One of the Tricolore's many weaknesses this season is undoubtedly the lack of success with a man down on the ice. In addition to collecting penalty minutes by the ton, the Habs are not able to defend.
Dominique Ducharme tried everything! Practically every player touched the ice while being shorthanded, except Mike Hoffman, of course. The loss of Phillip Danault hurt the Habs defensively, there's no doubt about that, but they'll have to adjust now that he's gone.
At this point, why not give a chance to a young player in the organization to make his mark? A certain Lukas Vejdemo couldn't hurt, especially on the penalty kill.
According to Bob Trask, the Habs could greatly benefit from his shorthanded prowess. He even went so far as to say that Vejdemo was the best short-handed player in the entire Habs organization. That's quite a statement on his part.
He's not a scoring machine, but he could probably help Dom Ducharme's team defensively. He has four points in eight games so far with the Rocket, while maintaining a zero rating.
Remember that he had already got a taste of the NHL two years ago, when he played seven games with the big club, collecting one goal in the process.
He is a much more mature player than he used to be, that's obvious. Could we see Marc Bergevin recall him eventually? It wouldn't cost anything to give a chance to a young player that the organization has developed.
