Canadiens' Mete to make season debut amid trade speculation

Victor Mete will get a chance to showcase himself to the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the league on Monday night.

The disgruntled defenseman will make his season debut against the Vancouver Canucks, head coach Claude Julien announced. Mete will draw in for Brett Kulak.

Mete reportedly requested a trade, with his agent Darren Ferris citing a lack of opportunity.

However, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin shot down the rumors and said the team isn't trading him.

Mete has been a healthy scratch in each of the team's first eight games this season. The emergence of rookie Alexander Romanov and the offseason addition of veteran Joel Edmundson pushed Mete down the depth chart.

The 5-foot-9 blue-liner already has 171 games of NHL experience despite being just 22 years old. He's collected 31 career points while averaging 16:37 of ice time per contest.

Mete has registered strong underlying numbers, posting a five-on-five expected goals share of at least 53.5% in each of his three campaigns, according to Natural Stat Trick.