Author: Dose

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Kyle Dubas “criticized” Erik Karlsson at his end-of-season review

When the Penguins acquired Erik Karlsson, we all thought it might be a bad idea.

Karlsson had just racked up 101 points with the Sharks (season 22-23)… but we wondered how well he would fit into the Penguins line-up.

And without saying it was a total failure, the Karlsson – Penguins experiment was never super fruitful either.

In his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, Karlsson collected 56 and 53 points.

We would have liked to see more from him within the organization, to put it another way.

And Kyle Dubas reminded us of this in his end-of-season review:

His actions must match his ambitions. – Kyle Dubas

Dubas clearly had a lot to say in his end-of-season review.

At least, his comments got some attention… because he doesn’t necessarily sound super optimistic about the seasons ahead.

This quote speaks for itself:

You can hope with one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up first. – Kyle Dubas

Super…

It’s hard to imagine that Sidney Crosby is very happy to see these comments from his GM.

At least Dubas doesn’t look like the good times are coming to Pittsburgh. And with Sid nearing retirement…

The Penguins don’t have much choice but to rebuild right now.

Dubas can count on the services of Malkin, Letang, Crosby and Karlsson… but the Penguins finished 24th overall in the NHL standings, and this is clear proof that the current group can’t take the team to the top.

All this to say that, at the moment, things seem to be more complicated than anything else in Pittsburgh.

The team’s GM – and president – doesn’t seem convinced of what he can do to help his club, and he looks bad with his recent outburst.

It would look bad in Montreal, anyway.

Gossip

– Fair enough .

– Max Domi’s goal, but in numbers:

– It’s starting to take shape in the KHL.

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Rangers: Chris Drury’s contract extended in New York

Hey, boy.

Would you like a good one?

Despite the club’s atrocious season and despite everything that’s happened within the organization in recent months… the Rangers still decided to extend the contract of their GM, Chris Drury. Yikes.

We’re talking about a multi-year contract extension: Drury is in New York to stay.

This news comes as something of a surprise, because we all know that in New York, expectations are huge all the time.

And the Rangers (really) haven’t been able to live up to those expectations this season…

More details to come…

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Match #2: The same referee who pissed off Martin St-Louis against the Rangers in November

I loved our match. I won’t mention the referees. – Martin St-Louis

Remember this sentence? Martin St-Louis repeated it several times last November after a game against the New York Rangers.

The officials had missed several calls during the game and at the end of the game Will Cuylle tripped Joel Armia and it was obvious as ever, but the officials decided not to crack down. The Rangers scored with 20 seconds left to run away with the win…

The CH head coach was in a tizzy after the game, and that’s to be expected.

The referees aren’t perfect, but it has to be fair anyway.

And that afternoon in New York, it wasn’t.

Kelly Sutherland was one of the referees in the match in November.

That said, Renaud Lavoie talked about it this morning on BPM Sports and also tweeted: Sutherland will also be one of the officials for the second game of the CH’s series against the Capitals tonight.

Let’s hope Sutherland doesn’t have a long memory and doesn’t want to penalize the CH in part because of Martin St-Louis’ exit after the game a few months ago…

We know that refereeing is different in the playoffs, and that there are many reasons for this.

Officials tend to put away their whistles to make way for more physical play… But then again, it has to be equal on both sides.

We also know that referees are tougher on players/coaches they don’t like as much.

It’s no secret, and that’s why the CH will have to make sure it’s perfect tonight… otherwise Kelly Sutherland – who has already hurt the Habs – might have a little fun.

But no matter: the Habs can’t worry about the referees tonight.

Instead, Martin St-Louis’ men need to find a way to start the game well, which hasn’t been the case for a few weeks now. The CH can’t afford to play catch-up field hockey, especially not in the playoffs… and they need to focus on what they can control.

Because it’s boring to say, but the Habs can’t do anything about the officials’ work. It has to show up in the right way to win the game, and that’s the message that needs to be sent into the room tonight before the game.

In a gust

– He deserves votes.

– That’s a good one.

