Author: Dose

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Three external defenders who could replace David Savard

With the retirement of David Savard, the defensive line looks like this for next season.

Obviously, I’m doing the exercise with the defensemen the Habs are counting on internally.

Hutson-Guhle

Matheson-Carrier

Xhekaj-Reinbacher

Struble

Speaking to La Poche Bleue yesterday, Guillaume Villemaire listed a few outside options that could be very interesting. They are Cody Ceci (Stars), Rasmus Andersson (Flames) and Nick Seeler (Flyers).

For me, the most interesting option is David Reinbacher.

Yes, he’s been injured many times this season, but when he’s been in uniform, he’s done very well. He’s solid and I believe that next year, he’ll start the season with the big club.

But if Hughes wants to give him another season in Laval, he’ll have plenty to choose from. This is the only one of the three named who won’t have a contract this summer. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent, and let’s just say he wouldn’t cost much for one season as a sixth defenseman.

He’s not a hockey fan favorite, but he’s such a responsible back in his zone. In 54 games with San Jose this season, he finished with a minus-9 rating. And in Dallas, where he switched addresses with Mikael Granlund during the season, he collected nine assists in 31 games, while maintaining a plus-15 rating.

As for the other two, they still have contracts, but their respective teams are not in the same position as Montreal. The Flames and Flyers are in the early stages of rebuilding.

Seeler is left-handed, however, and finished with 200 blocked shots and a plus-10 record. Don’t forget that he was a member of the Flyers for the last four seasons and finished with a positive differential for the last three seasons.

(Credit: Hockeydb )

The bet that would be most interesting is clearly Andersson, the Flames’ right-hander.

In addition to being excellent defensively, he has a little offensive flair as well. He’ll earn $4.55 million next year, before becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2026.

Craig Conroy won’t let him go on the cheap, though. Many rumors had him headed elsewhere back in March.

Overtime

– It was close.

– Ken Holland has made his choice.

– Good.

– From bad to worse for Moncton.

– Understandable.

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Lane Hutson should get $12 million a season, says JiC

On July 1, the contracts of Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Emil Heineman, Jakub Dobes and Jayden Struble expire.

In the case of the last three, they will become restricted free agents, unlike the other two. But Kent Hughes’ real contract work will begin on July 1, 2026. Kirby Dach, Mike Matheson and Patrik Laine will be out of contract.

But so will Lane Hutson, who will certainly be asking for the moon. Will Hughes do as he did with Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle and extend the contract before his entry-level contract expires? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, JiC believes his agent will ask for $12 million per season. He ended his text by saying that he MUST earn that amount.

It’s a lot, but I have a feeling the defenseman won’t be getting that much.

I’m aware that the cap has gone up and will go up, but I don’t see him getting a much bigger contract than team captain, leader and number one center Nick Suzuki.

(Credit: CapWages)

If he signs this summer, I see him with a contract in the Suzuki range, maybe a million or two more than the captain, max.

But if Hutson and his agent decide to bet on the player and he has an even bigger season in 2025-2026, $12 million is a bit more of a possibility.

In any case, the TVA Sports journalist believes that $10 million for the defender is not enough.

But if Hutson’s advisors recommend that he sign an eight-year, $80 million deal, or $10 million per campaign, he should politely stand up, leave the room and fire his agents. – Jean-Charles Lajoie

In his text, Lajoie draws comparisons with Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. Both stars signed deals in the summer of 2021 ($9 million for Makar and $7.85 million for Hughes). In his first season on the Bettman circuit, the Canadiens’ protégé’s statistics are very similar to those of the Avalanche and Canucks protégés.

12 million in 2026-2027, when the salary cap will be $104 million, that’s 11.54% of the team’s payroll. By comparison, Suzuki and Cole Caufield are at 8.9%.

Makar, at 10.2%, and Hughes, at 8.9% (as the Habs’ two best forwards). 11.54% is a lot.

I understand JiC’s point, but in my opinion, Hutson won’t sign a contract above $10.5M. If so, kudos to his agent for winning the negotiations against an excellent negotiator in Kent Hughes.

In Overtime

– A Cayden Lindstrom 2.0.

