Author: Dose

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Dylan Cozens is of interest to the Canadiens (according to Kevin Weekes)

Given Kirby Dach’s performance since the start of the season, it is natural to wonder if he really has what it takes to be the 2nd center for the Canadiens in the coming years.

Dach has not been consistent in his performances… And if the Canadiens want to compete with the best teams in the NHL, they need a quality 2nd center who can play a consistent role in the team’s success.

We don’t see that from #77 at the moment.

We know that Kent Hughes is interested in making a trade for Dach/Newhook/Laine to improve his team, and recent information from Kevin Weekes supports this.

The informant tweeted that the Canadiens are in the running for the Dylan Cozens derby in Buffalo:

Cozens is known as a two-way center at 6’3 and 207 pounds.

He shoots right and is good in all three zones of the ice.

He collected 68 points in his third season in the NHL and has slowed down since then. He seems to need a change of scenery… And in Buffalo, nothing is working at the moment: the Sabres are sitting at 29th place in the NHL standings and are struggling to win regularly.

It’s always the same story for the Sabres, after all.

Obviously, to acquire a 23-year-old young center who has already proven himself, Kent Hughes will need to offer an enticing return to the Sabres.

But there are not necessarily issues at that level because the Canadiens have prospects that can be traded… And the team’s pool of picks is well-stocked for the coming years.

The Canadiens have four first-round picks, five second-round picks, and five other third-round picks for the next three drafts:

(Credit: PuckPedia)

Lastly, it’s worth noting that Cozens earns a salary of $7.1 million annually and his contract runs until the summer of 2030.

This would represent a certain risk for Kent Hughes… But we have seen that Cozens is capable of being a good player in the NHL.

Surrounded as he would be in Montreal on the top-6, it could become quite interesting…

Extension

In his tweet, Kevin Weekes also mentions that the Leafs, Flames, and Wings are in the running for Cozens’ services.

Who will come out on top? And can we expect to see a trade involving Cozens happen in the coming weeks, before the trade deadline (March 7) in the NHL?

To be continued…

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The man accused of killing the Gaudreau brothers claims that they were more drunk than he was

Sean Higgins is a name that will, by necessity, mark the history of the NHL. It is the name of the man who is accused of having killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau last summer.

He has spent the last few months defending himself, and now he has taken a different approach to try to have his indictment overturned. Basically, without accusing the Gaudreau brothers of anything, Sean Higgins claims that the two brothers were more drunk than he was at the time of the accident.

He does not want to use this to blame the victims. His angle is to seek “clarifications on how the measurements were taken” in the case in order to convince a judge to drop the charges.

This is what is reported in a TVA Sports article, which reports the news.

Of course, it is logical to note that Sean Higgins and his team are taking measures to get by, as one should not expect the man to give up and want to spend the rest of his life in prison.

He could face 60 years in prison.

That said, it is clear that bringing the brothers’ blood alcohol levels into the discussion, knowing that the case is very important in the eyes of many members of the public, is… risky. Let’s put it this way.

Even though Johnny (0.129%) and Matthew (0.134%) had higher alcohol levels than Higgins (0.087%) according to tests performed after the accident, it still remains that the brothers did nothing illegal.

They were not driving a car.

But for the man who drove over the legal limit after drinking, it’s another story. And one might think that the tactics used by Sean Higgins’ team resemble a hail mary: going all out to try to get out of this.

To be continued, therefore.

in brief

– Sidney Crosby evaluated.

– Yesterday, the Sharks player got the upper hand.

– Oh?

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A player on Gary Bettman: “I don’t know what that *guy is doing”

Being a commissioner of a sports league will never please everyone. Big decisions have to be made, and it draws reactions.

Gary Bettman, who has a few work conflicts under his belt, does not always make the players happy. This is normal because, very clearly, it is part of the job.

But despite everything, according to a survey by The Athletic of 77 active NHL players, 45% of the surveyed players (35 players) do not want to see the commissioner retire.

(Credit: The Athletic)

It can’t be that bad… or are these guys the ones who will benefit the most from the salary cap increase?

However, among those who want to see him retire, there are still some guys with strong opinions. Among them, one (who remained anonymous) did say this:

I don’t know what that *guy is doing.

