The former general manager of the Habs has a fiery temper that has sometimes put him at loggerheads with the Québécois sports media.
In fact, since his dismissal by the Canadiens, Bergevin has really limited his conversations and interviews with local journalists.
Simply put: he seems like a guy with a turd on his heart who wants nothing to do with the Québécois media.
The latest example: During a recent meeting with Bergevin in the Bell Centre elevator, Marc Antoine Godin jokingly asked him if he knew the way.
Bergevin simply didn’t answer. He simply ignored the journalist without taking his eyes off his phone. Classy, no?
You can watch the clip here:
It’s a pretty ordinary reaction. I’d even say it’s a bit childish.
Let’s just say it’s not the kind of gesture you’d expect from someone entrusted with the management of a professional hockey team.
It’s understandable that the media situation surrounding the Canadiens isn’t easy, and that it’s a particular context. However, that’s part of the job when you’re the general manager of an organization like the Canadiens.
What’s more, I don’t think Bergevin has been the victim of any particular media treatment or any form of mudslinging.
Like I said, it comes with the job..
In short, it’s all the more contradictory that Bergevin likes to talk to the English media, in particular to promote his candidacy as CEO.
The man who has held the position of special advisor to the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings since 2022 makes no secret of the fact that he’d like to return to his old job with a new team.
Well, I guess he figures the French-language media aren’t much use for that, except in Montreal.
As a reminder, Bergevin was one of the favoured candidates for general manager of the New York Islanders, who ultimately preferred another Québécois, Mathieu Darche.
Yesterday, the New York Islanders finally made their decision: Mathieu Darche will take the helm of the club’s hockey operations. The man who cut his teeth in Tampa Bay will inherit not only the position of GM, but also that of Vice-President of Hockey Operations for the Islanders.
Simply put, he is the undisputed big boss in town.
However, Darche will have two major issues to deal with quickly: he’ll have to determine who will be the club’s first-round pick in the upcoming draft… and, above all, he’ll have to decide the fate of Patrick Roy, the team’s coach.
Usually, a GM likes to bring “his” coach… but Stefen Rosner, who covers Islanders activities, has published a piece for The Elmonters in which he has serious doubts that there will be a coaching change in town :
Will Darche fire a fellow Québécois? I don’t think so. – Stefen Rosner
Without necessarily having anything to do with the fact that both are Québécois (which is more a figure of speech than anything else, in my opinion), there have been rumblings since the beginning of the process that this decision might be imposed on Lou Lamoriello’s successor. Roy is still under contract for several seasons… and the Islanders are probably not very interested in paying the salaries of several coaches at the same time.
And with Lou Lamoriello, who hired Roy, still around on Long Island, the coach likely still has support somewhere in the organization.
Of course, it’s possible that things will change and Darche will end up preferring to hire his own coach. That said, Rosner believes another scenario is more plausible: one where Roy instead takes on more of a role in the club’s hockey operations.
Rosner asserts that if Roy is back, it will be necessary to involve him more in the team’s hockey operations, particularly in line-up construction. With Darche not having to answer to a president above him (for now, at least), there’s a way to involve Roy in these decisions without too many people at the table.
And if the club wants its coach to deliver results, it’s going to have to provide him with a team that reflects his image, you know.
For the time being, then, Rosner seems to think that we shouldn’t expect any change behind the Islanders bench. In fact, if there is to be change, it may come in the form of Roy’s assistants… and here too, the coach is likely to have his say, just as he did when he brought Benoît Desrosiers with him.
Lions win 3-1. The Trifluvians put in their best performance ever and are one win away from the final. Heading to Florida to try and finish the job. #echl
What got everyone talking, though, was the fact that Fowler was in front of the net in the first place. After all, Cayden Primeau was smoking in Game #3… but the club wanted to keep its rotation in front of the net.
And after the game, Pascal Vincent justified the decision: he doesn’t seem to regret sending his young goalie in front of the net.
Pascal Vincent doesn’t regret his decision to put Jacob Fowler in front of the net! pic.twitter.com/0kTvlkVDEl
It’s not necessarily unanimous in the sense that many feel that in the playoffs, you have to go with the guy who’s on fire. And that was Primeau.
But last night, Anthony Desaulniers revealed an interesting piece of information: according to what he heard, it wasn’t Vincent who had the final say on the decision to send Fowler in front of the net yesterday.
