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About the only good news for the Canadiens so far this season has been the play of 19-year-old rookie defenceman Victor Mete.

Mete was put with Shea Weber on the No. 1 defence pair at the start of training camp and has not looked out of place through the first eight games of the NHL regular season, even though the Canadiens are off to a 1-6-1 start. Mete, selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round (100th overall) at the 2016 NHL Draft, has two assists and is minus-6 — but every player on the Canadiens is a minus right now.

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Mete has been averaging 19:57 of ice time per game, including 3:08 on the power play. Mete will play in his ninth NHL game Tuesday night at the Bell Centre against the Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio 690) and after that the Canadiens will have a decision to make. If they opt to keep Mete on the roster past the nine-game mark it will burn up one year of his three-year, entry-level contract. Mete has a base salary of $650,000 this season in the NHL. The Canadiens will play their 10th game Thursday night when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Bell Centre.