Shaw adds wrinkle to Montreal’s roster plans

Just when you thought the Canadiens’ roster was set for Wednesday’s season opener in Toronto (7 p.m., Sportsnet, SN360, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), forward Andrew Shaw dropped in on the Canadiens’ practice in Brossard Monday and declared himself ready to go.

Shaw said he would like to be in the lineup Wednesday, but, even if head coach Claude Julien decides to wait, his return is imminent, which means Jacob de la Rose and Nikita Scherbak are back on the bubble.

Shaw was sidelined by a knee injury and a concussion as the result of a hit by Dallas defenceman Greg Pateryn on March 13. He had surgery in April to repair torn ligaments in his left knee.

Julien said he would evaluate Shaw after the practices Monday and Tuesday, but would wait until Wednesday to make a decision on whether he would face the Leafs.

“I don’t know if I’m ahead of schedule,” Shaw said. “The doctors said five or six months and Sept. 25 was five months.”

Shaw said his knee is stronger than before and his biggest concern coming back was his head. He has consulted with numerous doctors about his concussion and said he is symptom-free.

Shaw provides Julien with more depth and versatility. He plays centre or wing and he plays with an edge.

While there is concern over the lack of scoring after the Canadiens ranked 29th in goals scored last season, there is the potential for four relatively balanced lines.

The No. 1 line at practice Monday had newcomer Tomas Tatar and 31-goal scorer Brendan Gallagher flanking Phil Danault.

Jonathan Drouin was absent Monday, but will line up with rookie centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia. Armia is big enough to offer some protection for the teenager and he can also jump into the faceoff circle if Kotkaniemi has difficulty with a stronger and/or more experienced opponent.

Newcomer Matthew Peca is set to centre Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen, while Tomas Plekanec gets to play on the fourth line with Charles Hudon and Max Domi. That leaves the coach the task of finding a spot for Shaw.

Putting together a defence is more problematic. Coaches generally like to pair a left-handed shot with a right-handed one and, if one guy is a free spirit, it’s nice to have a stay-at-home partner to cover up for him. It’s difficult to do that when only two of your healthy defencemen are right-hand shots.

Mike Reilly and Jeff Petry have the lefty-righty thing going for them, but they’re at their best when they have the puck.

Youngsters Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen are ideal on paper with the left-right combination and the puck-moving Mete complementing the more defenceminded Juulsen. Mete is poised to build on his successful rookie season, but Juulsen is still learning to play at this level.

Left-handed shots Xavier Ouellet, Karl Alzner and Jordie Benn are stacked up on the third pair and will be trying to make their mark before Weber and David Schlemko return from injuries.

Carey Price and Antti Niemi return in goal.