Happy Friday. That means we’re back with another edition of Ice Breakers, featured on Daily Faceoff Livewith news from around the NHL:

Habs calling for defensemen

Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes have checked the prices of acquiring a top four, right-shooting defenseman around the league. The cost? It’s high, which means nothing is imminent now.

The Canadiens’ back end has stumbled out of the gate in a year when they were expected to take a step forward, with injuries also serving as a critical factor. Kaiden Guhle have missed time and Mike Matheson has played through back spasms in hopes of stabilizing the defense.

Montreal realizes that the current situation is not ideal: With the injuries, rookie defenders Lane Hutson is averaging 23:17 a night just nine games into his career. On October 17, Hutson eclipsed 30 minutes. It’s too much. And they are wary of overtaxing 34-year-olds David Savard.

The only solution is to shop for more support. But it is expensive, and with the future of the blueline well covered with David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux and Hutson, the Habs are rightfully reluctant to spend on what could be a temporary stopgap solution. At the same time, the status quo is not acceptable, so this is an act worth watching.

The Utah Hockey Club also oversees the defense market

Of course, the Canadiens aren’t the only team kicking the tires on the defense market. Utah Hockey Club GM Bill Armstrong continues to make his rounds in the wake of losing two top-four plays in Sean Durzi and John Marino for at least the next four months.

For now, Utah will look to plug the holes with internal solutions. Big 2022 first round picks Maverick Lamoureux made his NHL debut on Thursday night and finished on the plus side of the ledger in a 5-1 loss to Colorado.

Also on the list to potentially get a look: 2022 second draft pick Artem Duda (36th overall), who took the unusual route of playing at Toronto Metropolitan University last season, and Maksymilian Szuber (163rd overall), when healthy. They have that too Kevin Connaughton plays in AHL Tucson with NHL experience.

Still, Utah is 1-4-0 since Durzi’s injury, and they don’t want to let a solid start to the season slip away. No team can survive losing two of their top four blueliners. So Armstrong will continue to swing big when he calls. He has been known around the league to inquire about established, young star players — sometimes resulting in short-lived phone calls. Sometimes those requests also plant seeds for future conversations, and that’s how he landed Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay Lightning at the June Draft.

Damages are certain

‘Tis the season for seat warmers – and the temperature rises on some hot seats after slow starts.

A name you can cross off the list: John Tortorella in Philadelphia. He’s not going anywhere. Tortorella has the full and total support of the organization, despite a boring 1-5-1 start and obvious disagreement on the bench.

The Flyer believes Tortorella is the best possible coach to mold and teach his young group. Also, he has this season and next left on his $4 million per year contract. They know they are not ready to win yet, although they expect to make significant progress this season.

Additionally, after sitting out both games this week against Washington, the Flyers are expected to make a decision on the 18-year-old forward Jett Luchanko on Friday. If he’s not in Tortorella’s lineup this weekend, they want to get him back into action, and the expectation is that he’ll be sent back to the OHL for the season.

Theodore Extension Thins Pending UFA Defense Class

A big part of the deal made by Vegas in locking up Shea Theodore to a seven-year extension on Thursday, just $52 million. The deal includes a full “no-trade” clause for the first five years of the deal and takes Theodore — one of the top 10 offensive defensemen in the game — through his age-36 season.

Even more important for Golden Knightsit solidifies a defense with Alex Pietrangelo and Noah Hanifin for the foreseeable future for less than $24 million per season. That no state income tax credit is showing up again – and it’s going to look really pretty when the NHL’s payroll climbs well north of $100 million soon.

The groans you heard at Theodore’s extension announcement came from the rest of the NHL, with another pending UFA taken off the table. Theodore leaves Jakob Chychrun and Aaron Oakleaf as the top two defensemen now playing out the final year of their deals. Chychrun has fit in well in Washington. And while Florida has been hard at work signing Carter Verhaeghe and Paul Maurice to extensions, the feeling is that it has been pretty quiet on the Ekblad front so far. Perhaps another data point in a similar tax environment with Theodore could shift the conversations.

____