Author: Dose

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Florian Xhekaj: ahead of Joe Veleno, Owen Beck and Oliver Kapanen

Pretty much everyone – except Kirby Dach – has had a chance to play a pre-season game with the Canadiens. I know, the sample isn’t big/reliable yet, but I’ve already seen enough to come to a few conclusions about the identity of the players who will start the year with the big club. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have decided to start the season with 20 skaters, excluding goaltenders. Remember that they could go as high as 23 players, but that for salary and financial reasons, keeping two spares – not three – is the strategy that has been prioritized by Montreal’s top management. I know that Carey Price’s contract is no longer on Montreal’s books, but I think we’ll still opt for a 20-player roster plus goalies. With every dollar saved under the salary cap, more money can be accumulated for in-season trades. 11forwardsare already guaranteed to make the team: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans, Ivan Demidov, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Zachary Bolduc. We’re told the plan is to have Kirby Dach in uniform by October 8, so I’m counting him among the 11 forwards who will start the season with the Canadiens.At that point, there are still two positions to be filled. Based on what I saw yesterday, I’m prepared to say that Samuel Blais MUST be the 13th forward. He ticks all the boxes of what you’re looking for in a 13th forward. He handed out four checks – including a reverse hit – and blocked two shots. He brings energy, size(6’2), grit and experience (29 years old). To play on a four or to watch the game from the stands, Blais is your man.And he speaks French…So who will win the only battle up front, that of a place for a (young?) player to play on the bottom six and who will also find himself in the stands at times? There are four candidates: Oliver Kapanen, Joe Veleno, Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck.Owen Beck isn’t ready to play in the NHL in my opinion. It would be wiser to give him big responsibilities in Laval, rather than a limited role in Montreal. Next,Oliver Kapanen is looking more and more like an average player who could play several years in the NHL. However, I still believe he needs more games in Laval to be truly ready to play in the best league in the world on a regular basis. He’s only 21 games into his NHL career, and there’s no hurry in his case. content-ads]Joe Veleno was the most-used forward last night, but he won only 38.5% of his face-offs and was blanked on the scoresheet. He did, however, give away five hits. Florian Xhekaj, for his part, is in pole position in my opinion. He was one of the least-used players, yet he still found a way to influence the course of yesterday’s match.One goal, plus-1, two shots, one blocked shot, two checks, one fight… all in less than 14 minutes of ice time! And 80% of face-off wins

…
I think he’s done his time in Laval…(Credit: Getty Images)

Xhekaj put on weight over the summer and is coming off a rookie season of 24 goals – only four of which were on the power play – and 175 penalty minutes in the AHL. He also brings something that was sorely lacking in the last playoffs: toughness and energy. What’s more, the younger brother has more to gain from playing 9 or 10 minutes on the habs’ bottom six than 18 to 20 minutes on the Rocket’s top six. Why is that? Simply because the plan was never to make him a top-six NHL player. Playing for the Habs this season wouldn’t slow down his development; on the contrary [content-ads]A practice camp should serve to identify the players who are the best, who best fit our needs and who deserve to start the season in the NHL. Florian Xhekaj is part of that group at the moment, and if he continues his excellent work over the next ten days, Xhekaj will force the hand of the Montreal management. Note that I haven’t mentioned Joshua Roy because, while he may have become a crossfit beast over the summer, he didn’t prove to me last night that he’s a better hockey player than he used to be. That’s it.On defenseAll bets are off. Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson already make up the top four. Alexandre Carrier and Arber Xhekaj are likely to round out the third pairing, while Jayden Struble should be the extra defenseman. Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher are too far from the group to cause a surprise. content-ads]In front of the netTwo things are agreed upon: Samuel Montembeault will be the #1 goaltender in Montreal and Jacob Fowler, the #1 goaltender in Laval. Jakub Dobes and Kapo Kahkonen will be the back-up goaltenders for the two aforementioned guys.Jakub Dobes was already Montembeault’s back-up last year and he did well, turning aside all nine shots he faced.

Kaapo Kahkonen was in the AHL last year, and last night, he looked like an AHL goalie: two goals on 12 shots, but his moves weren’t always top-notch, let’s put it that way. Although he’ll have to go through the waivers (unlike Dobes), I’m pretty sure Kahkonen will be cut in early October. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t, since that would mean Montembeault would have to be overused in order to have any hope of making the playoffs.