– Wow.

– Pictured.

– The Wildcats don’t seem headed for a sweep.

– Too bad.

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Sam Bennett will be the most coveted free agent on July 1, believes Renaud Lavoie

On July 1, several big names will be coveted on the free agent market.

They include Mitch Marner, Patrick Kane, Matt Duchene and John Tavares.

But according to Renaud Lavoie, none of these players will be more coveted than Sam Bennett. That’s what he told TVA Sports earlier this evening.

Lavoie has always been a fan of small, tiring players like Bennett.

But to say he’ll be more coveted than Mitch Marner, I have my reservations. Bennett doesn’t have the talent that Marner has, and the Leafs’ forward will cost a lot more.

However, Bennett has proven that he brings big hockey, especially in the playoffs. The team that acquires him will improve considerably. In any case, the journalist would pay $10 million to acquire him, especially if he were GM of the Leafs.

If the Maple Leafs want to change their organization, it’s through Sam Bennett! If you tell me it’s going to cost $10 million a season, it’s going to cost $10 million a season. – Renaud Lavoie

If Toronto were to sign the Panthers’ forward, that would mean Marner would have left Toronto, that’s for sure. The Leafs, who may want to keep Tavares as well, won’t have the money to sign two big pieces.

For David Ettedgui, the Cats ‘ little pest would also be his number-one target.

In any case, Ettedgui, who scored 51 points in 76 games this season, will be attracting a lot of attention on July 1. Many see him in Quebec. Does Kent Hughes also see him in his soup? We’ll see.

Overtime

– Speaking of the Leafs.

– Obviously.

– Martin Biron thinks he knows why Connor Hellebuyck is struggling.

– Jesperi Kotkaniemi interviewed by TVA Sports.

– Ah bon.

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Choices #16 and #17 may not be very attractive (individually)

The transaction market is likely to be extremely interesting this summer.

With a significant increase in the salary cap, some teams that have been on the ropes for the past few years, with little room to maneuver, could make up for it with major moves over the next few months.

Personally, I’m expecting a huge off-season. Historically, major changes to the league structure, in background, often result in very active periods.

Combine all this with the considerable number of teams at the crossroads, and you’ve got some interesting opportunities to keep an eye on.

While the Canadiens are willing to improve and pay the price to do so, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton certainly won’t be the only ones abusing the phone lines. As Marco D’Amico points out in a segment on the Shaun Starr podcast, you don’t have to go far to see this.

It’s likely that 4 of the 5 picks ahead of the Canadiens’ (16,17) will be available. “There are a lot of teams in a similar range that want to improve,” D’Amico pitched. “Several teams are ready to offer their first-round picks.

The Penguins (11), Rangers (12), Blue Jackets (13,20) and Red Wings (14) could use their pick to give their club a “spark”. That’s not necessarily good news for Montreal… which does have two. If we say that the 16th or 17th pick isn’t that tempting, individually, the Canadiens’ strength could be in offering them as a package.

That said, Kent Hughes showed some measured willingness to “overpay”, if a player is considered essential to the outcome. “The reason Kent said that is because there will be a lot of teams shopping around this summer,” believes the analyst.

However, the Habs’ cause could benefit from another phenomenon: the increased availability of interesting players. For much the same reason as mentioned above, normally unavailable players could become available at the right price. “We haven’t heard the last of the surprising players who will be available,” says Marco D’Amico. “People are going to be surprised when they realize who’s on the market”.

Overtime

– A 5-1 victory for Canada, which remains unbeaten.

– Austria’s lone goal belongs to Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer.

– Jim Hiller back next year.

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Mitch Marner to blame

Mitch Marner loves Toronto. How can you blame him? Just under 10 years ago, the kid from Markham was drafted by his boyhood club. Since then, he’s scored 741 in 657 games with the Maple Leafs logo on his jersey. In a world where athletes often have little regard for where they live, the 28-year-old forward has never lived further than London, 2 hours 15 minutes from home.

Someone who doesn’t know hockey would read that paragraph and imagine a great love story. Lol. Nope.