While the majority of players who want a change of commissioner are more nuanced (like: he has done good things, but it’s time to move on), this one clearly has a lot on his mind.

And we don’t really know why. If we knew who it was, it might be easier to speculate.

Let’s remember, much to the delight of several players, that the commissioner, who is well-liked by many owners, is slowly starting to think about retirement in the coming years.

However, nothing is official at this point.

In brief

– To be continued.

– Oh really?

– Interesting.

– Too bad.

– Noted.

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The joy of playing hockey questioned by Patrik Laine

Stanley25 is back for a third season, much to the delight of several listeners… and to the great little detriment of some people. Sorry to those people…

The second episode of our season 3 was posted online just a few minutes ago, and there is no shortage of topics this week.

We are still waiting for Joshua Roy’s autograph session…

The Calder Trophy is slipping away from Lane Hutson…

“Talents” of street rapper Justin Trudeau…

Refusal to pick up a bill from Juraj Slafkovsky…

Spitting on the floor in an NHL arena…

Beef between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson…

Tightness of the seats at the Bell Centre…

Professional projects of Jacob Fowler…

Short-term future in Laval for Jakub Dobes…

Booing during the national anthems…

Joy of playing hockey from Patrik Laine…

No, you won’t be bored listening/watching the podcast. Especially since this week, we condensed the regular episode into 30 minutes. That has been our goal for a while. We did it, Jean!

Does Patrik Laine like playing hockey?
I brought up the topic of Laine’s recent difficulties at around the middle of the podcast, and JT provided an interesting angle. According to Jean, Laine is not an elite player. He’s not even in the top 100 NHL players.

“Patrik Laine, you shouldn’t rank him too high, and you shouldn’t rank him too low. You really have to take him for what he is.” — Jean Trudel

It was then that I reminded Jean that people don’t blame Laine for lacking talent. Rather, it’s his lack of involvement and desire that bothers them. Jean then offered a response that makes us think.

“Laine is not a hockey player. He doesn’t want to play hockey. Sidney Crosby eats hockey. He eats it all the time. Patrik Laine, at first, he wanted to be a goalie. His father forced him to be a forward. He doesn’t want to play hockey. If he had the choice to be a professional gamer or a hockey player, he would rather be a professional gamer.” — Jean Trudel

Patrik Laine remains a designated hitter in baseball… or a super sub in soccer.

Agree or disagree with this statement?

To watch the entire episode, click HERE.

In Brief

– It wasn’t me.

– Tony Marinaro and I shared some information about the salaries of certain players from CF Montreal yesterday on BPM Sports.

– Vrioni and Neal have not joined the group on natural turf.

– Why does Donald Trump have the World Cup trophy behind him?

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More players with at least 10 goals: the CH at the top of the league

During yesterday’s game, Alex Newhook and Joel Armia were two of the four scorers for the Canadiens. Brendan Gallagher (12th goal of the season) and Cole Caufield (26th goal of the season) were the other scorers.

Newhook and Armia both scored their 10th goal of the campaign.

This is significant as it allows the Canadiens to have nine scorers with at least 10 goals this season. It’s interesting because it places the Canadiens at the top of the league (along with the Capitals and the Hurricanes) in that regard.

Seeing that the team has nine scorers with at least 10 goals is noteworthy as it means that in 53 games, many players contribute approximately at least once to the scoring in five games.

This stands out, in my eyes.

It is disappointing to see that the talented Juraj Slafkovsky is not among the nine guys with at least 10 goals this season (he has eight goals, just like Josh Anderson), but well.

That’s another debate, though.

(Credit: Hockey DB)

But it is also interesting because last year, in 82 games, the Canadiens only had eight guys who were able to reach that mark. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia, and Alex Newhook are the only five guys currently on both lists.

Juraj Slafkovsky (8) and Mike Matheson (3) have chances—especially Slaf—to be part of both lists. Sean Monahan, however, is no longer playing in town.

(Credit: Hockey DB)

Patrik Laine, Jake Evans, Emil Heineman, and Kirby Dach are the new additions to the list. Last year, only Evans was a regular on the Canadiens—and in the NHL, to be honest.

In 53 games this season, the Canadiens score an average of 2.92 goals per game. Last year, it was 2.83, just a little less.