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Flowers for Florian Xhekaj, the pot for David Reinbacher

Yesterday’s game was a lot more fun to watch than Monday’s, wasn’t it? The 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers was quite interesting because it was a lot of action on many levels. The fans at the Bell Centre got their money’s worth, and the player who attracted the most attention was Florian Xhekaj. He was playing his first-ever game with his brother – and their mother did everything she could to attend the match.

As in 2022, the Canadiens see a Xhekaj pushing for a training camp spot. And in light of yesterday’s game, I have no trouble believing that Florian could pull it off. After all, the Unicorn brings elements that the guys in the running for a forward position simply can’t bring. His sturdiness is really interesting and yesterday he showed it.He even struggled against Nicolas Deslauriers, who isn’t exactly an easy customer.Yesterday, the line he formed with Tyler Thorpe and Luke Tuch was excellent. The three youngsters played their roles well and Xhekaj also found a way to score. Last time I checked, it’s important to score once in a while. content-ads]

But above all, we agree that the eye test was conclusive. Every time he jumped on the ice, Florian Xhekaj was able to make the difference for the Canadiens. His brother was also good (even if he perhaps lacked discipline) and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them both in uniform for the first game of the regular season.

[content-ads]Obviously, to land a forward spot, Florian Xhekaj will have to beat out several guys in camp. He’ll also have to be good enough for the Habs to waive Samuel Blais or Joe Veleno, but if he deserves it and is better than the veterans and youngsters like Owen Beck and Oliver Kapanen… why not? i can

That said, if we’re going to throw flowers at Xhekaj, we need to talk about the pot too. And yesterday, let’s just say that it’s David Reinbacher who deserves the more negative comments. Physically, it seems he missed a lot of games last year. He’s still got some catching up to do, which isn’t unusual for a defender his age coming back from a major injury. Yes, he had some positive flashes… but at times, he wasn’t dominating: he was trying to survive. He reminded us that he’s not at the stage of dislodging a regular: he absolutely must go and eat minutes in Laval.And that’s just fine. I see him having success in the NHL one day, but not in October 2025[content-ads]

The Canadiens aren’t in a position where they absolutely have to bring Reinbacher up, and it’s for cases like this that the good Lord created the AHL. Let the Habs take advantage. No?

But these aren’t the only players worth mentioning after yesterday’s game. What do I remember from the duel against the Philadelphia Flyers? [content-ads]1. Kaapo Kahkonen could have been brought on at a better time in the game, at a commercial break. But he could also have been better on the ice. Advantage Jakub Dobes, who gave nothing away. 2. Cole Caufield didn’t take long to score early in the game. Nick Suzuki also did well and found the back of the net. And Juraj Slafkovsky? He was cut, he came back… and he did well. In short, bravo to the first line. 3. I really don’t see the Canadiens giving him a job right now. However, Vinzenz Rohrer continues to earn points, playing “the role of his chair” when he’s on the ice. It’s Europe or the NHL, in his case.

4. Lane Hutson picked up an assist, maintained a plus-1 rating, played over 21 minutes, took two shots on goal and blocked one shot. Good game on his part. [spacer title=’prolongation’]It’s a day off for the Canadiens, who return to action tomorrow against the Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. TheHabs have

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EA Sports Simulation: More than 1,700 points for Demidov (with 3 Hart trophies and a Stanley Cup)

Every year, EA Sports has fun simulating the careers of the best rookies entering the NHL. And it’s always a bit wacky, because the results are pretty crazy. For example? Last year, Lane Hutson’s career simulation gave him 1,384 NHL career points… plus two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, three Norris Trophies, a Hart Trophy and a Ted Lindsay Trophy.

This year, it’s no different for Ivan Demidov. It goes like this: if you look at the Russian’s career simulation (not to be taken lightly, we agree), you’ll see that he scores 724 goals and has 1,024 assists. That gives a total of 1,748 points… although in the photo shared by EA Sports, we see that it gives 1,766 points (oops). But we also notice that Demidov would win three Hart Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy, three Ted Lindsay Trophies… and a Stanley Cup. That would be… spectacular.

[content-ads] Clearly, the results are a bit distorted. Only eight players have surpassed the 1,700-point plateau in National League history: Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe, Ron Francis, Marcel Dionne, Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux.

Honorable mention to Sidney Crosby (1687 points) and Alex Ovechkin (1623 points), who are close to that mark… but still. I don’t want to bust anyone’s balloon, but I don’t think Ivan Demidov will end his career with that many points. I’d like that, and I’d like to see him win as many individual trophies… but we have to be realistic too. And if he’s able to achieve half of what he did, we’ll be able to say that he’s had a whole career in the National League. [spacer title=’Overtime’] – To be continued.

