The Montreal Canadiens have made a roster move ahead of their game against the New York Rangers on Saturday, their final game at home before going back out on the road. They recalled Emil Heineman on an emergency basis from the Laval Rocket to replace forward Christian Dvorak, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.
When a team is short players “by reason of incapacitating injury or illness or by league suspension to its players,” according to Article 13.12 (m) of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams can add players by emergency recall. Once the situation is no longer considered an emergency, the player must be returned to their team or can be re-assigned on paper and recalled via standard recall.
The Canadiens received bad news from the medical staff when it was determined that Dvorak’s injury would require surgery.
Dvorak missed the first month of the season and had three goals and four assists in 25 games. His last game was Dec. 30 in a loss to the Florida Panthers. He joins Kirby Dach on the long-term injury reserve. The Canadiens also have Tanner Pearson, Alex Newhook, and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard out long-term, but they are all expected to return at some point this season.
Heineman is a 22-year-old, 6-foot-2 left-winger who is in the second year of his three-year entry-level contract. He has two goals and six points in 10 games with Laval this season. His addition comes the day before the Canadiens are set to host the New York Rangers. This is his second stint with the Canadiens. In his last recall, he dressed for two games, averaging just under eight minutes per game.