Author: Dose

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Ken Holland to be Kings’ next GM: Marc Bergevin has missed his chance (again)

The frenzy of clubs looking for a new general manager or head coach is in full swing during the playoffs.

There have been a few updates on this front recently, but a new announcement will be made official shortly.

Ken Holland will be the next GM of the Los Angeles Kings.

Earlier today, my colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois wrote an article suggesting that the chances of Marc Bergevin taking over from Rob Blake were unlikely.

With Frank Seravalli’s tweet above, it’s clear that the conditional no longer applies for Holland and the Kings.

“All credit to Rod Pedersen, who was only 10 hours ahead of everyone else, but Ken Holland will indeed become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.” – Frank Seravalli

It’s still big news, but quite devastating in Bergevin’s case, who thought he had a real chance since Rob Blake was no longer in office.

He’s been with the Kings since January 9, 2022, as an advisor to the GM, and to see him miss out (again) on his chance to become GM must be destabilizing.

After working with an organization for three years as an advisor, you can hope for a chance to become the next GM.

But Bergevin will have to look elsewhere for the time being, because it won’t be with the Kings that he achieves his goal.

In fact, according to Pierre LeBrun, Bergevin is expected to meet with the New York Islanders this week for a GM position, as are Jarmo Kekalainen and Mathieu Darche.

It’s been two years in a row that the Kings have been eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round.

Perhaps the famous saying “If you can’t beat them, join them” was behind the hiring of Holland as GM, but by getting the former Oilers GM.

Ken Holland was GM of the Edmonton Oilers until the end of the 2023-24 season. He certainly made some good moves, but he also made some big mistakes, including letting Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway go via a hostile offer sheet.

Let’s hope he doesn’t make the same mistakes he did in Edmonton, because he could be shown the door quickly. At the end of the 2025-26 season, young Brandt Clarke will become a restricted free agent. He’ll have to do everything he can to extend his contract.

Overtime

– It’s hard to stop a cannonball like this one.

– Ovechkin’s goal (his first of the series against the Hurricanes) moved him past Mario Lemieux for the most career playoff goals.

– Oilers and Golden Knights battle early.

– Halttunen’s shot was powerful, sure, but look at Easton Cowan’s maneuver on the sequence.

– The Celtics had started the game well.

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If Joel Armia really did sign for two years and $2.5 M per year, the Habs must take advantage of it

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have their work cut out for them this summer.

Not only is there the draft, the crying need for a #2 center and the need to replace David Savard, there will also be a possible congestion in the attack at the next practice camp.

To do this, we first need to know which players will be returning to the club, as there are (among others) Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia up for re-signing.

The chances of Dvorak coming back are pretty slim, but the prospects are still there.

As for Armia, many fans like him and, at a reasonable salary, he could still be very useful on the fourth line.

On this subject, Frank Seravalli has drawn up a portrait of the possible salaries of 50 up-and-coming free agents.

This list includes Joel Armia, and the salary proposed for him is quite interesting.

Here’s the list in question:

According to Seravalli’s article, Joel Armia’s next contract would be around two years at $2.5 million per year.

At this price, the Habs shouldn’t miss this opportunity to add depth to the forward line.

On the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, there could be congestion up front, especially if the Habs go after a second-line forward (whether by trade or through free agents).

Just for fun, I’ve taken the time to draw up a portrait of the possible Habs lineups for 2025-26. I didn’t include Christian Dvorak (who I don’t see returning to the club), nor Patrik Laine, who must be traded or bought out for the good of the team.

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky

Ivan Demidov – ??? – Kirby Dach

Alex Newhook – Jake Evans – Emil Heineman

Josh Anderson – Florian Xhekaj – Brendan Gallagher

Extras: Michael Pezzetta

As you can see, I put Florian Xhekaj at the center of the 4th line, because he has a perfect profile for a fourth line and his rookie season in the AHL was incredible.

But even if he wasn’t, there isn’t really room for Armia, unless you put Evans at the center of the 4th line and Newhook at the center of the 3rd.

The bottom-6 would then look like this:

Emil Heineman – Alex Newhook – Josh Anderson

Brendan Gallagher – Jake Evans – Joel Armia

So, there’s room to maneuver at this level, but it would mean that Arber’s little brother wouldn’t make the team.

We know that the Habs need more sturdiness, and Xhekaj could very well come in and spoil the party.

But I’d rather keep a guy like Armia on the fourth line.

And if the Habs decide not to go for a 2nd line forward, that would leave room for Armia AND Florian Xhekaj, if Newhook is the 2nd line forward.