In a nutshell

— The Dodgers are making moves.

— Ouch.

— Marc-Édouard Vlasic does not play every game for his team. But the fact that he did not play yesterday (against the Canadiens) after saying that his team was not good stands out.

— Still.

— Ivan Demidov has support.

— Shane Wright is waking up.

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Owen Beck played like a guy who deserves a real shot in the NHL

Since Emil Heineman got injured, the Canadiens are searching a bit.

When he was there, the club’s bottom-6 was much more stable, and the last two lines had an identity on the ice. But without him, things are shaking up much more than before.

When a team is one Emil Heineman away from being affected, it means they are lacking good elements to make the playoffs. And I say this with all respect for Heineman, who was having a great season before being hit by a car.

To replace Heineman, the Canadiens have conducted several tests. And too often, it was the Michael Pezzetta test that was conducted.

Yesterday, Owen Beck was tested. He was brought in a bit by necessity (the Canadiens’ call-up plan revolves around guys already in California for the AHL All-Star Game)… but at the same time, no one forced Martin St-Louis to play him.

And let’s say that in his fourth game in the NHL and his third this year, Beck looked better than in the others. He played excellent hockey in the role he was asked to fill.

Beck was involved (one wonders if Patrik Laine took notes), and for a fourth-line guy, that was the right thing to do.

I expect to see Beck play tonight since I can’t see any logical reason for him not to play. If the team were in Montreal and the Rocket were in action, there would be a debate… but not here.

If he continues to play well, he will earn an audition in Montreal. And that’s all he can control.

After all, even if he should earn games up top by playing the right way, that doesn’t mean that in the short term, he will get a ton. Why? Because the Four Nations Tournament is approaching and because he benefits from playing big minutes with the Rocket.

And when Heineman returns, it will cut an opportunity.

That’s why, if he plays tonight, Beck needs to leave a calling card. We don’t know what the future holds for him in the short term, but he will undoubtedly want to be THE guy the Canadiens think of if they need to call someone up. Even if it’s just to play 10 minutes per game… on the wing.

And to be that guy, there are no 36 solutions: Beck needs to perform when he gets the chance. Being confident from the All-Star Game (three goals) has helped him, and he must build on that.

But still. Owen Beck is not the only player deserving of attention this morning. After all, even if it’s against the worst team in the league, the Canadiens found a way to win their game yesterday against the Sharks by a score of 4-3.

What do I take away from it?

1. Even though it wasn’t a perfect game, the Canadiens found a way to win. The execution wasn’t really perfect at the start of the game, but the team rallied.

In a results-oriented league, that’s what matters.

2. After nearly three years in charge, Martin St-Louis just got his 100th win as the Canadiens’ head coach. He became the 14th coach in the franchise’s history to reach such a milestone.

How many do you think he will get to?

3. If it weren’t for Samuel Montembeault, who had the mission to help his team win, the Canadiens might not have come away with the victory. He wasn’t perfect, but he did his job.

Against Macklin Celebrini (who is quite a player), he was notably impressive.

4. Patrik Laine had 13:45 on the ice yesterday. He wasn’t perfect, but he looked better than in previous games. Playing on a lesser line – and against a lesser opposition – probably helped him.

We’ll see how he responds tonight. After all, we want consistency in his game.

5. It was a special teams game yesterday. Both teams scored twice on the power play (Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, Cole Caufield, and Brendan Gallagher) out of four opportunities.

And that doesn’t account for Joel Armia’s goal on a pass from Jake Evans while short-handed.

6. Lane Hutson got an assist on Cole Caufield’s goal. He became the second fastest rookie defender in Canadiens history to record 40 points in a season.

That’s notable.

7. Ahh, a good old 10:30 PM game to watch two bad teams hit the post (where’s Dr. Shot?) and see endless reviews in front of a wild crowd. I stayed awake for this?

The best part? We’re doing it again tonight. Hooray. I’m so happy. I love going to bed so late. I want fewer matchups against Boston and Toronto to have more boring games in the West.

overtime

The Canadiens will not practice this morning. The only thing on the agenda today is the last game of the trip in California, which will be in Los Angeles. The game will take place at 10:30 PM.

The team’s goal? Stay #InTheMix by winning.