– Nick Suzuki

– I love it.

– He’s got good hands.

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Jared Davidson fight: Martin St-Louis wants to add this aspect to his team

Preparatory games are all about winning points in the eyes of management, and yesterday, if there’s one player who won points, it was Jared Davidson. And why? Because he played as a team, fighting to defend his club’s honor.It was a good fight, by the way.

In his team’s 2-1 win, Davidson found a way to stand out from the crowd and bring something different from the others in the eyes of Martin St-Louis. I say that because the coach understands that sandpaper like Davidson’s is good in a club.[content-ads]

Are we saying Davidson will make the club? That’s not what we’re mentioning, no. But what we are saying is that the prospect has realized, like Florian Xhekaj, that he can make a name for himself with his physical game and his ability to throw down the gloves. The chair available on the club’s bottom-6, it can be used by a guy who plays hockey like that. Because yes, Davidson is tough, but he can play hockey.I think Florian “the Unicorn” Xhekaj has a head start on Davidson if the club ever decides to go in that direction instead of giving the job to Joe Veleno, for example.But Davidson did what he had to do yesterday[content-ads]That said, if the club were to give a job to a youngster, Owen Beck is clearly a possibility. Yesterday, he looked better than Oliver Kapanen (not playing with NHL guys) on the ice… and I’m not just saying that because of his goal, the only regular of the game for the Habs.

Clearly, Beck didn’t miss his audition. Neither did the guys in his line (Filip Mesar and Sean Farrell),but that’s not all I’m taking away from yesterday’s game. Which players deserve a mention from the Canadiens on the heels of a first prep game [content-ads]1. The goalies were excellent. In fact, they saved the game. While the Canadiens were being dominated by the Penguins’ B Club, Samuel Montembeault got the job done. He was in control, giving away just one goal on 21 shots, and when Jacob Fowler came into the game, it was the same thing. Aside from a shootout goal, the rookie gave nothing away on 13 shots in his first career prep game. It was his composure that caught the eye. The guy looked ready… and seeing him with Monty can inspire confidence in the club’s future. No?

2. The club has a few things to work on (including its five-on-three), but above all, the guys will have to get used to Ivan Demidov, who can make passes from anywhere.What a hockey player, that one.[content-ads]

3. Noah Dobson wasn’t the most impressive player. However, he still ate up minutes (24:16) and took his wanderings with Mike Matheson. He’s going to be good. 4. Adam Engstrom hasn’t been the most visible of players and even earned himself Gilbert Delorme’s“J’regrette, il doit être meilleur” this morning. He ‘ll have to do better next time. [spacer title=’prolongation’]The Habs will practice this morning in preparation for tonight’s game. In

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The gap between Mason McTavish and the Ducks is enormous

Mason McTavish doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to signing his next contract. Obviously, there’s a world out there in which negotiations have been going better in recent days… but as there’s theoretically nothing new to motivate the Ducks and the player’s clan to negotiate, I don’t believe it.Seeing him practice with the Ottawa 67’s says it all.For the moment, we know it’s still too early to be thinking about a deal, but the more time passes, the more it becomes a real possibility on the table. But the more time passes, the more it becomes a real possibility on the table, especially when you consider that there’s a gap between what the player is asking for and what the club is prepared to offer him. We recently learned that McTavish was ready to sign a contract around what Nick Suzuki signed (less than $8 million for seven or eight years), but now we understand that the Ducks aren’t there at all.

Marco D’Amico, on the heels of the Process podcast, said the Ducks were aiming more for a three- or four-year contract at 5.5 million bids per campaign.

[content-ads]Obviously, I don’t think I need to tell you that the gap between supply and demand is indeed huge in this case. It’s easy to see why nothing is imminent: they’re not on the same planet. The Ducks want a bridge contract and the player wants to secure his future right now.Would the Habs be able to give him that? The question must be asked, because if this continues, the Ducks will have no choice but to consider a transaction. See you in October, when the season begins. [spacer title=’Overtime’]- CF Montreal fans:

– Interesting.

– Will he play this week?

– Oh yeah?

–

– Well done.

– Edmonton contract.

– To read.

– Hum…

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Patrik Laine didn’t convince me

The Canadiens won their first preparatory game yesterday at the Bell Centre: Canadiens 2 – Penguins 1.All this in a shootout, to ensure an excellent show and reduce the waiting time for the first late-night subways. # Noteverything was perfect on the ice for the Montrealers, but first, Martin St-Louis had only eight or nine NHLers on the bench and second, the team already seems ahead of last year in terms of preparation. Martin St-Louis took the blame for last year’s slow start to the season; he must be happy to see his group more ready than a year ago.