And I don’t think fans would appreciate Kent Hughes staying put at this level, because the need is there and the club needs to secure a playoff spot.

In short, the Hughes-Gorton duo will have their work cut out for them this summer.

Overtime

– Montreal’s Devon Levi and Habs prospect Jacob Fowler lead the AHL playoff charge in goals-against average.

– All signs point to Ken Holland as the next GM of the Los Angeles Kings.

– A real comedian, that Tom Wilson.

– Now that’s impressive.

– Could the Avalanche be on the verge of a decline? With no first-round picks until 2027 and virtually no quality prospects, it’s shaping up that way. [HabsolumentFans]

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“Everyone is welcome, except Tom Wilson”

Ahh, that Tom Wilson…

In the playoffs, he’s the perfect prototype of a quality player who disturbs opponents (a lot).

As we saw in the series against the Montreal Canadiens, he gave the Habs players nightmares.

And he continues to terrorize opponents and fans alike in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The hatred felt by the Canes and their fans runs deep.

So much so, that a movie theater in downtown Raleigh has decided to demonstrate it quite clearly.

The theater has decided to ban Tom Wilson from all performances.

Well, I don’t think the power forward had any intention of going to the movies while in Carolina, but hey.

It just goes to show how fed up everyone is with him, except his teammates and the Washington fans, of course, who are quite happy to see him bothering the other players.

As can be seen in the tweet above, the cinema in question, the Rialto Theatre, even took the time to write this in big letters on their sign at the entrance.

“Everyone is welcome, except Tom Wilson.”

I don’t think it gets any clearer than that.

The chances of a player from a playoff team on the road going to the movies are pretty slim. But if there’s one NHL player with enough “guts” to give it a try despite the message, it’s Wilson.

The Capitals’ #43 has always been known as a tough guy(not a Dodge Ram, that one) and he’s never been shy.

It would be quite comical to see him show up at the box office, especially to see the reaction of the employees present.

If he tries, we should know soon enough.

Overtime

– Marc Bergevin should be interviewed this week for the GM position with the New York Islanders.

– Those are some pretty impressive stats.

– Maple Leafs prospect makes history with prestigious London Knights franchise.

– Some MLB news:

– It’s not just in the NHL that one team (with very little chance) wins the lottery. The Dallas Mavericks will be able to add a quality prospect in Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 winger.

– As for the Toronto Raptors, the NBA’s only Canadiens club will draft 9th overall.

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Pascal Vincent would be the Lightning’s #1 target if Jon Cooper were to leave

Since the Lightning’s elimination in the first round of the current playoffs, Jon Cooper’s future has been one of the hot topics in the NHL. One wonders if the Lightning coach, who is a good friend of the owner of the Utah Mammoth, could take the head coaching job there.

Some would also see him in a leadership role (possibly on Long Island), but the buzz about him going to Utah is really strong (and, more importantly, incessant).

Cooper has said in recent days that he’ll be back behind the Lightning bench next year. That said, that’s the kind of thing that can always change (P.K. Subban wasn’t on the market in 2016, y’know)… and there’s also the fact that Cooper’s contract in Tampa Bay will expire at the end of next season.

So it’s safe to assume that within the next fifteen months or so, there could very well be a new coach at the helm of the Lightning… and according to what Marco Normandin (HabsolumentFan) hears, there’s a real chance that that coach could be Pascal Vincent.

Because, according to Normandin, Vincent would be the Lightning’s #1 candidate to replace Cooper if the latter were to leave.

Normandin, who seems to have very good reason to believe that Cooper will leave within the next 15 months or so to go to Utah (and take the job currently held by André Tourigny), tells us to keep an eye on the Lightning as a possible destination for the man currently in charge of the Laval Rocket.

He doesn’t know whether Cooper will leave this summer or next, that said… but he seems pretty convinced that by the start of the 2026-27 season, Cooper will be in Utah.

Obviously, for the Habs, losing Vincent wouldn’t necessarily be ideal. He’s doing a great job with the Rocket right now, and the Habs are very fortunate to have such a coach at the helm of their club-school… but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing (in the short term, at least).

If we take it for granted that Cooper will lead the Lightning in 2025-26 (which, at the moment, is still the official version), that would mean Vincent would have to wait another year to occupy that position. And if he’s been told he’s the Lightning’s #1 choice (which is a top team), maybe he won’t necessarily be interested in taking a job elsewhere in the NHL for 2025-26.

Why go manage the Blackhawks if you know the Lightning will want to hire you a year later?

