Michael Hage is still unsigned, and a TSN insider says the Canadiens have nobody to blame for that but themselves.
Hage is on track to open next season in the NCAA instead of turning pro, according to reports out of Montreal this week.
He could still sign his entry-level contract at any point and suit up in the NHL or the AHL in 2026-27.
Word around the organization is that the front office keeps working to change his mind.
Pat Hickey, speaking on TSN 690 this week, put it bluntly. If the Canadiens actually wanted Hage signed, he says, Hage would already be here.
It is less a negotiation right now and more a staring contest, and neither side looks ready to blink first.
Hickey went further, saying he does not see Hage becoming a true difference-maker at the NHL level. He pointed to Hage's struggles at the faceoff circle in the NCAA as a red flag.
Canadiens still lack a true second-line center
The subtext here is simple. Montreal is still searching for a true second-line center, and Hage was viewed as part of that answer.
The Canadiens closed last season at 48-24-10, good for 106 points and a sixth-place finish across the entire NHL.
So why would a team sitting that close to real contention slow-play a top center prospect all summer?
If Hickey is right, that is a bad look for a front office that talks about urgency every offseason.
Kent Hughes has not addressed the claim publicly, and neither has Hage.
The longer this drags, the more it looks like a decision Montreal will have to answer for, one way or another, once training camp gets closer.
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Are the Canadiens to blame for Michael Hage still being unsigned?
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