Yesterday, we saw an involved Owen Beck (first star, one goal, four shots, three checks and two blocked shots), a first-pair Noah Dobson, a Jared Davidson with bite, a Jayden Struble who hasn’t said his last word (to Arber Xhekaj), a Samuel Montembeault ready for the #1 job in Montreal, a Jacob Fowler ready for the #1 job in Laval, an Ivan Demidov sometimes creative, sometimes ineffective, an Oliver Kapanen too inconsistent and irregular to play in the top six..

But we also noticed that Patrik Laine 2025-26 doesn’t seem all that different from Patrik Laine 2024-25.

We saw him cross the rink with the puck on his paddle… We saw him take one or two good shots… But as the game wore on, Laine seemed to run out of juice. By the third period, Laie no longer had a positive influence on the game. He wasn’t skating anymore, and his dekes wouldn’t even fool an M18 AAA guy.

Patrik Laine needs to have more to give the Canadiens. (Credit: Getty Images)

[content-ads]Patrik Laine, who was able to practice all summer in Montreal, promised us the best version of himself a few days ago. Martin St-Louis told us he was confident of seeing the best version of Patrik Laine. For the moment, we’re still a long way from the guy who scored 44 goals in 82 games in his second season with the Jets eight years ago…If what we saw of Laine yesterday is his best version, there’s cause for concern… I know, camp only opened six days ago and the first regular game isn’t for another two weeks, but we’re pretty much all in agreement: the performance of the second line will be a major factor in the Habs’ success (or failure) this season.

[content-ads]Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach and Ivan Demidov all need to click offensively. However, Dach has been worrying me for two years, Laine is still worrying me after yesterday’s game, and Demidov won’t be able to do it all on his own; he’s too young. Let’s hope this second line finds its groove over the next few days. If Laine, Demidov and Dach have a good season, the Habs will make the playoffs and hope to do some damage . On the other hand, if the second line is offensively neutral – and struggling defensively – Montreal could be in for a long winter… If Laine and Dach don’t have a good season, it will at least make Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes’ decision-making process regarding the forwards’ future a little easier. #Autonomy[spacer title=’Prolongation’]The Canadiens host the Flyers tonight at the Bell Centre. Expect to see Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Zachary Bolduc, Alex Newhook, Joe Veleno, Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle in action, while Laine, Demidov and Dach (??) will – if all goes well for Dach – face the Maple Leafs on Thursday or Saturday. Since Thursday’s game will be played at the Bell Centre and Saturday’s in Toronto, I think Dach will play in Montreal. Stay tuned.

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Alex Pietrangelo wants to return and Carter Hart is considering signing: good luck to the Golden Knights

Last June, we learned that Alex Pietrangelo’s career might be over. The defenseman had suffered a major hip injury that, in his own words, was unlikely to allow him to return to action.He wasn’t completely closing the door… but he knew that getting back into the shape required to play in the Bettman circuit was unlikely.So the Golden Knights suddenly had $8.8 million to spend… and the club took the opportunity to sign Mitch Marner at $12 million a year for eight years. Except… Earlier today, Pietrangelo suddenly changed his tune. He suddenly mentioned the possibility of a return to action later this year.And that makes things difficult for Vegas management… because if he’s likely to return this season, the club would exceed the $3.8M cap hit this season.

hit.

[content-ads]The math, in fact, is this: right now, the Golden Knights are $7.6M over the salary cap. If Pietrangelo can’t come back this season, there’s no problem (because the club can exceed the $8.8 M cap)… but if the defenseman can come back, the club can’t exceed it by more than $3.8 M.This is a new rule adopted in the new collective agreement, but it takes effect this season.

And when you consider that the Golden Knights are one of the 3-4 finalist teams to sign Carter Hart according to Chris Johnston (the Hurricanes, who are expected to sign Michael McLeod, are also among them, as are 1-2 other teams whose identities we don’t know), it suddenly starts to make the Knights‘ situation even more complex.

Because if there really is competition between different teams, it could cost Vegas more than we think to sign him.

[content-ads]It’s worth remembering that Pietrangelo’s contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season. That means that if he’s considering a return to action, the club could be looking at $8.8M on its active payroll next year… which brings us to Jack Eichel. The center needs a new contract for next season, and we’re expecting to see him get a pay raise, as he’s getting $10M a year on his current deal. In a world where Vegas has to pay Pietrangelo next year, it suddenly becomes harder to see a world in which the club will be able to pay Eichel big money without sacrificing another big piece of its core.William Karlsson, who makes $5.9M a year for the next two seasons, could be a good candidate to sacrifice…. but ideally, Vegas would probably like to keep him, we agree.We’ll have to keep an eye on this one, but Vegas payroll specialists may be in for a headache over the next few months if Pietrangelo really is aiming for a comeback. [spacer title=’Overtime’]- What do you think?

