Rick Stevens

And so he doesn't look too far out of place when placed on whatever line it is.

And he's had a stint with

the top line, and he is, so far, seven goals, nine assists in the 25 games he's played with the Montreal Canadiens.

Some success, he had that hat trick that stood out, and some success with Suzuki and Caulfield.

The issue there is Texier is getting his points.

He's a finisher and is in the right place when finishing plays created by Suzuki and Caulfield.

But that line isn't, Suzuki and Caulfield aren't,

aren't producing the way they should be.

And that's part of the part of Texier, not being a first line player.

Um, he doesn't create offense.

Um, he's okay in his, in his own end.

Um, and, uh, he can use his skating ability to be a, a four checker, but obviously he's, he's belongs at a, as a, as a bottom six forward.

And, um,

Once all the, and we're going to talk about that, once all the Canadians forwards are healthy, you expect to see him down in the third or fourth line.

I think what was surprising here was the timing.

I don't know what the rush was.

What was the rush?

Even the dollars were a little bit steep for that level.

I guess the Canadians wanted to reward him for what he had done.

And there was some speculation that they were worried that the price would go up.