And that’s where it makes sense to think that the Canadiens play a big role in what’s happening in front of the net in Laval right now.
Many criticize Pascal Vincent’s decision to send Jacob Fowler into the fray. It’s been whispered in my ear that he didn’t have the final say. Draw your own conclusions.
Obviously, for the Canadiens, Fowler is much more part of the future plans than Primeau, who will possibly leave the organization within the next few weeks if the club doesn’t make him a qualifying offer. Primeau will become a restricted free agent on July 1.
This raises the serious question of how much of a discrepancy there is between what the Habs want and what Vincent wants, right now. The big club undoubtedly wants to see Fowler play big games in the playoffs with his club-school… while the coach has seen Primeau lead the club to the playoffs this season.
Is this why the club has been rotating since the start of the playoffs? It would make sense: both get a bit of what they want.
Logic dictates that Primeau, who has been superior to Fowler in the current series, will be in net for the final game of this series, tomorrow. If the Rocket go through to the next round, though, it will be very interesting to see whether Primeau, who would then have won all three of his starts, would have to give up his spot for Game #1 of the next series… even if Pascal Vincent, who must be thinking he’d be fine in the NHL where he’d have less to deal with the demands of the big club’s bosses, wouldn’t necessarily agree.
Overtime
– Speaking of the Rocket.
“Development isn’t just about Jacob Fowler! There are forwards and defensemen!!”@anthonymarcotte had a lot to say about goalie management at the Laval Rocket… pic.twitter.com/aAXuElz5jL
At the 2022 trade deadline, Marc-André Fleury was the talk of the town. The goaltender, who was solid with the Blackhawks, was the envy of many teams in need of help in front of the net.
And of course, the Maple Leafs were among them, counting on a decent Jack Campbell and a not-so-good Petr Mrazek. We knew the club was interested in Flower… but in the end, Fleury headed for Minnesota.
The rest is history: Campbell had a very tough series and the Leafs were eliminated in the first round.
Today, this story resurfaces because Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, talked about it on his podcast, Agent Provocateur, and explained what happened in 2022.
Basically, at the time, a deal between the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs was done and Flower was ready to go to Toronto… but it all fell through.
The reason: Kyle Dubas was told by “someone upstairs” that he couldn’t go ahead with such a deal.
NEW: Agent Provocateur!
The behind the scenes story on how Marc-Andre Fleury almost became a Toronto Maple Leaf, World Championships, Playoff seedings and more. @sdpnsports
What’s interesting, that said, is that there aren’t exactly many people above the GM in a team’s hierarchy. There are the owners, of course… and sometimes there’s a president and/or vice-president.
And as it happens, in Toronto, a certain Brendan Shahanan was President at the time…
Walsh won’t confirm whether it was Shanahan, so it’s not completely impossible that the order came from the team’s owners. That said, owners usually stay out of decisions… so the odds are still pretty good that Shanahan was behind it.
We don’t know if Fleury would have changed anything in Toronto in 2022 (and possibly in subsequent years, given Walsh’s claim that there was an opening to sign a contract extension), but it’s interesting to see that Flower in Maple Leaf colors really came close.
And for those of you who never wanted to see Fleury in that uniform, chances are Brendan Shanahan did you a favor, hehe.
Overtime
– Whew.
Frederik Andersen before Florida: 7-2, .937 sv% 1.36 GAA
Frederik Andersen vs. Florida in the ECF: 0-2, .750 sv%, 5.54 GAA, pulled in Game 2 and benched for Game 3 pic.twitter.com/rKLWOkw6B8
Mikko Rantanen is having a rather special series with Dallas. The former Avalanche forward was slow to get going against his former club in the first round… but he had a monstrous offensive explosion at the end of the series to drag his team into the second round.
His performance in Game 7 against the Avalanche was really something.
And at the start of the series against the Jets, he still had it in the tank. Overall, he had 17 points in six games, including the last three against Colorado and the first three against Winnipeg.
Interestingly, since then, Rantanen has become ordinary again. In fact, in his last five games, he’s scored just two points.
And we’re talking about two assists: he hasn’t hit the target once in his last five games.
Where’s the offense? Where’s the depth? Where’s the pushback when Darnell Nurse insults your No. 1 center?
The Stars don’t look like themselves. And another nuclear run by Mikko Rantanen might be the only way to bail them out.