– Oh?

– Interesting.

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Juraj Slafkovský: JiC wants him out of the first line

Last year, at the end of the season, the Canadiens’ first line really took a big step forward. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský took their game up a notch in the final weeks of the campaign, helping the club qualify for the playoffs.The three guys complement each other well on the ice, and they’ve figured out how to translate that into results.In the eyes of many, then, we should expect to see the three guys back together again at the start of the season. But there are those who see things differently. Jean-Charles Lajoie, who talked about it on his JiC show tonight, is one of them: in his eyes, the Habs need to get Slaf out of the first line.And the reason is simple: it would allow the Habs to have a much more balanced line-up.

[content-ads]That way, for example, the club wouldn’t have to put Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov on the same line and could avoid problems on the defensive end. Martin St-Louis could put one of these two guys on the first line and send Slaf to complete a second unit. And in essence, this point is defensible… except that the club would be taking a big risk. Right now, they only have one line that’s a real sure thing, and removing Slaf from that line (which was one of the best in the NHL last year) would mean the club would lose that advantage.If the club needs a jolt, splitting up the first line could be an option. But at the start of the season, I find it hard to imagine the Habs going ahead with such an idea… especially as we don’t even know if the second line will really be a problem defensively.As things stand, it would be a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul, in my eyes. But if Paul ever starts to get really cold (read here “the Laine-Demidov duo isn’t working”), maybe it’ll become an idea to consider.And when you see the three guys from the first line together in the same group at camp, it doesn’t look like this wardrobe makeover will happen tomorrow morning.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- Big Patrik, that.

– Indeed.

– Great opportunity for

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Sidney Crosby in Montreal: “I don’t think it’s impossible,” says Elliotte Friedman

In all the uncertainty surrounding Sidney Crosby’s situation, one thing is clear: he wants to win… and that’s not going to happen in Pittsburgh. The Penguins can’t offer him that opportunity because the team isn’t going anywhere on the ice and because the club is in the process of rebuilding.To put it another way… The next Stanley Cup to come to Pittsburgh isn’t here yet, and that’s why there are so many rumours about the Kid’s future. Pat Brisson got involved last week, saying he wanted to see his client lift the precious trophy at least once more, and that only fuelled the discussions about #87.

That said, Elliotte Friedman – who appeared on the La Poche Bleue podcast – also shared his point of view: in his eyes, seeing Crosby end up in Montreal “is not impossible”.And Friedman, he’s one of the most reputable guys in the game…[content-ads] Elliotte Friedman didn’t say it would happen 100%. He made a point of reminding us that the decision to leave (or not) is Sidney Crosby’s, because he’s the one in control of his destiny in a sense.But even so, knowing that the door could be open at some point makes many salivate, and we agree that, well… that’s normal.

We’ve been saying it for a few weeks now, but the “Crosby file” is clearly one of the most interesting to watch right now in the NHL. Many feel that it will depend on the Penguins’ start to the season – and the Olympic Games – and that it could unblock at some point… because it would also be surprising to see Crosby persist in ending his career with a losing club. His desire to win is well known. The Canadiens are one of the clubs best placed to give him what he wants… and the Canadiens are also one of the clubs best placed (or if not) to go get him in Pittsburgh when you look at Kent Hughes’ resources.Ah, the famous #87 situation… [spacer title=’Overtime’] – He’s going to be busy this winter, Tony!

– Sick.

– Having Marc-André Fleury as a mentor must be cool.

– Oh.

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RUMOR: the Canadiens want a Winter Classic at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

When will Montreal host an outdoor game? According to BPM Sports host Maxime Lalonde, the Canadiens would like to host a Winter Classic in 2027. The club is “very active” on the subject, according to Lalonde, and where? On the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. He spoke about it on the radio this morning

We know that Montreal isn’t full of places to hold such a game. But if the venue is suitable for hockey, I can’t see the NHL refusing to hold an outdoor game in the city. Of course, nothing’s been done yet, and there are still a few details to work out before we can hope to make it official. But it would be really interesting if it became a reality, and I think a lot of people in Montreal would be trying to get their hands on tickets. [content-ads] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3onrauZxqrUDetails to come…