So, if all this proves true, there’s a real possibility that Vincent will stay in Laval next year. And if the Habs can keep Vincent for another year, they certainly won’t spit on the possibility.

But that’s in the event that Cooper stays in Tampa for 2025-26… and no one seems to know for sure.

I’ll repost Normandin’s text HERE if you’d like more details. This is big news.

Overtime

– Michael Hage’s teammate is expected to be drafted in the middle of the first round of the upcoming draft. And the Habs have two picks in that corner…

– That’s right.

– Worlds: here’s tomorrow’s schedule.

– Read.

– Frederik Andersen is having a great series.

– A reminder of the end of Shea Weber’s career.

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Pascal Vincent speaks as someone who has already talked to NHL teams

In Pascal Vincent, the Laval Rocket have one of the best hockey heads in the AHL. After all, he was named AHL Head Coach of the Year after leading his club to first place overall in the AHL… and he did it with a fairly young team.

We suspected that the Habs had struck a blow when they hired him to succeed Jean-François Houle, and almost a year later, there’s no doubt about it.

However, Vincent’s success also means that the Habs must expect the coach’s phone to ring for a possible return to the NHL. It all ended badly for Vincent in Columbus last year, but he has regained his credentials in recent months.

And with so many vacancies in the NHL, that opens doors for Vincent.

And when you read his comments, as reported by Dave Lévesque(TVA Sports), you realize that Vincent has probably already talked to some NHL clubs:

I’m not saying I haven’t had conversations. – Pascal Vincent

That said, the coach is clear on one thing: his priority remains the Rocket. What he’s explaining is that while he’s open to talking to some teams right now, he’s not ready to do big interviews for which he’d have to put a lot of preparation.

Basically, he’s ready to chat more informally with certain teams who’d like to chat with him between games, but not to submit to a big interview that would take a lot of preparation time.

Right now, he’d rather invest that time in his team, with whom he’s in the midst of a major playoff run. Because even if a return to the NHL seems to interest him, his heart and head are still in Laval at the moment:

I’m going to be here until I’m not. – Pascal Vincent

Vincent seems to be handling it all in the right way: he’s making sure his name is considered among the teams that have positions to fill, and he’s starting to forge ties with these organizations, but he’s doing it in a professional manner by focusing first and foremost on what he’s doing in Laval right now.

Could the Rocket’s long playoff run close a few doors if a team doesn’t want to risk missing the boat? It’s possible, but Vincent wants to remain loyal to the team that gave him a chance this year. And that, too, could win him points with some teams who see what a dedicated coach he is.

Overtime

– Good listening!

– This ties in with what our colleague Maxime Truman was saying last week.

– ÉCJ 2018: the trial continues today.

– He must be ready.

– Obviously.

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Rocket: Filip Mesar doesn’t even play in the playoffs (and that’s saying a lot)

The Laval Rocket kicks off its second-round LAH series on Wednesday evening, when it takes on the Rochester Americans, the Sabres’ training club.

Once again, the series will be a 3-of-5 affair, with the Rocket playing two games on the road before three at home.

And of course, the subject of goaltending is currently the talk of Laval. Pascal Vincent told the media this afternoon that he already knows who his goalie will be for the first game… but he won’t say just yet. Expect to see Cayden Primeau and Jacob Fowler play during the series, that said.

That said, there’s another interesting aspect that’s been a little less talked about since the start of the playoffs: the fact that Filip Mesar is being left out. The young Slovak played in the last game of the regular season… and hasn’t played since.

At practice again this morning, Mesar was with the extras.

And that says a lot about how the Habs see Mesar. After all, we’re talking about a first-round pick in the current administration: usually, this is the kind of player you go out of your way to get him playoff experience in the AHL.

The club is doing everything in its power to allow David Reinbacher to play despite his health problems, after all: if you really saw Mesar, who is healthy, as a piece of the team’s future, it would be easy to do everything possible to give him ice time, wouldn’t it?

Remember that this season (his first full-time in the AHL), Mesar played 42 games, collecting 18 points. He’s had to deal with health problems, but even on the ice, he hasn’t been particularly convincing.

Right now, he’s not playing because he’s not one of the best options to help the Rocket win games. And if the Habs aren’t putting their fist on the table to force the Rocket to play Mesar, it probably means they’re well aware that Mesar probably isn’t part of their future.

Overtime

– Don’t expect to see Calvin Pickard again against the Golden Knights.

– What do you think?

– Good listening.

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Jon Cooper to lead Islanders: Larry Brooks discusses the idea

Jon Cooper’s future has been the talk of the NHL for the past few weeks. The Lightning’s coach, who has been on the job for over a decade, is the best behind the bench on the Bettman circuit… but we wonder if that will last.