So Rantanen is having a rather strange series: he’s amassed 20 points since the start of the series, which is an NHL record (tied with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl)… but 17 of them have come in a six-game sequence.
He has just three points in his other nine games… and that’s not good enough.
And with Roope Hintz injured last night (no word yet on the severity of the injury), the Stars need their biggest offensive star to step up even more. Because on the other side, the Oilers have two who are ready to go all out…
The good news for the Stars, though, is that Rantanen showed earlier in these playoffs that he’s capable of turning on the machine after a few slow games. But now, the big-money acquisition is going to have to give it his all… or else beating the Oilers won’t be easy.
Overtime
– Change in front of the Hurricanes net. Jesperi Kotkaniemi returns to the lineup.
Rod Brind’Amour says Pyotr Kochetkov is playing Game 3 over Freddy Andersen.
We’ve recently been discussing various summer trade scenarios for the Canadiens.
First, we looked at six possible trades that would allow Kent Hughes to find the second-line center many are dreaming of… or not! Crosby, Barzal, Horvat, Larkin, Zacha and O’Reilly were all analyzed.
Perhaps Malkin could have been added as a very short-term option. Maybe we’ll come back to that..
In both cases, whether it’s to get our hands on a seasoned player or to move up a few rungs, the Habs’ picks #16 and #17 have more often than not been at the center of our reflections.
In this way, we could see the summer of the Canadiens’ thinkers as a big utility calculus (hello Bentham and Mill!) in which we try to predict which scenarios would bring the most benefits (and the least disadvantages) for the organization.
In due course, we’ll have to evaluate a few options on the free agent market.
Long term and percentage of success…
However, when we interpret the words of Hughes and Gorton during the end-of-season review, both insisting that next season will be “even more difficult” and that we must “take nothing for granted”, that the team will still be “very young”, perhaps even “younger”, that it is not “done” and finally, that nothing changes, we want a group that will be “good for a very long time”, we understand that we won’t be looking at all costs to complete a spectacular transaction to improve the club this summer.
Credit: YouTube (screenshot)
Clearly, the Habs’ two-headed entity is not most interested in short-term profits. In this “beginning of end of rebuilding” phase, if we say we’re putting “the present and the future in the balance”, in reality, we still seem to be thinking mainly in terms of the medium and long term.
So, if we were to sacrifice one or two first-round picks to complete a major transaction, it would probably be for an option that would have benefits for at least five years.
He might. If we’re talking about legacy and leadership model…
But we wouldn’t want to make the mistakes that others have made – sometimes in spite of themselves – like the Maple Leafs, Senators and Sabres, who “precipitated” their respective rebuilds with a few questionable decisions…
The most likely scenario? Probably!
The Habs can always try to move up a few spots in the draft if they think a particular player is worth the risk. But the most likely scenario, and the one with the greatest potential payoff on May 24, with just over a month to go, is simply to… draft 16th and 17th!
By doing so, without sacrificing anything, the Habs will have the chance to draft TWO “impact players” who would theoretically be added to the core in three or four years’ time, exactly in the optimum period of anticipated success for this team.
Year in, year out, there are still Wilsons, Hertls, Barzals, Chabots, Sanheims and Alex Tuchs in these positions.
Of course, as Simon ” Snake ” Boisvert demonstrated in a recent episode of Processus, on average, teams that draft at these positions make about one mistake out of two. So we can’t rule out this very realistic scenario.
At the same time, we understand that it’s not the scenario that offers the greatest guarantee of success.
It’s always possible to ” swirl in the butter” like the Bruins and their infamous 2015 first round with Jakub Zboril, Jake Debrusk(correct…) and Zachary Senyshyn at 12th, 13th and 14th…
But the odds of success are still high if you do your homework with the scouts.
It is therefore entirely possible to hit two “home runs”.
But, as we shall see, at these ranks, you also need to appreciate the value of two “solid doubles” in the left-hand lane!
The typical profile of the 16th and 17th “best players” in a draft
Rather than repeat Snake ‘s excellent exercise and list who was drafted in the 16th and 17th spots between 2005 and 2020 in order to separate the good moves from the bad, I’m going to focus instead on what we have a right to expect from the 16th and 17th best players in each draft, i.e., a kind of “typical profile” of the player we can expect at these ranks.
In other words, what’s the average 16th and 17th best player in a draft?
