Author: Dose

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Jesse Puljujarvi: A professional trial… in the American League

After being traded by the Oilers, Jesse Puljujarvi found himself in Carolina.

The experience was not successful for him there: the Hurricanes decided not to offer him a new contract in the summer of 2023.

As a result? The former 4th overall pick (2016) signed a contract with the Penguins… And he had to prove himself in the American League before being recalled by the Pens.

But in Pittsburgh, Puljujarvi was never able to blossom into the player he was expected to become.

Thus, the player and the Penguins agreed to terminate his contract to allow him to play elsewhere.

Today, we learn that Puljujarvi has found a new team… But he will need to work hard to stay in North America.

He is heading to Charlotte (with the Checkers) in the American League under a professional tryout:

Things are not looking good for this player who had everything it takes to become dominant, to put it another way.

It is still strange to think that at the 2016 World Junior Championship, Puljujarvi was (definitely) the best player in the tournament… He who completed a trio with Patrik Laine and Sebastian Aho.

The other two players – compared to him – are still playing in the NHL as of this writing:

(Credit: Hockey DB)

If things do not work out for Puljujarvi in Charlotte, one can really believe that his time in North America is in jeopardy.

It’s as if he has one last chance to make himself known, deep down.

But at 26 years old, it’s understood that time is starting to run out for him…

The case of Puljujarvi demonstrates two things: one should not rely on the performance of a young player in the WJC to think he will become an impactful player in the NHL. And it also shows that the Oilers made a mistake in selecting him with the 4th pick because there were quality players still available when they took the stage to announce their choice.

Imagine if the Oilers had chosen Matthew Tkachuk, Mikhail Sergachev, or Clayton Keller with that pick! :

(Credit: HockeyDB)

In Brief

– That’s excellent.

– That would be crazy.

– Oh wow!

– Oh really?

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Lane Hutson is about to launch his clothing collection

Lane Hutson is a popular player in Montreal.

And we all know why!

The player’s fans will be thrilled to learn that he is about to launch his own clothing collection soon.

In collaboration with his brothers and Fantom Shop, Hutson will launch a clothing collection that will be available starting February 24.

On the Fantom Shop website, there is a countdown to the release of the clothing.

The Canadiens defender talked about it during his appearance on the podcast “Game Notes “, and Colby Armstrong, who is one of the hosts (and who played for the CH, let’s remember), already has a cap in the colors of the collection.

To hear Hutson talk about his new project, simply click on the link below:

What’s particularly interesting about this news is that a portion of the profits will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada.

The foundation aims to help families cope better in difficult situations and allow parents of sick children to stay close to their places of hospitalization.

It’s truly a wonderful cause.

That said, it’s quite unusual to see a 20-year-old — who is in his first full season in the National Hockey League — embark on a project like this.

It shows great maturity on his part and also demonstrates that Lane Hutson has his priorities straight.

He wants to do what he can to help and get involved in the community, and that is truly commendable.

I’m looking forward to seeing the merch and I’m sure it will sell quite quickly.

Especially given that it’s for a good cause!

In Brief

– Enjoy reading.

– Leo Carlsson impresses William Nylander.

– Kudos to the guys from HVTV!

– It promises to be exciting!

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Joel Armia did not train with Finland today

Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland all practiced today at the CN Complex in Brossard.

The Four Nations Tournament will officially begin on Wednesday, and the different nations are starting to prepare for the event.

It’s coming!

The Finnish team was the last to hit the ice in Brossard, and right from the start, there was one element that caught attention.

CH player Joel Armia was not on the ice with the rest of his teammates.

He was spotted in the hallway leading to the rink:

Does this hide an injury? Let’s hope not for Finland… but also for the Canadiens.

After all, Armia plays a role in Martin St-Louis’s lineup.

But Armia wasn’t the only absence today: only 11 skaters and two goalkeepers from Finland practiced.

There weren’t many players on the ice:

There are several injured guys on the Finnish team at the moment.

The good news?

The guys have the opportunity to rest a bit since Finland’s first game will be presented Thursday at the Bell Centre.

The Finns will face the Americans for the occasion.

Until then, we will obviously need to monitor Joel Armia’s health status.

It will be interesting to see if he will be able to participate in practices this week before playing on Thursday and if he’s not in uniform, we can start to worry in Montreal.

To be continued, then.

In brief

— Hello, Sam!

— Oh.

— Classic.

— It’s a bit weird 😂

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Laine: No points in five games since the return of a popular event on Fortnite

Patrik Laine is struggling.

He is no longer helping the Canadiens on the ice and lately, there have been many criticisms directed at him.

The forward – more often than not – is not putting in the right level of effort, and that is what stands out when you see him being so nonchalant on the ice.

Things have really gone downhill for him since the beginning of February: he has not earned any points in his last five games, he has a +/- of -5… And he is one of the least used forwards by Martin St-Louis.

His recent ice time is not extraordinary:

  • 10:33 against the Ducks (February 2)
  • 13:45 against the Sharks (February 4)
  • 11:33 against the Kings (February 5)
  • 12:44 against the Devils (February 8)
  • 11:13 against the Lightning (February 9)

Coincidence or not… His poor performance comes after a popular event occurred in the game Fortnite.