We can assume that Michael Pezzetta will not play, that the lines will remain unchanged, and that Jakub Dobes will be in net. But will Logan Mailloux be used? I’m not sure.

If so, will he take Jayden Struble’s spot… or David Savard’s?

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Top-5: Fleury joins Luongo in 2nd place in history for the most games played

The Canadiens ended their losing streak by winning last night against the Sharks in San Jose.

But the Canadiens’ game wasn’t the only one taking place across the NHL.

There was a lot of action on Tuesday night in the league:

1: Marc-André Fleury ties Luongo

We can agree on one thing.

Marc-André Fleury will quickly enter the Hall of Fame when he retires.

He has quite a decorated career, after all!

Last night, Flower was in net for his team against the Bruins in Boston. It was his 1,044th career game… which allowed him to tie Roberto Luongo for 2nd place in league history:

Fleury will be able to take sole possession of 2nd place by the end of the season, but it will be impossible for him to catch Martin Brodeur in 1st place in history.

Brodeur played 1,266 career games. The gap is too large…

Note that the Bruins spoiled Fleury’s great night by winning the game 3-0.

In their victory, David Pastrnak recorded an assist in an eleventh consecutive game:

2: Nylander’s hat trick

William Nylander plays an important role in the Leafs’ success in Toronto.

We saw it last night: he helped his team win 6-3 in Calgary with a dominant performance.

The star player for the Leafs finished the game with a hat trick:

Nylander’s hat trick was scored exactly eight years to the day after his first career hat trick in the NHL.

What a coincidence!

Note that the captain of the Leafs, Auston Matthews, also stood out in the game with three assists.

Joseph Woll was also solid in net to help his team secure just a fifth win in ten games.

3: A beautiful goal by Kent Johnson

Wow, wow, wow!

That’s the general reaction that fans had after seeing this goal by Kent Johnson.

It’s true that it is magnificent:

Patrick Kane, get out of this body!

No kidding, it takes exceptional skills to score on a backhand after performing a spin-o-rama, and Johnson executed his deke flawlessly.

Let’s just say his shot in the top corner didn’t give veteran James Reimer, who was in net for the Sabres, much of a chance.

However, Johnson’s goal was not enough to help the Blue Jackets win.

The Sabres won the game 3-2 thanks to a two-goal performance from Alex Tuch.

4: Ovi gets even closer to the record

17.

Why 17?

Because that’s the number of goals Alex Ovechkin needs to score before officially breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.

The captain of the Capitals scored his 878th career goal last night into an empty net.

And he did it in style… with only 0.1 seconds left on the clock in the third period.

You can’t make this stuff up:

Of course, it’s really just a matter of time at this point.

The Capitals have 29 more games to play this season… but Ovi might still run out of time.

Note that the Caps, who have seven wins in their last ten games, managed to beat the Panthers 6-3.

Everything is going well in Washington, where the Capitals sit in 2nd place in the NHL standings this morning.

5: Dylan Guenther plays the hero at the last second

Let’s move to overtime in the game between the Flyers and the Utah team.

And you’ll understand after seeing this sequence:

Dylan Guenther surprised everyone at the end of the overtime period by coming in at full speed into the Flyers’ zone… before firing a perfect shot into the top of the net.

A goal truly worthy of the plays of the week, especially considering it allowed Utah to win 3-2!

Note also that in the game, Matvei Michkov (15:39 of ice time) was held scoreless for a seventh consecutive game.

The young star player of the Flyers is going through a tough time right now.

Overtime

– Big win for the Canucks against the Avalanche.

– A scare for Crosby.

– He was able to return to the game:

– Patrick Kane now holds the record for the most goals scored in shootouts.

– He helped the Wings win a seventh straight game:

– He knows how to make new friends.

– Ugh…

– Well done.

– Too easy!

– He’s good, that one.

– Oh.

– The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Three games tonight in the NHL, including the Habs’ match against the Kings:

(Credit: NHL.com)
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The Canadiens find their way back to victory in San Jose

This evening, the Canadiens faced the worst team in the league, the San Jose Sharks. It was a good opportunity for the Tricolore to find the path to victory after a streak of five losses.

