The rumor that Mattias Norlinder won’t be returning to North America to fulfill his final year of contract with the Montreal Canadiens is false.
This was denied on Monday by the young defender’s agent, Claes Elefalk of the CAA agency.
“Mattias and I don’t know where this false rumor came from,” he shared via email to TVASports.ca. “Mattie” can’t wait to be at the next training camp with the Canadiens. He wants to take the plane in early September.
On the social network X (formerly Twitter), Grant McCagg, founder of the recruitment platform specializing in reporting hopes, announced that Norlinder will not return to Laval next season and suggested staying in Sweden.
Norlinder has one year left on his NHL contract, but recently played in an SHL exhibition game. He won’t be returning to Laval and hoping the Canadiens will re-sign him. He was once considered one of the top five contenders in the system… but he never adjusted to the rinks of North America and was overtaken by others
—Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) August 17, 2023
Norlinder, 23, struggled to adjust to the size of the North American rink in his first full season in the 2022-23 American League. In 67 games, he amassed 19 points, including two goals, and averaged -7.
The next season will be the year of the last chance for him, at least in the organization of the CH. Norlinder is in the final year of his three-year entry-level contract in the National League. It will take a lot to convince the Canadiens to offer him another contract considering how many defensemen there are in the organization’s junior pool.
The left-back was selected in the third round of CH in 2019 (64th overall).