After losing Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais in back to back games, the Montreal Canadiens were starting to lack firepower among the forwards. They attempted to rectify this issue by calling up Sven Andrighetto.
#Habs make it official. Sven Andrighetto called up.
— Heather Engel (@engelheather) December 7, 2016
Although Andrighetto has been playing as a winger this year in the AHL, he does possess the ability to play as a centre. However the Canadiens do not have a lack of players who have played the position. Andrew Shaw, Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, and Brian Flynn have played down the middle at the NHL level, whereas Artturi Lehkonen and Alexander Radulov have played there at times in other leagues.
If Andrighetto plays six more games, or stays up for 18 days, he will have to be put back on waivers. He has been up for 12 days since he cleared waivers prior to the season, from November 7-19.
Andrighetto has played 18 games in the AHL and is the IceCaps’ leading scorer, racking up seven goals and 13 assists. He has played four games in the NHL but has yet to get a point.
Both players are out after innocent collisions. Galchenyuk is out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury against the Los Angeles Kings when he collided with Anze Kopitar on Sunday. Desharnais hit Jay Bouwmeester awkwardly on Tuesday in St. Louis.
Andrighetto will likely be in the lineup on Thursday when the Canadiens host the New Jersey Devils. It will be their first home game after their five game road trip.
