Jeff Gorton seems to announce that Oliver Kapanen will stay with the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens' Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, Jeff Gorton, was just questioned about forward Oliver Kapanen.
Read his exact response below, which we'll discuss further, but it seems to clearly suggest that Kapanen will, at the very least, start the season with the Habs.
- Jeff Gorton, in an interview with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy
This seems to indicate that Kapanen will stay with the Canadiens to start the season, with the management re-evaluating his situation as the campaign progresses.
While it's possible that Kapanen could be sent back to Sweden mid-season, based on his current play, I'd be very surprised if that happens.
In any case, it seems to confirm that he will start the season in Montreal!
Oliver Kapanen in uniform for the first game of the season?
As analysts scramble to find a replacement for Patrik Laine, could that replacement simply be Kapanen?
Do you like the idea?
This will be a situation to monitor, but we might have just received a direct answer regarding the breakout star of the 2024 training camp, in attack.
Kapanen, only 21 years old, is a 6-foot, 180-pound forward. He was selected 64th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 (second round) and collected 34 points in 51 games last season in Finland's top league.
In the playoffs, he tallied 14 points in 13 games, and his development over the last few months has been truly impressive.
| POLL | ||
Who do you think would be the best replacement for Patrik Laine? | ||
| Kapanen | 285 | 57.7 % |
| Joshua Roy | 127 | 25.7 % |
| Josh Anderson or Brendan Gallagher | 37 | 7.5 % |
| Other/ transaction | 45 | 9.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