Let’s do the exercise with the 2007 to 2012 auctions to get a good idea. This will give us a fairly accurate profile of players who have all played at least 600 games and who are, for the most part, at least three-quarters of the way through their careers.
For the purposes of this study, we’ve identified two forwards and two defensemen each year who could be considered the 16th and 17th best players in their respective drafts. Please note! These are not necessarily the 16th and 17th best scorers!
First observation: a general profile is clearly emerging. We’re talking about good midfielders: second- or third-line forwards; quality third- or fourth-line defensemen.
We’re talking about forwards of all styles and formats – most of them wingers – averaging around 40 points per season, with a few 50+ point seasons here and there. Seven out of twelve were drafted in the first round.
On the back end, we also have a bit of everything. Defensive specialists, powerplay specialists, puck movers, complete defensemen. Six of them were drafted in the first round.
In retrospect, all (or almost all) of these players could be seen as “solid doubles”, even if in some cases the home run was undoubtedly attempted.
Yes, these are also the types of players that can be found on the market every year. In fact, very few of the players identified in the table above have stayed with the same team for their entire career.
The Habs wouldn’t be crazy to trade one of these two picks for a player of this type who has reached maturity and still has several good years left in his body.
But many of the players identified above were also worth their weight in gold early in their careers.
What strategy should we adopt for the 16th and 17th positions in 2025?
As is the case every year, there are bound to be two, three or four players left in these ranks who, in 10 years’ time, could be considered home runners, stars or, at the very least, impact players.
The difficulty, of course, is identifying them today!
Since the Habs have two “glue” picks, it may be very tempting to go for the long ball with at least one of the two.
Will there be another little genius on skates like Robert Thomas (20th in 2017)? Another Tage Thompson (26th in 2016)? Or some kind of John Carlson (27th in 2008) or Thomas Chabot (18th in 2015) on defense?
Cole Reschny has 74 points in his last 37 games. His 25 points through 10 playoff matches co-leads all CHLers.
Could 2025 prospects like cerebral center Cole Reshny, pugnacious little scorer Cameron Schmidt or talented, confident and very rough defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson, ranked everywhere between 14th and 30th, fit these profiles?
Roger McQueen? It all depends on the doctors…
Carter Bear? He won’t be around.
That said, if only one remaining player is deemed worthy of a shot at closing and the remaining first-round pick is not traded, the “optimal scenario” could be to consolidate the draft with a “solid double”.
For example, a player who we can see fitting in well with the organizational culture and who fits a certain profile, say, “made for the playoffs. You might think of a typical talented forward with a dose of energy, character and sandpaper. Someone who will become your next Gallagher or Anderson. On defense, another Kaiden Guhle, drafted a very safe 16th in 2020, would fit the bill nicely.
In 2025, we may be talking about forwards like the big, tall Jack Nesbitt, the speedy Braeden Cootes and the powerful Cameron Spence, or the versatile left-handed Cameron Reid or the big right-handed Blake Fiddler on defense, often ranked between 17th and 25th.
Spitfires Team Awards!
Jack Nesbitt has been named the most improved player!
– X – Windsor Spitfires (@SpitsHockey) May 20, 2025
If they’re still available, I’d definitely put Justin Carbonneau and Brady Martin in this category with a “little plus” next to their names….
Mystery, mystery…
Finally, the Habs will maximize their chances of success by clearly establishing their strategy in the weeks and days leading up to the draft. We’ve probably already been working on this for some time.
While most eyes were on the Oilers-Stars game last night, or the Laval Rocket game, the 2025 Memorial Cup was taking off in Rimouski.
As in previous years, the tournament features four teams: the host team (Rimouski Océanic), the WHL champions (Medicine Hat Tigers), the OHL champions (London Knights) and the QMJHL champions (Moncton Wildcats).
Last night saw the first game of the tournament, as the Rimouski Océanic took on the Medicine Hat Tigers.
And for this first game of the 2025 edition of the Memorial Cup, the Colisée Financière Sun Life was packed.
None other than Patrick Roy was on hand for the game.
In short, when Patrick Roy saw all this, he must have thought that it’s a shame McKenna won’t be available at this year’s draft, when the New York Islanders have the first pick.
– It’s going to be an extremely important game tomorrow.