There is a “new season” in the game that came out on January 31 and allows users to play on an old map… And it oddly coincides with his embarrassing performances:

We know that Laine is a big fan of video games (and that he still plays).

And we also know that in the past, there were rumors suggesting that Laine was addicted to Fortnite.

That is why it is normal to connect the dots…

Ultimately, it could just be a simple coincidence because Laine has been blanked in his last eight games.

His last point was on January 23 and his last goal was scored on January 19. It has been a while…

But still: seeing that he seems to not care lately, questions are starting to resurface.

And let’s say the timing is strange, especially with the return of a popular event in Fortnite…

In brief

– Speaking of the wolf.

– News of the day in waivers.

– Nice team.

– Too bad.

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Five Canadiens players who will benefit from the NHL break

There it is: the Confrontation of the four nations is in the spotlight.

It is the first day of training for the guys with their national team, and we are setting the stage for the tournament, which will begin on Wednesday. That’s where the media attention will be.

This made me wonder: which CH players will benefit from the break? Here are five candidates. There might be better ones in your eyes, but I like these five names.

Lane Hutson is a player coming from the NCAA. And even if he has been training more at university, the pace of games in the Bettman circuit (including travel) is really more intense.

Resting, like any rookie, will do him good.

Josh Anderson is really putting his 2023-2024 season (which was really, really tough) behind him. But clearly, he is not at 100% right now, missing practices due to an injury.

A little break for an injured guy is a good thing.

Kirby Dach has not had a great season. He seems lost on the ice – despite some good flashes here and there – and one can wonder if he is still making the right decisions.

Recharging mentally could help him. In any case, I think it can’t hurt.

Jakub Dobes was not assigned to the Rocket during the break. Considering his recent difficulties, one might think that the CH preferred to give him some rest rather than have him play down there.

This explains his place in my piece.

Patrik Laine is at the tournament, I know. But I said I would talk about the guys who will benefit from the break in the NHL… and I think seeing Laine in an environment he knows, namely Finland, could restore his confidence.

After all, he was chosen despite his injury. He will be placed in a position of confidence. Right?

in brief

– Interesting.

– True.

– Nice team.

– To be continued.

– The veteran gives up his #8.

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Réjean Tremblay recounts his bare-knuckle fight with (late) Jean Pagé

Donald Trump is an idiot is 78 years old and Joe Biden is 82.

If I had to write a slogan for some kind of miracle drug, I think it would be: eighty is the new sixty, like…

Although life caught up with the outgoing president when he reached the age of 80.

But not all 80-year-old men are no longer capable of doing what they used to do. No!

Journalist and screenwriter Réjean Tremblay came by the set of Stanley25 last week and the episode has just been released:

Réjean, with a memory that would make any African elephant jealous, chatted about the role that JT had in the series Les Jeunes Loups, the influence of real stories happening with the Canadiens behind his Lance et Compte scripts, the wives who confided in him, the closeness between players and journalists at the time, the current boos during the national anthems, his relationship with Gary Bettman (whose inspired character in Lance et Compte resembles a nice guy), how he was allowed to use the real NHL team logos in Lance et Compte, how Marcel Aubut bypassed the TV agreements for Nordiques games, the fictional storyline of his upcoming Lance et Compte, a division of seven or eight teams where the Canadiens will have to travel not far from Quebec by electric bus, information he always kept private, his series Le 7e (which may never see the light of day), his three-year feud with Bertrand Raymond, the mega fun that players feel when they positively impact the game and what he thinks of the journalists covering the CH today (oh boy!).

“I am deeply, and this is not just hot air, I’m unhappy for those guys.” — Réjean Tremblay

Réjean also indicated that a journalist on the beat of the Tricolore is currently making between $125,000 and $150,000. That’s a lot of money for a “dream job,” right?

But my favorite part of the interview is certainly the following: towards the end of the interview, Réjean recounts that he once fought with the late Jean Pagé in a hotel room in Riga. I’ll let you listen for yourself, the clip is located:

Listen to the segment until the end, as Réjean shares how the guys remained good friends until the last moments of Jean Pagé’s life.

What a segment!

Extension

To conclude the interview, Réjean mentioned that he had asked (with Mathias Brunet) Guy Lafleur what he wanted to be remembered for before he passed away.

Guy’s answer, after several minutes of sobs, was excellent: “I will have given everything.”

That’s when Jean had the incredible reflex to ask Réjean what he hoped to be remembered for when he is no longer here.

“I will have been as honest as possible, because you can never be 100% honest. I will have been as honest as possible. I will have had devotion as much as possible.” — Réjean Tremblay

Well said…

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Team Canada training: Samuel Montembeault placed third by everyone

This morning, at Team Canada’s practice, it is Sidney Crosby who draws the most attention. And that’s normal because seeing him train with Nathan MacKinnon and Mark Stone is a good sign.

