Mete will start season with Canadiens
Teen defenceman makes opening day roster, but could still go back to junior
Victor Mete and Mark Streit are separated in age by 20 years, but they’ll both be patrolling the blueline when the Canadiens open the 2017-18 season Thursday night in Buffalo (7 p.m., TSN4, RDS, TSN690 Radio).
The 19-year-old Mete, who came into training camp as a long shot, and the 39-year-old Streit are among the 23 players on the Canadiens’ opening-day roster. The Canadiens reached the limit by placing defenceman David Schlemko on the injured reserve list.
“My goal was to make the team and now I want to stay here,” said Mete, whose quest began early last month when he attended the team’s rookie camp.
While he’s on the opening day roster and will be paired with veteran Shea Weber in the opening game, there’s still a chance he’ll be returned to his junior team, the London Knights. NHL rules allow the Canadiens to assess Mete in up to nine games. If he plays a 10th game, he’ll be credited with a year of NHL experience against his entry-level contract. Down the line, it would bring him one year closer to eligibility for arbitration and free agency.
Coach Claude Julien said the key is to give young players like Mete a chance to succeed.
“If he’s a highly skilled player and he’s a forward, and you put him on the fourth line with two grinders, you can’t expect a player to showcase what he’s got,” Julien said. “It’s always better to put players where they can succeed . ... With Victor, we put him with a guy (Weber) who was going to allow him to really feel confident. As you see in this camp, it’s really paid off for him.”
But it was Friday’s win over Florida that may have sealed the deal for Mete. Julien took him out of his comfort zone and paired him with Jamie Benn. Mete not only performed well, but Julien said it was Benn’s best game in the preseason.
Streit began his NHL career with the Canadiens as a 27-year-old in 2005. He spent three seasons mostly as a power-play specialist. He was often dressed as a seventh defenceman and played as a winger on the fourth line.
“I think that was good for me because I was making an adjustment after playing back home in Switzerland and it gave me an opportunity to work on my skating,” said Streit. “But I’ve always considered myself a defenceman.”
He was given that opportunity with the Islanders, who gave him a five-year contract in 2008.
Streit said he loved playing in Montreal but the Islanders offered him not only a larger role, but also a larger paycheque. His cap hit went from $600,000 to $4.1 million. He signed an even richer contract with the Flyers — four seasons at $5.25 million per season — and the Penguins picked him up at the deadline for their Stanley Cup run last spring.
Mete and Streit are among the nine newcomers from the seasonending roster last April.
Schlemko, Karl Alzner and Joe Morrow have been added on defence. Alzner will be paired with Jeff Petry, while Morrow and Brandon Davidson will start the season as healthy scratches.
Up front, the newcomer who has attracted the most attention is Jonathan Drouin. He’ll centre the No. 1 line with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher on his wings.
Charles Hudon gets a chance to play in the bigs after lighting it up for three seasons in the AHL. He’ll be on a line with Tomas Plekanec and Artturi Lehkonen.
Free agent signing Ales Hemsky will be on the fourth line with Paul Byron and either Jacob De La Rose or Torrey Mitchell. Julien described De La Rose and Mitchell as “equals,” but De La Rose will start on Thursday. This is the 22-yearold De La Rose’s third opportunity to prove he can provide some offence to go with his solid defensive play.
Speaking of players with something to prove, Alex Galchenyuk will be on a line with Philip Danault and Andrew Shaw. Galchenyuk’s numbers went down sharply last season after he returned from a knee injury. He finished the season on the fourth line, but he’s far better than that and has another chance to impress Julien. Expect to see him on the top line at some point, but only if he can play the right side.
The goaltending situation remains unchanged with Al Montoya backing up Carey Price.
With Victor, we put him with a guy (Weber) who was going to allow him to really feel confident.