Ales Hemsky is in trouble!

The bad performances of the Montreal Canadiens since the start of the 2017-18 season have been well-documented. Many players have missed a bunch of great scoring opportunities, while some just don't play as well as they should. This is the case of Ales Hemsky, who has simply been disappointing.

The 34-year-old forward has been struggling and is far from being the player he used to be a few years ago. As a matter of fact, The Athletic's Arpon Basu mentioned today that tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks is going to be crucial for him, since his spot in the lineup isn't guaranteed. At all:

"It will be interesting to see if it is indeed Mitchell who gives up his spot in the lineup in L.A. or if it is Ales Hemsky. Like Benn, there is little doubt Hemsky is “fighting it” right now. He will be on the second power play against San Jose, and it’s not difficult to imagine he needs to show something soon."

We reported earlier that Jacob De La Rose wasn't going to be in uniform tonight, in favor of Torrey Mitchell. But it looks like Mitchell might not be the one to give his spot to De La Rose tomorrow, against the Los Angeles Kings. If Hemsky doesn't play well enough tonight, Basu believes it could definitely be him.

In four games, the Czech forward has zero points and eight penalty minutes.