But in Quebec, we are also keeping an eye on Samuel Montembeault.

What should be noted is that everywhere we see rosters being reported, the Québécois is listed as the third among the names of the three goalies on the Canadian team.

Does this mean Monty is the third goalie for the team? It’s very likely to think so.

Nothing is confirmed at the moment and we cannot assert this loudly. However, logically, it’s not surprising to see that in the eyes of the people present at practice, the reflex is to write the name of the Québécois in third.

He was the third goalie chosen (from what we understand) by the Canadian team and he did not have a great January. So logically, he is not the favorite of his bosses.

And that’s probably normal.

His challenge will be to prepare like a guy who will be called to play. And if Jon Cooper decides to send him into the fray, he must be ready since the goalies won’t have much leeway.

No one will have a large margin of maneuver, in fact.

extension

– Ah yes.

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Brossard: Sidney Crosby is present at the Canada training session

The question on everyone’s lips, in the context of the Four Nations Challenge, is whether Sidney Crosby will be able to play despite his recent injury.

He has missed some of the Penguins’ games recently.

After all, Canada’s captain has never really had the chance to play with Nathan MacKinnon in the past, and the Four Nations Challenge is a good starting point.

Crosby’s plan is as follows: he showed up in Montreal. From there, he has until 5 PM tonight to see if he is indeed fit enough to officially be part of the Canadian lineup.

We will have answers later.

But here comes some good news: this morning, in Brossard, Crosby skated on the ice during Canada’s practice. So at least he can practice.

Mark Stone and Nathan MacKinnon were by his side. This is a good sign for Wednesday, although it confirms nothing.

Sam Reinhart and Mitch Marner, for their part, took repetitions with Connor McDavid. So we can think that the trio of Crosby and McDavid, unsurprisingly, will be the top two.We’ve seen worse.

We will have the complete picture later since Crosby is uncertain and since Travis Konecny is sick. But for now, here’s what the lines and defensive pairs look like.

Of course, since it was a practice with everyone, we had to expect to see Samuel Montembeault skating as well. He stepped onto the ice in Brossard (which he knows well) with his Team Canada teammates.

Here are some images for those interested.

Details to come…

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Jake Evans: the Canadian would like a second-round pick in exchange for his services

Did Jake Evans play his last game in Montreal? At this point, the question clearly arises.

In light of his comments from yesterday, where he spoke about the Canadiens in the past, one can clearly wonder what this means for the future. How eager is the CH to trade him, then?

We will see in the coming weeks.

But on this subject, Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts Podcast) addressed the topic to talk a bit about the Canadiens’ mentality. And he took the angle of the trade market, in his case.

What did he say?

Basically, he says that the Canadiens are the kind of organization that sets a price and does not deviate from it. Last year, for example, David Savard had a price attached to his candidacy, and no one offered the CH what they wanted. So he stayed.

In Evans’s case, they would be talking about a second-round pick. If the CH doesn’t get that, Evans should stay – regardless of the state of negotiations.

Note: this does not mean that if Hughes has his price, the center player will be traded at all costs. After all, it’s very possible that Evans signs a contract instead.

But it does mean that the player will not be traded at a discount.

Let’s remember that this is what happened with Artturi Lehkonen. Kent Hughes set his price, and Colorado offered the Flanelle what it wanted. This therefore opened the door to the trade.

To be continued, then.

in brief

– Here we go.

– Interesting.

– Matter to follow.

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Tankathon has become the best friend of Quebecers

The Canadiens are relatively dead. Long live the Canadiens, then?

Watching the Habs make the playoffs has always been a stretch in 2024-2025 — especially after the awful start to the season. But now, in light of the eight losses in nine games, it’s clearer than ever: Martin St-Louis’ team will not make the playoffs.

Six points behind right now is a very, very steep hill to climb. The number of teams to surpass (given that there are fewer contenders in the East than in the West) is also part of the challenge.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Don’t forget that the Habs were not in the mix at American Thanksgiving. It’s not a cliché for nothing, as it means a team has to win very often to recover from a poor start to the season.

In a world where the Habs have a season as I expected (bad start, good middle, and bad finish), one element will become increasingly relevant: the Tankathon standings.

Hello darkness, my old friend…

Right now, the Canadiens have a 5% chance of winning the lottery. And with the Flames also having a chance to offer an interesting pick to the Canadiens, the Tankathon is truly becoming the Quebecers’ friend again.

(Credit: Tankathon)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We can wonder if Kent Hughes will trade a player (Jake Evans, perhaps?) in the coming week. After all, with only six games left before the trade deadline, things will move quickly.

At this point, the Habs’ management must have a good idea of their plan for the deadline.

Now we just have to see which players (including Ivan Demidov) will join the Canadiens by next October to ensure that next season, the team can have success over 82 games… and not just over 15 games.

extension

The Super Bowl is behind us and the Four Nations Confrontation break has arrived. It will be a somewhat quieter time for those who follow less of the international hockey activities in the coming days.

This will leave you more time to see pitchers and receivers report to their MLB teams in Florida and Arizona in the coming days, for those interested.