Here are the lineups:

After exchanging a few chances in the first period, it was the home team that opened the scoring at 5:50 with a power play goal from rookie Macklin Celebrini, his 17th goal of the season on a beautiful pass from Tyler Toffoli.

It was actually Toffoli who caused the penalty to Juraj Slafkovsky that led to the Sharks’ goal.

The rest of the first period passed without incident. 1-0 San Jose, which dominated shots 11-7.

The Canadiens were much more convincing at the start of the second period. The visitors took advantage of a power play to get on the scoreboard just 52 seconds into the period when Cole Caufield scored his 26th goal. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson also got assists on the play.

The Tricolore then took the lead for the first time in the game when Alex Newhook scored his 10th of the season at 4:53, with assists from Alex Carrier and Kirby Dach.

The home team thought they had equalized, but the goal was disallowed after an NHL review. However, it was only a temporary setback as they tied the game a few minutes later when Collin Grif scored his first career goal at 14:51 on a pass from Barclay Goodrow.

The Canadiens got a four-minute power play just before the end of the second period.

It was 2-2 after two periods. However, the Tricolore only had 13 shots in total (compared to 20 for the Sharks).

The visitors took advantage of this power play to regain the lead thanks to Brendan Gallagher’s 12th goal. On the play, Dach and Newhook also collected their second point of the game.

Unfortunately, the Canadiens were unable to hold onto this lead as the Sharks also scored during a power play granted after Arber Xhekaj’s penalty when Toffoli tied the game at 3-3, assisted by Celebrini and Jake Walman.

The CH could have seen its chances slip away when Jayden Struble took a very bad penalty for delaying the game. Fortunately, Samuel Montembeault was alert and made two solid saves to maintain the tie.

Ultimately, it was Joel Armia who scored a shorthanded goal on a beautiful pass from Jake Evans to put the Canadiens back in front.

The Canadiens managed to hold onto this lead and thus find the path to victory after five consecutive losses.

Overtime

– Good question!

– Great Monty!

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Carey Price, Josh Gorges, and Travis Moen seen together at a hockey game

Carey Price made a rare public appearance this weekend.

The former goaltender for the Canadiens was seen at a WHL game in Kelowna between the local team, the Rockets, and the Swift Current Broncos, accompanied by his two former teammates Travis Moen and Josh Gorges.

The three “West guys” looked quite relaxed at Prospera Place during the game.

The three retired hockey players, who played together for the Canadiens from 2009 to 2014, have clearly remained good friends even after their time with the team, and it’s nice to see them spending time together.

Moreover, Kelowna, in addition to being Price’s place of residence, is the former junior team of Moen and Gorges, who were teammates from 2000 to 2002. So it’s a friendship that has lasted quite a while.

Unfortunately, the home team lost by a score of 6 to 3.

By attending junior hockey games, is Price beginning to practice for a future role as a scout?

Although he doesn’t rule out the possibility of returning to hockey in a position with an NHL organization, for now, Price is keeping a low profile and is rarely seen in public.

Since his retirement, he has been spending time with his wife and their three young children—two daughters and a son.

In fact, the goaltender was spotted some time ago teaching his son how to skate.

However, even though he’s seen on skates, Price must protect his body and knee, and he has closed the door on any possibility of a return to the net for some time now.

Although he is unofficially retired, the goaltender is still under contract with the Canadiens until the end of the 2025-26 season for an annual salary of $10.5 million.

Let’s remember that Price is the goaltender with the most wins in Canadiens history, with 361 victories in 712 starts.

In his career, the goaltender maintained a 2.51 goals against average, a .917 save percentage, as well as 49 shutouts, and it’s safe to say he won’t have to wait long before entering the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In brief

– Throwback!

– Big win for the Leafs.

– Seven straight for the Jets.

– Utah wins in overtime.

– Demko is very solid.

– Shutout for Comrie.

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Patrik Laine loses his spot in the top-6 | Owen Beck replaces Michael Pezzetta

Clearly, Martin St-Louis wants to send messages tonight.

A few minutes before the game in San Jose, Patrik Laine saw his coach confirm that he would not play in the top-6. He will be on the third line – which resembles a fourth line – with Jake Evans and Joel Armia.

And Michael Pezzetta is heading back to the stands as young Owen Beck enters the lineup. Logan Mailloux will not play.

Details coming soon…