Author: Dose

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Martin St-Louis and Pascal Vincent at the top of their game: CH is in good hands

This afternoon, Martin St-Louis was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy. What he’s done with the CH this year (taking this team, which had a few tough years and had a terrible start to the season, to the playoffs) is truly impressive.

He probably won’t win it (Spencer Carbery is likely to be the recipient), but just to see him in the top-3 despite so many good candidates is worthy of mention.

Clearly, then, the CH coach’s work has been recognized… but what we notice is that coaches at all levels of the organization have gotten some love for their work.

St-Louis is a Jack-Adams finalist, Pascal Vincent won AHL Coach of the Year and even Ron Choules, who leads the Lions, finished second in the ECHL poll.

That’s worth mentioning.

It feels more than ever that, at every level of the organization, the Tricolore is in good hands. The CH, Rocket and Lions made the playoffs this year… and while the big club’s run may have been brief, the other two can aspire to long spring runs.

For the Rocket, who are banking on several of the CH’s up-and-coming players, all this is particularly important… especially with Jacob Fowler on track to be the team’s #1 goaltender for this run.

But clearly, the coaches of these teams deserve a lot of credit. The CH was lucky enough to inherit Pascal Vincent to lead its club-school… and we wonder if he’ll attract interest from other teams to make a comeback as head coach in the NHL.

However, should Vincent stay in town next year, the CH will have three coaches in its organization coming off an incredible 2024-25 season.

Yes, the CH is in good coaching hands right now.

Extension

St-Louis chatted to the media following the announcement of his nomination as one of the finalists… and clearly, the CH coach has big plans to celebrate.

He can’t wait to get home and play golf… and we can understand that, hehe.

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Joel Armia in talks to sign a new contract with the Canadiens

Joel Armia isn’t afraid to say it: he wants to stay in Montreal.

The Habs made the decision not to trade him as a rental and to keep him for the playoff race. His defensive importance and puck protection played in his favour, I imagine.

And on that subject, at his end-of-season press conference, Armia said he’d been talking to CH management about a new contract.

I have a feeling that Kent Hughes is going to treat Armia’s case like Jake Evans’: here’s a contract that’s take it or leave it, and we won’t really go any higher than that.

Will Armia want to stay that long? Who knows.

If the CH does this with Armia and Dvorak, maybe the guys will naturally leave or stay. It depends on how greedy they are.

And in Armia’s case, don’t forget that he doesn’t play center. That makes him less indispensable, let’s say.

While we’re on the subject of Armia, it’s worth mentioning that in the playoffs (and clearly at the end of the season too), he was playing with a broken hand. This affected the velocity of his shots.

But still, like a warrior, he played.

Obviously, it’s “less bad” for a player who doesn’t play with finesse, but it still takes a brave guy to be able to play through it.

And there are plenty of brave guys in the room.

in brief

– Selke: the three finalists play in Florida.

– A broken foot for Victor Hedman?

– Jon Cooper is staying in Tampa Bay. His family is fine there, he’ll be leading Canada to the Olympics later this year… and he’s got to want to beat Matthew Tkachuk’s Panthers in 2026. We’ll see if he leaves in a year.

– Of note.

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Jack Adams: Martin St-Louis finalist

Not surprisingly, Martin St-Louis’ work has been recognized.

The Canadiens’ coach was named a finalist for the Jack Adams, rewarding the best coach of the year in the Bettman circuit. Not bad for a Peewee coach, eh?

Scott Arniel and Spencer Carbery are the others.

Details to come…

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Slaf: “I’d like to start my next season in October, not February”

Juraj Slafkovsky had an up-and-down season.

He was inconsistent throughout the campaign, and he began to produce at a really interesting pace in the second half of the season.

As in 23-24, basically.

And the big Slovak knows it.

Talking to the media today, Slaf said he’d like to start next season properly in October… not February.

He knows he can give more.

Before the start of the season, the kid had high expectations of himself.

And that’s why, after being asked if he was satisfied with his performance this year (51 points in 79 games), he said this to reporters with a laugh:

What do you think? – Juraj Slafkovsky

Let’s not forget one thing: Juraj Slafkovsky has just celebrated his 21st birthday.

He’s still very young and will learn to be more consistent as time goes by. Maturity will come on board at some point.

But seeing him say it out loud in front of the cameras is already a good sign. Slaf goes into the summer with one goal in mind: to start the next season on the right foot.

And if he’s focused on his goal, he’s likely to achieve it.