After all, Cooper has confirmed that he’ll be back behind the Lightning bench next year… but his contract expires at the end of next season.

Cooper’s name has been bandied about in Utah recently, as Cooper is well acquainted with Mammoth owner Ryan Smyth.

But this weekend, Larry Brooks(New York Post) also talked about Cooper, and he mentioned another idea: that of the Islanders giving him the keys to running the team.

Because in reality, sending him out as GM or president… that would be a promotion, wouldn’t it?

The question to ask, though, is whether such a position would interest Cooper. Brooks mentions that Cooper was educated in the area, and that a leadership position might be of interest to Cooper if he wants to build a team in his own image.

As our colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois explained at lunchtime: the Islanders’ GM position isn’t very attractive right now. The club may have won the lottery, but the team’s next leader is likely to have to deal with Lou Lamoriello, who will still be around and may be forced to keep Patrick Roy behind the bench.

And that’s not necessarily ideal for a new leader, who would probably like to be able to bring in “his world”.

That said, there is a world in which the Islanders are so keen to add Cooper that they are willing to make concessions. If the Lightning are willing to let him go for a leadership position, perhaps the Islanders will reconsider factors that might bother Cooper.

Alternatively, the Islanders can always decide to appoint a GM and keep the president’s position vacant to talk to Cooper in a year’s time, when his contract in Tampa Bay will have expired.

But at the same time, if the GM position isn’t attractive right now, adding a president in a year’s time on top of all that won’t help attract candidates.

That said, if the Islanders want Cooper and he’s interested, the club will adapt in due course. Right now, the most important thing for the Islanders is to find the best person to run the organization’s hockey operations… and the rest will have to be dealt with in due course.

Well, the club’s #1 choice, Jeff Gorton, isn’t available… but they have to go for the best option among what’s available, obviously.

In Overtime

– Could Connor Hellebuyck lose his position as #1 goalie for the U.S. at the Olympics?

– News from Michael Misa.

– Big news in Vegas.

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All signs point to Evgeni Malkin leaving Pittsburgh in 2026

The Penguins have a long way to go before returning to the playoffs, in my opinion.

The Penguins’ plan must, from a very rational point of view, be the following: trade the big pieces as quickly as possible to start afresh quickly.

Erik Karlsson, for example, has to go.

But you know as well as I do that the cases of Kristopher Letang, Evgeni Malkin and (especially) Sidney Crosby are different. After all, they are Pittsburgh icons.

But when will they leave?

There’s a growing rumor going around the NHL that Evgeni Malkin will play his last NHL season in 2025-2026, on the heels of the final year of his $6.1 million-a-year contract. And there’s no indication that he’ll be playing anywhere but with the Penguins.

We don’t know if retirement or the KHL awaits him, but we do know that Elliotte Friedman and David Pagnotta are among the informants who heard about this recently.

With Malkin set to leave in 2026 at the latest, and Kristopher Letang‘s health problems making us wonder more than ever how much longer he’ll be able to play, we have to wonder if such news will prompt Sidney Crosby to leave… in 2026.

I wouldn’t be completely surprised if, in just one year’s time, Crosby was thinking of leaving for a winning team to attempt, for a fourth (and final?) time, to win the Stanley Cup.

We’ll see in due course, but perhaps if his friends leave, Crosby will be more open to thinking things over.

However, it’s still very realistic to think that Sidney Crosby, renowned for his loyalty, could end his career in Pittsburgh with the Penguins.

overtime

– The former Ducks coach understood why he left when he saw who took his place.

– DJ Smith back as head coach?

– He had a great career.

– Really.

– Really?

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Islanders want to keep Lou Lamoriello (and Patrick Roy?): GM position not attractive

This morning, we talked a bit about the Islanders-Kings GM situation.

We took it from the point of view of Marc Bergevin, whose chances of becoming GM of the Kings aren’t as good as you might think. Nothing’s official, but okay.

But now , Arthur Staple of The Athletic has written a piece on the Islanders’ GM (and president, of necessity) position. And in it, we learn that Bergevin would be a good candidate in New York in the Islanders’ eyes, if the stars align.

Mathieu Darche and Jarmo Kekäläinen are also candidates

But we realize that right now, the Islanders’ top job isn’t necessarily the most attractive of the lot. We say that because the two biggest candidates on the Islanders’ list aren’t / don’t seem open to taking the job.

The #1 candidate was Jeff Gorton as president and GM. But the Habs and the Islanders said no.