Mitch Marner negotiated a no-trade clause, and nobody can blame him for that. As a result, for the past three years, until July 1, 2025, the Maple Leafs haven’t been able to trade him without his consent.

Brad Treliving tried to do it at the last deadline. Toronto could have acquired Mikko Rantanen, who has 9 goals and 10 assists in 11 playoff games this year. Marner, on the other hand, would have gone to Carolina.

And he said no. With good reason, you might say.

Who wants to play in Carolina? Not Rantanen, anyway.

As the Maple Leafs find themselves on the brink of collapse after a pathetic performance in a pivotal game against the Stanley Cup champions…

It’s obvious to me that Mitch Marner’s love for Toronto will eventually kill the Maple Leafs. Do you know what I mean?

Every off-season following a resounding playoff failure, it can be argued that Marner should theoretically have been the one traded, from a hockey point of view, to shake things up and get a nice value on the trade market.

He never wanted to. He loves Toronto so much, he’ll end up killing his childhood team.

There’s no denying it in Toronto: IT’S NOT WORKING. Whatever the reason, whoever the culprit: IT ‘S NOT WORKING.

And the Maple Leafs GM’s worst enemy in any quest for improvement… is Mitch Marner. A guy who refuses to leave Ontario, probably to the detriment of his club’s chances of winning a championship. Does he think he’s not the problem?

If Marner ends up leaving the organization for free this summer, and turning down the Hurricanes’ deal was more a way of giving themselves more options, and some leverage in future negotiations, it will be a disaster for the Leafs, who won’t have been able to benefit from his market value.

Even if they were to trade his negotiating rights for a pick, it would be nothing short of catastrophic. And let’s face it, Jake Guentzel’s rights cost the Lightning a third-round pick last summer.

But do you know what’s worse?

If Mitch Marner were to sign a new $12-13 million contract in Toronto, and inevitably get another no-trade clause… I’m not sure it wouldn’t be catastrophic for the franchise. And I think the fans would be delighted.

The reality is that a general manager in Toronto is handcuffed with a player of enormous value. What do you expect him to do?

Some might blame Brendan Shanahan, who gave him the no-movement clause, and fired Kyle Dubas when it looked like Dubas was going to trade Marner before the clause took effect. I’d understand, up to a point. You can’t have one without the other.

Some will refuse to blame Mitch Marner, who may have been right to believe it.

I’ll tell you that the result is the same.

Extension

Leafs star has good playoff stats. Until you realize that his production in games #1 to #4 (52 points in 44 games) is incomparable to his production in games #5 to #7 (10 points in 24 games).

The story is told from two perspectives, and the more important one is far from rosy.

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Penalty for the Dadonov saga: Ottawa may try to take advantage of a loophole

The Senators had their fingers rapped in 2023 after the long and bizarre Evgenii Dadonov saga.

In 2021, Ottawa traded the Russian to Vegas without providing its list of teams to which he would refuse to be traded. Then, in 2022, the Golden Knights tried to shipper him to the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline… But the NHL revoked the transaction, for this reason. A year later, the League ruled that Pierre Dorion and the Sens were to blame for the lack of communication.

In a nutshell. Do you follow?

As punishment, Ottawa had to forfeit one of its next three first-round picks. In 2024, they kept him – rightly so – as they selected Carter Yakemchuk at No. 7…

Except that the Sens seem to have decided to keep their 2025 draft pick, which will be 21st overall. According to PuckPedia, they were supposed to notify the league offices within 24 hours of the draft lottery, which doesn’t appear to have been done.

This is peculiar, as the 2025 vintage has the reputation of not being very “deep”, while we hear that the 2026 vintage will be very interesting.

However, there’s a popular theory that Ottawa is hoping for an “Ilya Kovalchuk”-style conclusion, in the days when the Devils received identical punishment for attempting to offer the Russian a 17-year contract that the NHL called a “salary bypass”.

Lou Lamoriello waited until the final year, then the League gave in. Rather than lose a first-round pick, the Devils received the 30th overall.

Was a precedent set? Maybe so… And Ottawa would be right to try… It’s more than a precedent, when such a penalty is so infrequent – it’s downright a loophole.

