Montreal Adds Another Young Defenceman to the Pipeline

The Montreal Canadiens made a small move this week that probably won't get much attention outside of the organization. But these are the kinds of moves that can become important later. Montreal signed Maksymilian Szuber to a one-year, two-way contract on Monday. It isn't the kind of signing that changes the Canadiens' lineup overnight. Szuber will likely start the season in Laval, where the Canadiens can continue to develop him without rushing him into the NHL.

And that may be exactly the point. Szuber is 23 years old and spent last season with AHL Tucson, where he put up 11 goals and 27 points in 65 games. He also had 67 penalty minutes, which gives you a pretty good idea that this isn't simply a player being brought in to move the puck around and hope for the best.

The Canadiens picked Szuber up from the Mammoth in late June.

Montreal acquired Szuber from the Utah Mammoth on June 29 in exchange for Joshua Roy. At the time, the trade probably looked like a relatively minor organizational move. But now that Szuber has signed, it becomes a little easier to see what the Canadiens might be trying to do. They are building options.

That is something teams like the Canadiens have to do well. You can't assume every young player in your system is going to become an NHL regular. Some prospects develop quickly. Others take longer. Some reach the NHL but never quite become what everyone expected. And occasionally, a player who wasn't considered a major prospect finds his way into the lineup.

Szuber could be interesting for the Canadiens’ future.

He's not being asked to come to Montreal and save the defence. He's being given another opportunity to develop and prove that he belongs in the conversation. Laval gives the Canadiens a place to watch him closely, work with him and see what kind of player he can become.

There is also something to be said for having competition within an organization. If Montreal continues to add young defencemen, eventually some of those players are going to push each other. That's a good problem to have. The Canadiens don't need every prospect to become a star. They need enough of them to become useful NHL players.

Time will tell whether Szuber can be a solid player in the organization.

Szuber may or may not be one of those players. It's too early to know. But that's the interesting part of these smaller moves Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has been making since taking over in January 2022. A one-year, two-way contract doesn't make much noise. It doesn't have to.

Sometimes building a hockey team is about giving yourself enough chances to find the next player who matters. Szuber will have a chance to show if he can be one of those players.