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PHILADELPHIA — The Canadiens have reached the point in their journey to nowhere when they start looking forward to next season.

As they prepare to face the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center(7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), there is a shift in focus. It’s still important to win games, but coach Claude Julien and the people in the front office are also focused on evaluating the players.

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With the NHL trading deadline looming, they must decide which players are keepers and which players are expendable. They are looking at signs of progress not only in individuals but also within the team.

One decision was made Monday when the Canadiens handed St-Anicet native Nicolas Deslauriers a two-year contract extension worth $1.9 million. It’s a raise from the $775,000 he earned this season.

In one respect, the timing of the extension was strange because it came after Deslauriers spent the past two games as a healthy scratch.