Overtime

– Sven… Andrighetto…

– Sam Gagner takes the plunge.

– The definition of “learning to lose”.

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“Mason McTavish would be a great fit with the Canadiens”

The Canadiens need reinforcements at center.

After all, if we take for granted that Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook aren’t guaranteed to play center and that Christian Dvorak will become a free agent, the club has only two center players who are guaranteed a spot in October: Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans.

It’s a good thing Evans signed, anyway.

Ideally, the Habs would go for a second center to send Newhook to the center of the third unit and turn Kirby Dach into a winger who wouldn’t have the pressure of guiding a line all by himself.

But who to get? That’s the question of the summer.

Mason McTavish is a candidate. Obviously, we don’t know if the Ducks really want to let him go, but for the Habs, it’s probably worth a shot to see where Anaheim’s GM stands on the matter.

And on that subject, Tony Marinaro (The Sick Podcast) spoke to prospects specialist Craig Button. And Button thinks there’s a fit , and that McTavish would be a great fit with the Canadiens.

Me too, by the way. 6’1, left-handed, 219 lbs, improving, good ceiling: the profile is interesting, let’s face it.

Button believes that McTavish is getting better every year, that he has a good shot, that he plays the game the right way, that he has a desire to win, and so on. In short, he’s sung his praises en masse and wouldn’t hesitate to go after him.

I have a feeling that if the Ducks ever found McTavish asking for too much money (his entry-level contract expires in a few weeks), that’s when he could be traded – or a hostile offer sheet could come into play.

But if he is traded, it won’t be at a discount. Does the Habs have what it takes to interest the Ducks? And is it willing to give them?

overtime

– What do you think?

– That goes without saying.

– Hmm…

– No comparison possible.

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Boni on Carey Price’s signing: trading his contract will be harder than we thought

The Canadiens may be able to place Carey Price’s contract on the long-term injured list, but it’s clear that trading him would be the simplest way to gain some breathing room.

Whether it’s to have more breathing room during the summer, or to avoid having to systematically defer bonuses for the club’s young players from year to year, trading him is an option.

In my opinion, John Sedgwick would be happy to have the contract off his hands.

We know that this summer, Kent Hughes will be on the case. He’ll try to trade the last year of Carey Price’s contract (who won’t object despite his no-trade clause if it’ll help the Canadiens… because it won’t change his day-to-day life) this summer.

Will he make it? We don’t know yet.

After all, there is one game-changing factor. According to Nicolas Cloutier, the signing bonus Carey Price is due to receive ($5.5 million) will not be paid on July 1, but on September 1.

He talked about this in an article on the TVA Sports website. Renaud Lavoie reported on the matter.

In concrete terms, this means that even if his contract were 60% or 80% insured, going after him in July or August isn’t attractive. Why would a club go after him BEFORE the Habs pay him his bonus?

A club that would go after him after the bonus would do so because he’ll only earn $2 million in real money during the season, but has a $10.5 million impact on the payroll.

That said, if you have to pay him his bonus, it’s counterproductive. That’s the problem with the Habs and Geoff Molson right now: no other owner will take on that contract before the bonus, just for the fun of it.

Not unless they get something big in return…

But the problem is that on September 1, the teams are pretty well set. It will therefore be more difficult (but not impossible) for Kent Hughes to work with this contract in his paws during the summer and convince a GM whose budget is made for the 2025-2026 season to take him on in September.

It’s not impossible (and it can be negotiated over the summer), but it does make the matter a little more complicated than we thought.

overtime

– Big night for the Kapanens.

– Interesting.

– The Tigers are on fire.

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Huge summit meeting today in Brossard

Although the Canadiens have been out of the game for two weeks and the Alouettes have yet to start their regular season, two Montreal-area teams were involved in a big game last night.

First, CF Montréal drew with Wilfried Nancy and his Crew at Stade Saputo. Of particular note were the 1,001 falls (again!?) of Dante Sealy, the superb build-up to Luca Petrasso’s first MLS goal.

That, and the fact that he went home on the metro, with the match ball!