There are still a lot of tickets left at the 200 level for the Rocket’s ultimate game tomorrow afternoon. Time to fill the building to the rafters for a big game.
– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) May 24, 2025
As everyone knows, the Montréal Canadiens have a well-stocked bank of talented young players.
Whether in attack, defense or in front of the net, the Habs have a number of solid prospects who aspire to the National Hockey League.
However, not all of them will make it to the NHL, at least not with the Habs, due to a lack of available positions in Montreal.
This means that, unless they have exceptional status like Ivan Demidov, no Habs prospect will be guaranteed a position in Montreal.
There will be many interesting battles between the Habs’ young players for a position in the sun.
One of these battles is already underway, and I’m talking about the one between Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck.
Indeed, we’ve been comparing these two young players for some time now, observing and analyzing them closely to get a better idea of which of them will get a spot in Montreal.
Both 21-year-olds have had their chance with the Habs this season (Kapanen: 21 games, including three in the playoffs; Beck: 12 games), and are therefore approaching the NHL at the same pace.
However, now that both are playing for the Laval Rocket in the playoffs, it’s clear that Oliver Kapanen is being prioritized, since he’s being used at center while Owen Beck is not.
Indeed, since Kapanen was sent to Laval after the Canadiens were eliminated, he seems to have taken Beck’s place, who now plays on the wing of the fourth line (which isn’t really a fourth line, though).
Kapanen plays center to Brandon Gignac and Joshua Roy, while Beck plays wing to Florian Xhekaj and Jared Davidson.
The two have therefore been placed on a good line, but only one of them plays in his natural position.
We can therefore potentially deduce that Pascal Vincent, and even the Habs organization, slightly prefer Kapanen, and therefore see the Finn ahead of Beck in the club’s hierarchy.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that Kapanen will win a position in Montreal next season if one becomes available, but it does give us an idea of where the battle between the two currently stands.
If Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia were to leave via the free agent market, there would clearly be a depth position available, and that position would most likely be fought out between Beck and Kapanen.
But you can never count out a surprise like Florian Xhekaj or Jared Davidson.
Do you prefer Oliver Kapanen or Owen Beck?
Overtime
– It’s rare to start a GM’s reign with the first overall pick.
Just to close the loop on the Islanders and Brendan Shanahan, they did talk this week. But there isn’t a fit at this point. Believe it was a good conversation but there won’t be a hire there.
Mathieu Darche has both GM and EVP of Hockey titles. That second title is noteworthy…
Also, told #CBJ prospect Cayden Lindstrom missed Game 1 of the Memorial Cup on Friday due to the lingering affects of a charley horse suffered on a hit during the WHL championship.
No word what his next-game availability will be. #TigersHockey doesn’t play again until Monday.
Last night was game #2 of the Western Conference Final series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars.
Trailing 0-1 in the series, the Oilers needed to win to even the series, and avoid the same fate as the Carolina Hurricanes, who are already 0-2 behind the Panthers in the East.
Here’s a review of the second game between the Oilers and Stars.
Stuart Skinner and the Oilers blank the Stars
In contrast to Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Stars in Game #1, there were far fewer goals last night, with a much more defensive duel.
Once again, it was the Oilers who opened the scoring with a first-period goal.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins quickly gave the Oilers the lead, deflecting an Evan Bouchard shot on the powerplay.
After that, we had to wait until late in the second period to see a team rock the ropes again, as the Oilers scored back-to-back goals in just over a minute.
Former Montreal Canadiens Brett Kulak and Connor Brown threaded the needle.
GOTTA SEE IT: BRETT KULAK IS ON THE BOARD
The Oilers double their lead following a goal from Brett Kulak
Tonight, the Rocket had the chance to win their three-of-five series against the Rochester Americans.
Coach Pascal Vincent stuck to his system of alternating goaltenders, sending on Jacob Fowler despite a solid performance from Cayden Primeau, who had allowed just one goal on 33 shots in the previous game.
The Americans looked much hungrier than Laval and took advantage of the home side’s indiscipline to open the scoring on the powerplay on a Logan Mailloux penalty
The visitors doubled their lead before the end of the first period.
Once again, Mailloux’s indiscipline proved costly for the Rocket as their rival scored a third goal on a five-on-three.
Laval finally gave a sign of life, scoring their first through Joshua Roy.
However, the visitors quickly regained a three-goal lead when Josh Dunne scored his third of the game.
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