It’s also worth noting that Slafkovsky turned down Slovakia’s invitation to the World Championship.

He sat down with the CH management and both sides came to the same decision: maybe it’s better for him not to go this year.

Slaf was there last year, where he collected eight assists in as many games.

Extension

In 23-24, Slaf finished the season with 50 points.

He’s made some progress offensively, and this will be his fourth NHL season.

I can’t wait to see how he performs next season. Especially if he starts producing in October!

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Samuel Montembeault: tear in two of the three groin muscles

Ouch.

Samuel Montembeault, on the sidelines of the Canadiens’ season finale, claimed that he had suffered a tear in two of his three groin muscles. That’s what kept him out at the end of the season.

It can’t be good.

The CH goalie knows exactly which shot he was injured on (the 10th of the game, he says) and he knew he couldn’t go on. He gave away a goal because he couldn’t move properly.

It was better for him to leave his place to Jakub Dobes.

It’s a shame for him, but he can still say that without him, the CH weren’t in the playoffs. He increased his workload this year and it clearly paid off.

And that’s despite his playoff injury.

The goalie was hoping the CH could win in the first round because he believed in his chances of playing in the second round. That didn’t happen, as we all know.

It’s also logical that he won’t be going to the World Championship. At this point, he needs to rest.

He’ll need to get back into top shape this summer to be ready for next season, when expectations will be higher. But if he was hoping to return in the next few weeks, it’s safe to assume he’ll have a near-normal summer of training.

To be continued.

iN BRIEF

– Josh Anderson wouldn’t have played if the club weren’t in the playoff race. He was injured all over, but will not undergo surgery.

– No surgery?

– Big quote.

– Obviously.

– Yes.

– Love this.

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Alexandre Carrier: Ovechkin’s check hurt more than Wilson’s

Alexandre Carrier was stunned by Tom Wilson in Game 4 of the CH’s series against the Capitals. He doesn’t consider it a dirty hit, but it hurt.

The defenseman was still able to play in Game 5.

He didn’t necessarily feel good during warm-up… but he didn’t want to miss the game:

We also know that the defender had an ankle injury.

And on that front, Carrier said he hurt himself after receiving a check from Alex Ovechkin in the series.

To refresh your memory… :

The Quebecer insisted on playing the same way and it shows just how brave he is.

He knew he could help his club and that’s why he wanted to be in uniform. But that’s Alexandre Carrier: we got to know him as soon as he joined the Canadiens in December, and it wasn’t long before we realized just how good he is.

Carrier has been successful in his own way in Montreal this season, and has had a huge impact on the club’s performance in the second half of the campaign.

Even he didn’t know he was going to be such a big part of the team:

Carrier also talked about his club’s powerplay and said that the guys were impressed to see “the teenagers” play.

The first unit of Demidov, Caufield, Suzuki, Hutson and Slafkovsky has had some success in recent playoff games, and the youngsters have been impressive to watch.

It looks promising for what’s to come. And Cole Caufield agrees with me:

In gusto

– Jacob Fowler practices in the starter’s net this morning.

– David Reinbacher is on the ice too. Yet Pascal Vincent said earlier this week that the defenseman wasn’t going to skate on game day…

– Lou Lamoriello doesn’t want to retire.

– Good choices.

– Yikes.

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Patrik Laine confirms he broke his finger in the playoffs

We suspected that Patrik Laine had something to do with an injury.

And now the man himself has confirmed that, yes, he did break his finger in game #2. That’s the game in which he was benched by his coach, as we all remember.

That’s what kept him out for the rest of the game.

But hey. Laine was still on his team’s bench (not in the locker room) during the third period of Game #2, and we know that guys play with injuries in the playoffs.

He was also wearing a jersey that allowed him to receive contact when he practiced with the group after his finger injury, which was his only one.

But hey. That’s all behind him now, and as a human being, it’s important to have rediscovered the pleasure of playing field hockey in Montreal. That was his goal at the start of the season.

It wasn’t easy, but he achieved it.

It’s also worth noting that Patrik Laine doesn’t think he’ll need knee surgery. His only injury is to his finger. And while that’s important for a maverick, he’s lucky not to be hurting anywhere else.

It was a good thing, he thinks, that he didn’t have knee surgery.

extension

David Savard has received a lot of love from a lot of people in the NHL and he’s not closing the door, one day, on continuing to work for the Montreal Canadiens.

Yes, he’s the kind of guy who plants trees, but never really sits in their shade. Not as a player, anyway.

