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Canadiens D Roman Hamrlik to miss 2-3 weeks, likely all of training camp

Roman Hamrlik; Adam Mair

Montreal Canadiens’ Roman Hamrlik, left, checks Buffalo Sabres’ Adam Mair during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, March 28, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Graham Hughes)

AP

The Montreal Canadiens face quite the challenge this season after overachieving their way to the Eastern Conference finals in the playoffs. To at least approach that level of success, they must put goalie Carey Price in the best possible position to succeed.

For that to happen, the Habs will need their defense to play at an optimal level. Roman Hamrlik is a vital cog in the machine, so here’s hoping he doesn’t follow the same path as Jordan Staal, whose injury report keeps taking up more days of the hockey calendar. Jay Gold passes along the word that a knee injury will keep Hamrlik out for two to three weeks.

That time table sounds like it would leave him just about ready for the season to start on October 7, give or take a few days. Hamrlik isn’t exactly a spring chicken - he’s 35 already (and will turn 36 around the end of the season/beginning of the playoffs) - so the Canadiens would be wise to be careful with his knee.

The good news is that Hamrlik is such an experienced defenseman, with 17 seasons under his belt, that missing training camp shouldn’t be as big of a deal. Surely it would have been nice for him to get into a rhythm, but he probably doesn’t have that much left to learn.