Canadiens will play with only 16 men.

The Montreal Canadiens are in an awful position, but it sounds like it is one they are comfortable with.

Coming into Saturday's afternoon game against the Florida Panthers there were some serious concerns about the quality of roster the Canadiens would be capable of putting out on the ice, and unfortunately for hockey fans in Montreal those concerns have all been realized. According to a report from Canadiens insider Eric Engels, head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed on Saturday that forward Brendan Gallagher would miss today's game leaving the team seriously shorthanded.

Engels is reporting that the Canadiens will have a total of just 16 skaters for this game, something that I can't imagine will do anything other than put their players at a serious disadvantage while also potentially putting them at greatest risk of injury. The Habs will have just 11 forwards and 5 defensemen out on the ice today according to the insider, a situation that would be laughable if it wasn't for the potential health concerns surrounding all of this.

This appears to be a sign that the National Hockey League intends to have every team play out a full season within the allotted time frame that they had set out prior to the 2021 - 2022 campaign, but what might surprise you is the fact that the Canadiens appear to be on board with this idea.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun has also chimed in on this bizarre situation for the Canadiens but it appears that the green light has been given by all parties involved. The league has consulted with its doctors on the matter and it sounds like they are comfortable moving forward with this scenario, according to LeBrun at least in part due to the fact that the Canadiens have an extended break coming up on the schedule. The Canadiens themselves have reportedly expressed a preference to move forward with this game as well, which as I said may come as a big surprise to many.

The reality is that the Canadiens are going nowhere fast this season, so perhaps this is simply a case of the Habs wanting to put the ugliness that has been the 2021 - 2022 regular season behind them.