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Nick Suzuki is “quite injured” and would have liked to rest more before the playoffs

Which CH players will be going to the World Championships in the next few weeks?

We know that Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield are considering it. But clearly, they’re not the only ones with a chance of going, since Team Canada has contacted Nick Suzuki.

And the man himself is thinking about it.

You’ll recall that last year, Suzuki said no to the Canadian team… and that’s probably why he wasn’t considered enough for the Four Nations Confrontation.

So it’s logical to believe that in 2025, he wants to go. After all, with the Olympics only a few months away, he’ll want to put the odds in his favor.

Of course, his late season also makes it harder than ever for Team Canada to leave him out in 2026. He was too strong at the end of the season for the CH.

And that’s despite the fact that he’s “quite injured” at the moment. That’s why, among other things, he’s not sure he’ll be representing his country anytime soon, even though he’s received his invitation to go.

Suzuki was one of the best players in the league at the end of the season, and he did it while quite injured. Still, that says a lot about the step he’s taken forward this year.

You’ll tell me, though, that across the league, everyone is injured in April, and that’s not wrong. But still.

Suzuki would have liked to have rested at the end of the season, but since the CH hadn’t qualified before game #82, he didn’t do it. So I wonder if Suzuki would have ended his six-year streak without missing a game to rest for game #82 if the club had won two days earlier against Chicago.

The main person involved isn’t sure. But I think it would have meant playing fewer minutes.

in bursts

– Indeed.

– Correct.

– Probably, yes.

– With good reason.

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“I liked it here”: Christian Dvorak talks about his stay in Montreal in the past tense

Christian Dvorak will be as free as a bird as of July 1.

And in the recent episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman said the player is “probably” on his way out.

The man who wore #28 in Montreal in recent years spoke to the media today as part of the Habs’ end-of-season review… and right off the bat, he reiterated that he loves the city of Montreal and the group of players in place.

But D-VO also knows that his time in Montreal is about to come to an end.

In talking to reporters today, he spoke of his time with the CH in the past tense.

He seems aware that the organization wants to move on.

I enjoyed playing here. – Christian Dvorak

Removing Dvorak from the Canadiens’ center line creates a hole.

We already knew that.

But if Kent Hughes isn’t planning to bring D-Vo back to town, it’s because he has another idea in mind.

The Habs’ GM has already begun his summer work, and he’s already putting his pieces in place for next season.

He’s not going to let Dvorak go because he doesn’t like him… and given how much we’ve seen from the veteran in the final stretch of the season, you’d think he’d have a chance of staying in Montreal.

I’m also eager to see if Dvorak’s departure will have an impact on Cole Caufield. After all, the two are great chums and live together.

That said, everything points to Caufield losing his friend… and we know that sometimes that can have an impact on a player’s performance on the ice.

Extension

Marco D’Amico makes a good point: Dvorak needs to be replaced by a player who can win face-offs.

D-Vo was useful in the circle… and he was one of the Habs’ most reliable players there in recent seasons.

It’s not for nothing that he was seen starting most overtime games at Suzuki center. The CH wanted the puck!

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World Championship: Lane Hutson is undecided

As the Canadiens’ season drew to a close, the club’s players went before the cameras to talk about what’s been going on in Montreal over the past few months.

Obviously, seeing the club make the playoffs was a game-changer.

And clearly, the playoff atmosphere in Montreal has energized the group. Lane Hutson, who had never experienced anything like it before in field hockey, raved about the atmosphere. He hopes it’s a glimpse of the future.

Hutson didn’t get too far ahead of himself on the idea of signing long-term, but you can sense he’s not against the project – at the right price, of course.

But clearly, his priority is to improve and progress with the club. He knows that other youngsters will be arriving and he wants to continue to progress with the existing core.

That core includes the power play, which he sees being one of the best in the league one day.

Clearly, we weren’t expecting anything negative from Hutson this morning, and the picture he painted of his club’s season reflects what we’ve seen on the ice this season.

But what’s next for his off-season?

Hutson hasn’t closed the door on representing the U.S. at the World Championship in the coming weeks. In fact, the dynamic defenseman says he’s undecided at the moment.

On the one hand, his priority must be the CH. But on the other, representing his country is always interesting. And if he wants to give himself a chance of going to the Olympics, playing for the Americans in the spring is a good idea.

To be continued.

in bursts

– He won’t deny it.

– Of note.

– It’s all a question of timing.