– Evander Kane is back.

– Logique.

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Lou Lamoriello in Buffalo: Elliotte Friedman says the word is out

Lou Lamoriello no longer has a job.

The Islanders decided to let him go yesterday, even though he had been with the Islanders since the 2018-2019 season.

A page is being turned on Long Island.

Some are also thinking that Lou Lamoriello’s NHL career may be over. Because, let’s not forget, he’s still 82 years old…

But not so fast.

According to Elliotte Friedman(32 Thoughts Podcast), there’s a lot of talk right now about Lamoriello… and the Sabres.

The tipster claims that the Sabres could potentially be interested in bringing him to Buffalo – perhaps in a more minimal role – and clearly, this is going to get a lot of attention in the coming days/months.

Kevyn Adams (DG) is still under contract with the Sabres.

But with the team disappointing since his arrival in Buffalo, there are rumors that he will be fired before the start of next season.

And that’s where Lou Lamoriello’s name starts to sound intriguing.

However… you’ll tell me if it’s just me, but Lamoriello and the Sabres just don ‘t seem to fit.

Unless the Sabres want to go after John Tavares this summer… Hehe.

No joke, Buffalo needs to find a way to get the club back on track. The Sabres have some good youngsters in the organization and some quality players in the dressing room, but they need to find someone who can get the team back on the ice.

And I find it hard to believe that Lamoriello – at his age – has what it takes to fulfill a mission like this.

If the Sabres want to hire him as advisor X or a specialist of some kind, that would be different.

Lamoriello could help the organization in a simpler role because he has the experience to do it and because he has a good field hockey head… but his good years as GM are already behind him.

And everyone knows it.

In bursts

– Oh yes!

– Miro Heiskanen is not ready to return to action.

– Who’s going to win it?

– Good answer.

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Arber Xhekaj: his brother Florian will get him out of Montreal

Arber Xhekaj won’t be playing tonight.

At the end of the season, Martin St-Louis chose to leave his sturdy defenseman out more often than not. He obviously didn’t like his reliability (that must be one reason for his repeated absences, anyway) and Jayden Struble was preferred to him.

The result? Right now, the Sheriff isn’t 100% ready to play when needed. He only played once in April, on the 6th against Nashville.

Of necessity, seeing Xhekaj sidelined more often than not makes it easy to wonder about his future. Does the CH still see him as part of the solution for the future?

The question arises.

Do his on-ice decisions make him an unreliable player for the CH? Does the fact that he’s become too popular (for a player of his stature) mean that the CH wants to break him? #Burgers

Remember when the CH coach made a point of saying that the Sheriff wasn’t his nickname in the dressing room…

All of which is to say that, considering all of this, it’s fair to wonder, at the very least, what the CH sees for Arber Xhekaj in the future. These are questions that we have, more than ever, the right to ask ourselves.

That’s why we’re going to ask ourselves: what makes Xhekaj indispensable?

Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is his physical game and the respect he commands on the ice. The CH guys are taller when WiFi is dressed, and opponents are calmer.

But as a defenseman, seeing him fight and get penalized doesn’t help his cause, as you know.

Of course, the CH could turn him into a forward (maybe this summer, who knows?), but that doesn’t seem to be Montreal’s priority right now with #72.

Which is whyArber could be traded if the CH has an interesting offer on the table… and the club might consider replacing him with a guy with similar qualities – and the same last name.

Florian “La Licorne” Xhekaj has scored 24 AHL goals (at age 20) this year, and likes to play hard, as evidenced by his 175 penalty minutes. At 6’4 and 195 lbs, according to Hockey DB, he can defend himself well.

Is it utopian to think that little brother could make big brother less indispensable? I don’t think it’s far-fetched. Quite the contrary, if you ask me.

If Jeff Gorton, who lost his job in New York because his Rangers were getting shuffled around too much, decides to put his foot down in terms of toughness, he could turn to Florian.

Why would he do that? Because, with so many left-handed defensemen in town in Montreal, we’re seeing less and less of Arber’s place. And the last few weeks have shown that the CH isn’t keen to do everything possible to play him in the most important moments.

