Campoli Out, Callahan In

  The Montreal Canadiens once again lost a defenseman in their season opener as newly acquired Chris Campoli reportedly caught a rut in the ice in last night’s game in Toronto. He left the ice with a lower body injury, and it is expected the severity of the injury will be released early next week.

  Campoli had just signed a one year contract with the Habs on September 26th, just shy of two weeks prior to the start of the year. The Canadiens lost their season opener to the Leafs 2-0, and the Campoli injury has just rubbed salt in the fresh wounds of the Habs.

  Montreal has high hopes for the 27 year-old, and is projected to play some important minutes for the new-look blue-line. Dustin’s recent article on LTL, "Canadiens Sign Campoli", covers the recent signing.

  Today, the Canadiens announced that a temporary replacement has been found in the absence of Campoli. The Canadiens announced today the signing of 28 year-old journeyman Joe Callahan to a one-year contract. The financial terms of the contract have not yet been released.

  Callahan is no Campoli, but he is a decent fill in as the Canadiens have been somewhat depleted in blue-line depth in recent days. Shortly before Campoli’s injury, Jeff Woywitka was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers, covered in my article; "MacLean, Woywitka Claimed Off Waivers."

  Callahan’s experience is primarily American Hockey League experience, but he does come off of a year in which he made the most NHL appearances in his career to date. Last year Callahan played 27 games with the Florida Panthers where he notched one assist with a -1 rating and 12 penalty minutes. In Rochester of the AHL last year, he played 48 games, tallying 4 goals and 13 assists for a -13 rating and 68 PIMS.

  Callahan doesn’t offer much NHL experience or offensive upside in the least, but he is a big bodied presence at 6’3 220lbs. His game is a defensive one as he may be counted on in penalty kill situations for the Habs, and considered much like Jeff Woywitka was set to become for the club.

  Callahan was selected in the 3rd round, 70th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2002 NHL entry draft.

  Another player that may benefit from Campoli’s misfortune is 25 year-old Alexei Emelin. The 84th overall entry draft selection of the Canadiens in 2004 signed a one-year deal with the Habs in May, and played four preseason games with the team collecting no points and a -3 rating. Though his numbers weren’t fantastic, Emelin possesses skill and skating ability, and make great strides in 2010-2011 when he posted career numbers for himself at the professional level. Last season Emelin played his third year with Kazan of the KHL, and posted 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points and a +17 rating in 52 games.

  While he may not be expected to stick with the club this season, the door may have opened up for him to get his shot. The same applies for Joe Callahan, who plays a very different game. The debate on what the Canadiens could use on the blue-line at the moment weighs in on offense and defense at the moment, and it will really depend on how hard these two push to make a name for themselves at the NHL level.

- Kendall Grubbs