A bad news involving the young Canadiens defenseman about to be announced?

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David St-Jean
August 20, 2023 (6:01 PM)

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Earlier this week, the General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Kent Hughes, kept his promise to Jeff Petry by trading him to an American team. Indeed, the 35-year-old veteran was sent to Detroit in exchange for the young Swedish defenseman, Gustav Lindström, and a conditional fourth-round pick.

Although the 24-year-old defenseman had a challenging season with the Red Wings last year, Kent Hughes is convinced that he has acquired a player with a very intriguing profile. According to him, Lindström is far from reaching his full potential, and he could significantly improve in the 2023-2024 season to become a key player in Martin St. Louis's lineup.

"Our scouts like him; they think he's a very smart defenseman, good puck mover, and he has a lot of room for growth in his game. The number they gave me is that he's at 70% of his true potential." - Kent Hughes

While the organization seems to appreciate the qualities of the second-round pick from 2017, it's rather concerning to note that he finished the year with a -16 plus/minus rating in just 36 games, making him the worst plus/minus on the team after Ben Chiarot and Lucas Raymond. Furthermore, to exacerbate this rather worrisome statistic, Lindström was often deployed on the third defensive pairing and faced the toughest opposition trios.

Surprisingly, despite this disappointing performance, former Canadiens scout Grant McCagg firmly believes that the defenseman will be in the Canadiens' top 4, paired with either Mike Matheson or Kaiden Guhle. Having a better partner by his side would undoubtedly aid his progress. However, it would be a heavy responsibility to hand over to a 21-year-old defenseman who has only played 44 NHL games.

"I think he'll be playing with Mike Matheson or Kaiden Guhle on the second pairing. He'll be playing with a much better partner than in Detroit, where he was playing with Robert Hagg. Combined with the fact that he'll have more ice time, that will certainly help him. I think Lindstrom will improve his offensive output next year." - Grant McCagg

One thing is certain, it will be interesting to see how Gustav Lindström adapts to his new team, where he potentially might have a much more significant role than during his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings. We strongly hope that he will meet expectations and elevate his game, otherwise, Justin Barron or Jonathan Kovacevic could quickly regain their roles in the top two defensive pairs.

Source: GoNordiques