The more time goes by, the fiercer the battle on the blue line will become. David Reinbacher is going to push, which will eventually cut one more spot on the club’s blue line.

It’s almost as if, listening to a member of the Habs organization, Reinbacher has a better chance of playing in the NHL playoffs than WiFi. We don’t expect Reinbacher to be recalled and we know Pascal Vincent talked about it as a formality, but you know what I mean.

The more I think about it, the more I tell myself that the guy who’s going to get Arber out of Montreal is Florian, who has a perfect profile for the fourth trio of the future. It’s probably not what he wants, we agree, but by necessity, it could happen.

Especially if, according to Chris Pronger, THE defenseman’s great quality (his toughness) can’t make the difference right now for the CH, a defenseman who loved the physical game in his day.

in a row

– Wow.

– Indeed: you have to hit.

– Ivan Demidov wants to improve.

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Rumor: Pat Brisson with Marc Bergevin to manage the Islanders

Who will be the Islanders’ GM and/or President of Hockey Operations? Everyone has an opinion on the matter.

Arthur Staple, a journalist with a lot of experience in New York, wrote a piece on the subject for The Athletic. It doesn’t mention Patrick Roy by name.

But then again, Jeff Gorton’s is. #GarsEnDemande

But the first two names in the article (Jeff Gorton is the third, for what it’s worth) are related. And we’re talking about Pat Brisson as well as Marc Bergevin, both of whom are from Quebec.

Basically, the journalist reports that in 2017, when John Tavares (Pat Brisson’s client) was a year away from autonomy, the Islanders owner tried to convince Brisson to take over the club’s field hockey operations. Brisson obviously said no, as history would have it.

Lou Lamoriello finally arrived in 2018 from Toronto… only to see Tavares leave to continue his career with the Maple Leafs.

But don’t expect the Islanders to sign Brisson to bring back Tavares this summer…

Staple reports that the Islanders owner and Brisson have stayed in touch over the years, and he wouldn’t be totally surprised to see Brisson take the job this time around.

The journalist had this to say:

Brisson might be more tempted now. – Arthur Staple

I still have my doubts as to why an agent of his caliber would want to leave job security and millions of dollars on the table to go manage… the Islanders. Not the Kings or the Golden Knights!

If he does it, it’ll really be to surpass himself as a field hockey man. After all, whatever the organization, it would be a risk.

I’m sure he’d be good (ask the Habs, Panthers or Oilers if they regret hiring Kent Hughes, Bill Zito or Jeff Jackson, Connor McDavid’s former agent), but I don’t see him making the leap. Even if it would make the Islanders more interesting.

The Staple also mentions that Marc Bergevin, a good friend of Brisson’s, is more visible than ever this year. He wonders if Bergevin could be a GM under Brisson as president.

I don’t know if I see Bergevin, who was the boss of field hockey operations in Montreal, taking on a GM position without being the main field hockey man in charge, but hey: at this point, maybe he’d say yes to being GM again.

We’ll see what happens, but I’d be surprised to see Brisson on Long Island. And that’s even if it would bring him closer to his son Brendan, a new member of the New York Rangers organization.

in a row

– Too bad.

– Of note.

– To be continued.

– Yes.

– Dean Evason to lead Canada to World Championship.

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EXCLUSIVE! Daniel Brière has a Quebecer at the top of his list to replace John Tortorella

Daniel Brière and the Flyers fired John Tortorella on March 27. We all remember because 1. It was John Tortorella and 2. The Canadiens were playing the Flyers that day.

And it lost its game to the men of Bradley Shaw, the Flyers’ interim head coach.

One month later, what’s going on with the Flyers? Daniel Brière won’t be able to sit on his hands for several months, as several coaches have also lost their jobs throughout the Bettman circuit. He’s got competition on the job market.

According to a source well-versed in Flyers affairs, Ian Laperrière is at the top of Daniel Brière’s list of potential candidates.

Laperrière is in his fourth season as head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ school club. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the Flyers for nine seasons.

