Philippe Boucher is certain that Alex Barré-Boulet is capable of replacing Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is no longer in the Canadiens’ plans for the start of the season due to injury. Someone will have to take his place, and that someone may well be a Quebecer.

Kent Hughes wasn’t the most active general manager on July 1, but he did manage to sign Quebecer Alex Barré-Boulet.

At 27, Barré-Boulet has never managed to stay in an NHL line-up for a full season. However, he has proved that the AHL holds no secrets for him, with 302 points in 294 games.

Philippe Boucher is convinced that he could be the one to take Rafaël Harvey-Pinard’s place in the Canadiens line-up this season.

At least, that’s what he explained during his recent appearance on Tony Marinaro’s Sick Podcast .

Boucher is convinced that Barré-Boulet has what it takes to make the Habs’ roster, and he’s even frustrated that he didn’t see him in Montreal before this season. He would have taken Barré-Boulet any day over Colin White, who joined the Habs for a few games last season.

In fact, Boucher is so convinced of Barré-Boulet’s abilities that he even thinks he might be able to play a few games on the Tricolore’s top 6. He remains realistic, however, explaining that he still doesn’t see him as a regular in the top 6.

Let’s not forget that Louis Domingue believes the forward has the talent to play on an NHL top 6.

Boucher is most impressed by Barré-Boulet’s offensive skills. He thinks it might be a good idea to put the Quebecer on the second power-play wave to improve offensive production a little.

According to Boucher’s information, Barré-Boulet is training intensively to be able to surprise everyone at training camp.

If he arrives ready for camp and impresses offensively, Barré-Boulet could quickly become a crowd favorite and perhaps even earn a spot in the Habs’ starting lineup for the start of the season.