Montreal Sports - Montreal Canadiens

Max Pacciorety couldn’t do it. Matt D’Agostini seems unable to do it. Travis Moen, Maxim Lapierre and Glen Metropolit’s brief stints in the position of top 6 forward hasn’t brought any punch to the line-up either. So Montreal went to the Hamilton well once again in search of a spark or at least an effort in the calling up of Mathieu Darche.

With Andrei Kostitsyn still on the IR and no one able to step up in his vacant spot, the Canadiens made the right decision in bringing up Darche, an AHLer with over 100 NHL games under his belt, team captain for the Bulldogs and until his shoulder injury, team leader in points. 

When I last spoke to Darche, he explained that he knew his role on the team and was ready, willing and able to help the young up-and-comers with their development. He also said he was happy for players like Tom Pyatt and Ryan White when they got the call-ups instead of him, but also said that he’d be lying if he didn’t say he wanted to be given a chance to contribute on the big team and would take advantage if he ever got that chance. That chance has arrived.

While it doesn’t appear that his stay will be long lived with Sergei Kostitsyn likely to be well enough to play by this weekend, only Darche can change the minds of the Habs’ brain trust by putting in a good performance against the Blues tonight.

Some, including me, have wondered if the Canadiens should have given offensively talented defenseman Marc-André Bergeron a shot at the 6^th forward spot, however coach Jacques Martin made it clear that Bergeron is not strong on puck control and I believe the best call was made in the Darche promotion.

Darche is a veteran. Martin will not need to coddle him, mold him or develop him. Darche has a role to play and a job to do. He know full well that if he deviates from either, he’ll be back down in Hamilton and the next kid on the list will take his place.

On the other side, it also may send a message to players like Lapierre, Pacciorety and D’Agostini that may or may not be either too comfortable or missing whatever motivation they need to bring it to that next level. How would it look if Darche were to outperform them and contribute to the Plekanec/Cammalleri line on his first opportunity while they have failed on many occasions?

Time, however short it is, will tell.

Please read on for the Hab’s official press release and Darche’s Stats.