CF Montreal avoided the worst by not conceding a win against one of the best teams in the MLS circuit, but the team still finds itself 11 points out of a playoff spot.

As for the Rocket, they managed to squeeze out a5-4 victory over the mighty Americans in Rochester. Devon Levi, who had allowed only two goals in three games against the Crunch (previous round), allowed no less than five just last night. Hats off to the Rocket’s offensive elements, who found the gaps to beat a goalie as hot as Levi.

Cayden Primeau allowed four goals on 27 shots. He has an efficiency percentage of .865 since the start of the playoffs. It’s as if his short stint in Montreal was enough to make him lose all the confidence he (re)gained under Marco Marciano in Laval.

The next starter should be Jacob Fowler, tomorrow.

Where were Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton?
The Canadiens’ players have been on vacation for the past ten days. Several were seen at the Bell Centre for UFC 315 last Saturday, while others took off to relax under the palm trees.

But the organization’s executives are not on vacation. Not yet, that is!

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are used to watching all Rocket playoff games in person, whether they’re played in Laval or on the road.

Except that yesterday, the two men weren’t in Rochester. Why weren’t they? According to Luc Gélinas, it’s because the club is currently holding an important meeting in Brossard, a meeting used to collate and weigh the information of each member of management and recruitment in preparation for the next draft, which will take place in just over a month’s time.

Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, Martin Lapointe, Nick Bobrov, Vincent Lecavalier, members of the analytics department (Christopher Boucher? Philippe Desaulniers?), amateur scouts (Christer Rockstrom? Serge Boisvert ? Hannu Laine ? Ben Shutron ? Donald Audette ? Albie O’Connel ? Tommy Lehman ? Michal Krupa ? Yannick St-Pierre ? Joey Tenute ? Billy Ryan ? Mark Muller?) have scheduled several days of meetings at the CN Bell Complex to draw up their list for the draft, as well as discuss strategy for moving up or down with their selections.

The Canadiens have 12 selections (seven rounds), including seven in the first three rounds.

I’ll bedamned if I’ll be interested to see where the Canadiens decide to place Caleb Desnoyers and Justin Carbonneau on their list..

Overtime

– After Synchuk, Duke, Campbell and Iankov, it’s Fabian Herbers’ turn to get injured.

– Can the Maple Leafs take it to the next level?

– The goalie is not expected to make the trip to Florida.

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2025 Series: Cayden Primeau achieves .865 efficiency rate

The Laval Rocket have two good goalies on hand right now: Cayden Primeau and Jacob Fowler.

Pascal Vincent said he was going to use both goalies on the heels of the series against the Rochester Americans. And yesterday, the veteran Primeau got the start.

The result? A 5-4 win. The Rocket wasn’t perfect in front of Primeau, who would no doubt like to see the Amerks’ fourth goal again.

Primeau did well for the most part in the game, but he still gave away four goals over the course of the game. And in the game he played against Cleveland, he gave up three.

He has a 1-1 record.

It’s understandable that putting the veteran in front of the Rocket net was important to Pascal Vincent, but the fact remains that Primeau’s numbers don’t measure up to Fowler’s. Is the sample small?

Is the sample small? Certainly. But still.

  • Cayden Primeau: 1-1 record, 3.62 average and .865 efficiency rate
  • Jacob Fowler: 3-0 record, 1.00 average and .953 save percentage

I’m not saying Primeau is rotten. But it’s clear that if Fowler were to play tomorrow’s game and do well, he’d put himself in an excellent position to become the club’s most trusted goalie.

And that’s regardless of what Primeau has done in the past.

Because Fowler represents the future of the Canadiens, you’d think Kent Hughes wouldn’t be disappointed to see the young prospect get some serious playing time down the stretch.

And hats off to Primeau, who understands the situation and puts the team first. What a team player.

That’s another thing about learning from Jake Allen: Primeau understands how to be a teammate who puts the team’s needs ahead of his own in important moments.

It remains to be seen who will play tomorrow. I expect it to be Fowler… but if the Rocket play like they’re capable of, they can also win if Primeau is in front of the net.

overtime

– Wow.

– Read more.

– Things are hopping in Toronto.

– That’s a good one.