Which defenseman will score when Mike Matheson is finally ready to play his first game against the Canadiens?

For Guillaume Latendresse it is clear that it should be Chris Wideman.

“Wideman is too much. If we have anyone to give waivers to, it’s him. It’s no longer useful for what we want to do. I hope Johnathan Kovacevic doesn’t get knocked down for wideman. It would be for me to take a step back,” he said in his column on Thursday’s La Poche bleue le midi program on TVA Sports’ airwaves. (see video above).

However, Latendresse pointed out that Kovacevic was the easier way out.

“It’s flat for Kovacevic, but he’s easy to get out of training. He’s like the Paul Byron of the defense. He won’t say anything. The only place he will go is in the stands. He’s in Montreal to stay, we won’t put him on waivers.

The former striker fears Kovacevic would find a buyer if he were backed on waivers. According to him, he is more attractive than Wideman.

“With his three-year, $2.3 million contract, it’s certain that Kovacevic would interest at least 15 teams,” Latendresse said. He’s a guy who brings a very nice dimension. He is reliable and consistent.

“Wideman could help some teams on the power play. With his $750,000 salary, teams might be tempted to take a chance. But can a workout really help? I am not sure.”

Matheson is close to making a comeback but it has already been announced that he will miss out again against the Blue Jackets on Thursday night in Columbus. He could make his Habs debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Latendresse also believes Michael Pezzetta has been caught between two chairs since the start of the season, having only played three games out of 16 so far. This would explain why “he is looking for himself”.