchenyuk<\/a>
\nF4:\u00a0Phillip Danault<\/a>
\nF5:\u00a0Jonathan Drouin<\/a>
\nF6: Paul Byron<\/a>
\nF7: Charles Hudon<\/p>\n

Expose:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tomas Plekanec<\/a>
\nAndrew Shaw<\/a>
\nAlexei Emelin<\/a>
\nAl Montoya<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo via Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the Expansion draft just around the corner, the LWOS Habs writers have decided that \u00a0Montreal Canadiens\u00a0should\u00a0protect\u00a0Charles Hudon\u00a0with the last spot at forward. After going through the players eligible for the Expansion draft, it was determined that Hudon deserved the final spot. \u00a0Originally the spot seemed to be Alexander Radulov‘s for the taking. However having […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1170,"featured_media":9514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[203,1744,152],"class_list":["post-11219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadiens","tag-charles-hudon","tag-expansion-draft","tag-montreal-canadiens"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}