I Genuinely Cannot Watch Alexandre Carrier Play Hockey Anymore

On Tuesday, March 17th (my birthday by the way), the Montreal Canadiens picked up a massive win against the Boston Bruins in one of their most important games, if not the most important game of their season to date.

This win kept them in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points up on the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins for that final divisional playoff spot, and within striking distance of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second. With 15 games to go, according to MoneyPuck, the Canadiens have about an 83% chance to qualify for the postseason.

Of course, I have already written about how this week will define their season, as they still have a matchup against the Red Wings on Thursday and the New York Islanders on Saturday, two teams they are fighting with for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. This was a good start to the week.

However, there is one negative I continue to see from this team, and it is their team defense.

The defensemen struggle to clear the puck, protect the slot, and they rely too heavily on their goaltending. Jakub Dobes was sensational on Tuesday night and really did bail them out.

To be more specific, there is one defenseman on this team who I simply cannot watch play anymore, and that is Alexandre Carrier.

He has been, in my opinion, the weakest point on this defensive core ever since the Olympic break ended. Just on Tuesday, Carrier took a double minor penalty seconds into the game for high sticking, which ultimately resulted in a Bruins goal. Not to mention, late in the third period, he got away with one where he clearly hit another Bruin in the face with his stick. Simply careless and stupid hockey.

If the referees wanted to, they easily could have sent Carrier to the box again. And, given how bad the Canadiens penalty kill has been for a majority of the season, I am not sure they could have held off the Bruins power play one more time in that game.

Now I could accept this carelessness if I knew he was going to make up for it on either side.

He supposedly does have some offensive upside, let’s give him that. Also, I won’t deny that he was also a great addition last season, and in my opinion, he was one of the two players who helped turn the season around, along with Patrik Laine. The Canadiens this season, though, have been unwilling to play Laine as they obviously believe he no longer can help the team win games. You have to think we are getting to that same point with Carrier.

In the defensive zone, he is constantly turning over the puck. He is getting played off the puck far too easily and is being out physicaled. Every time I look, it feels like it is him getting rocked, turning the puck over, or taking a bad penalty.

Last season, he was at least creative with the puck. He was willing to fire pucks on net and make plays. He just has not done that on a consistent level this season.

This is not all his fault. I do not think the team has put him in a great position to succeed, especially with how Kaiden Guhle, who has occasionally been his defense partner, has been playing as of late. Guhle did have a solid game on Tuesday night, but ever since returning from injury, he has not been good enough and neither has Carrier if this team wants to go on a deep playoff run or even make the playoffs at all. Which, at this point, is by no means guaranteed.

But unlike Guhle, I do not think Carrier is in the Canadiens long term plans.

If I am Montreal, I think you get to a point where you need to bring up David Reinbacher. You need to get a better right handed defenseman in the fold who at least has some upside. I understand Carrier is one of the veterans Marty St. Louis trusts, but right now the only defensemen playing at a consistent level are Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, and Mike Matheson. That is three out of six. Half of the defensemen you are rolling out on a nightly basis cannot be trusted.

I think it is time to see what Reinbacher has to show because I honestly do not believe it can be worse than what Carrier has shown. Worst case scenario, if Reinbacher gets hurt again, you have a refreshed and motivated Carrier ready to come back in. Maybe that becomes a wake up call for him.

Even just calling up Reinbacher could send a message. Maybe you sit him in the press box for a few games just to let him adjust to NHL life, being on the road with the team, and going through the schedule. You need to do something to push Carrier because he has been one of the weaker points on a Canadiens team that has otherwise been very fun to watch this season.

The fact that they are leading the league in comeback wins also means they are trailing in a lot of games. While that is not entirely his fault, based on the eye test, Carrier needs a reset. I would even be more interested in seeing Arber Xhekaj back in the lineup on a consistent basis right now.

If Carrier is not going to play with the same offensive upside he had when he joined the team last season, and he is going to be soft defensively while also taking bad penalties, then I do think you need to start having a serious conversation with him about how things are going to go.

Or you give him a real wake up call and bring a defenseman up from Laval.

Because based on what we have seen too often and too much too recently in these important games, something has to change.