Ken Holland, also being considered for the GM position in Los Angeles, would like to see what L.A. has to offer first. So the Islanders aren’t the priority – even though the Islanders could also appoint him president.

So the other candidates (surely just as GM and not as president) are well and truly in the running, but the Islanders don’t necessarily represent the most interesting case for all that.

Why not? Because the Islanders’ owner would like to keep Lou Lamoriello in New York as part of his organization, even after his contract expires on June 30. You read that right.

Lou Lamoriello, who is still on the Islanders website, is the kind of guy who takes up space. Could a GM really work well with Lamoriello (as an advisor) still in the fold?

Good question.

It’s also worth noting that the Islanders’ owner might not want to pay Patrick Roy to stay with him for three years, and a GM might have to keep him. Lou’s son, Chris, is also an assistant to the GM and boss of the club-school.

Would a GM who had to keep Lamoriello and Roy (and therefore not be able to choose his own coach) want to take the job? In my opinion, that might turn some people off.

Taking all this into account, and the fact that the club has no clear direction on the ice in the short, medium or long term, it goes some way to explaining why the process is being referred to as slow at the moment.

And that’s even though the New York club recently won the lottery.

overtime

– In my opinion, he doesn’t mind too much.

– Reinforcement for Michael Hage.

– Why?

– True.

– True.

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Radio-Canada could once again broadcast Canadiens games

We were all pretty surprised to learn just over a month ago that Rogers (Sportsnet) had once again won the bid for the NHL’s national broadcasting rights.

The original 12-year deal between the NHL and Rogers had only one year left… and the two parties came to an agreement for another 12 years, at 2.5 times the current amount: 11 billion vs. 4.5 billion.

I’m told there could be 32 or 34 regular Canadiens games, rather than 22, but the amount per game is still much higher than it is now.

Of course, we can expect Rogers to sub-distribute certain rights to Amazon or another legal streaming site..

But we have no idea what’s going to happen with French-language rights.

Pierre-Karl Péladeau told Quebecor shareholders that, at the price demanded (2.5 times the current $70 million), TVA Sports will probably not be in the game… and that the channel could close its doors altogether. Even though it has just built new studios on Frontenac Street..

RDS? Everyone at Bell Media is keeping quiet, but there’s reason to believe that if the channel refused to match Quebecor’s offer 11 years ago, it won’t dare pay 2.5 times the amount it considered too high. Unless it feels that such a high bid would eliminate its biggest (and only?) competitor?

Will Amazon, which has physically left Quebec, be interested in offering the moon for French-language rights (especially useful in Quebec)? I don’t think so, but Hughes Léger seems to think so.

Netflix? Apple TV? I don’t think so either.

Could we see a split between RDS and TVA Sports?

“Anything is possible, but it remains highly unlikely at this time.” –Source

Hughes Léger, columnist on 98.5 FM, put forward an interesting hypothesis on Friday evening at Amateurs de sports. In his opinion, Radio-Canada shouldn’t be wiped off the map, especially since the network broadcasts coast-to-coast.

“I think there will be a lot of offers, a lot of sublicensing and a lot of fragmentation down the road… and there will be new players at the table […] why not have Radio-Canada come back to the table? We know that CBC is already there.” –Hughes Léger

Hughes’ thinking is simple: no network can afford to spend that much on its own, since it’s already running a deficit. So imagine spending 2.5 times as much..

Radio-Canada broadcasts Victoire games, and as you already know, the network can afford to lose money, given its status as a subsidized, not-for-profit state medium.

There will be cuts at Radio-Canada Sports.
(Credit: ICI Radio-Canada)

Pierre-Karl Péladeau and Bell Média would probably be outraged to see Radio-Canada use public funds to beat them to the punch. For once, these two would agree..

In short, according to Hughes Léger, the deal is likely to be built differently and fragmented between several players, notably TVA Sports (and TVA?) and RDS.

“It’s going to be smaller packages.”

RDS, TVA Sports and Radio-Canada sharing the NHL’s French-language rights (32 or 34 games)… and RDS getting all the regional rights (50 games)? At least, that’s the hypothesis put forward by Hughes Léger, who knows a thing or two about the subject.

Can’t wait to see what happens..

One thing’s for sure, both Hughes Léger and the people I spoke to doubt the current survival of TVA Sports if we ever lose the national French-language rights.

PKP was right last week: we shouldn’t be surprised if TVA Sports goes out of business.

Overtime

– Seeing him at the CDM is a game changer.

– Grand Prix in Montreal in jeopardy? [TVAS]

– Craig Berube defends his player.