And before that, he was a right-handed center in the NHL (1083 games), notably for the Philadelphia Flyers in his last regular season. He had a certain Daniel Brière as a teammate..

I’m told that the Flyers will go through a proper hiring process, but that in the end, Ian Laperrière would already have been placed ahead of the other candidates. He’d have more of a job to lose than to gain, I’m told.

Will a francophone hire another francophone to coach the Broad Street Bullies Flyers 2025-26?

Ian Laperrière and Daniel Brière have known each other for a long time.
(Credit: Getty Images)

Ian Laperrière is not on leave
Laperrière had a (relatively) good season as head coach of the Panthoms: 36-28-8 record. Tonight, he begins a two-of-three season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It’s safe to assume that he won’t be involved in any formal NHL hiring process as long as his Phantoms are alive.

It will be interesting to follow the progress of John Tortorella’s successor over the coming weeks. Ian Laperrière has a proven track record coaching a younger team in the AHL. He hasn’t skipped a step, and he’s paid his dues.

Note that Renaud Lavoie confided a few days ago that he saw Pascal Vincent as a high-quality candidate to succeed Torts. He, too, has just proved that he is good at coaching young adults. And the Flyers are likely to have to go through a reset or a rebuild..

They’re not about to win the Stanley Cup!

More exclusives
I don’t know what happened yesterday afternoon, but I don’t think Jean Trudel and I have ever been so unleashed on an episode – special or otherwise – of Stanley25.

Of course, we talked about the Canadiens vs. Capitals series, but we also talked about the upcoming contract of a Hughes belonging to the Montreal organization(lol), Sidney Crosby’s “vacation”, the expression “playing guilty” used by NHL players, Ivan Demidov’s sticks(a.k.a. Yanni Kaldis), Gaston Therrien’s future at RDS, Carbo and Vincent Damphousse’s salaries, an anecdote involving Lou “Control Freak ” Lamoriello and Mathew Barzal, and a bedtime story featuring an RDS big name.

The episode is exclusively available to our Patreon subscribers, but I’m making an exception and dropping it here for you, dear DLC readers:

Enjoy!

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Arber Xhekaj skated with the extras again this morning: don’t expect him tonight!

This morning, the Canadiens had no practice on the menu.

However, as is customary, the extra players – those who won’t be playing tonight’s game – can still jump on the ice to stretch their legs.

Jakub Dobes, Michael Pezzetta, Oliver Kapanen and Arber Xhekaj were present. This leads us to believe that, unsurprisingly, Martin St-Louis has no intention of changing his line-up for tonight’s game.

I don’t expect a change in the trio, either.

Details to come…

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Islanders GM: New York journalist suggests Jeff Gorton

Who will be named Islanders GM (or president of field hockey operations) going forward?

Obviously, a lot of names will come up. Islanders alumni and the usual suspects (including Marc Bergevin) will undoubtedly have their names bandied about.

Will Patrick Roy, whose relationship with Lou Lamoriello was probably less than perfect, be considered?

Roy, who will keep his Islanders coaching job only if the new Islanders GM (if someone else is chosen, of course) wants to keep him, had interviewed for the GM job in Montreal under Jeff Gorton in 2021-2022.

Clearly, he’s interested in the second floor.

And speaking of Gorton, a New York journalist who covers the Islanders, Andrew Gross, is obviously wondering whether Gorton could become GM of the Long Island outfit.

He sees Gorton as a choice “out of the box” and recalls his success in Boston and his experience in New York.

The Islanders could make an interesting offer: run the show as president and GM and have the chance to prove the Rangers wrong. – Andrew Gross

It’s worth remembering that the Habs didn’t want Gorton to interview in Columbus in 2024 under similar conditions. The Canadiens’ VP could be offered a position as president and GM, which would be seen as a promotion, but…

But does he really want to leave Montreal? He’s already said he doesn’t, and I think I believe him.

No, he’s not the Habs’ GM, but with Kent Hughes, he’s got both hands in the dough and a big role. They’re building something good in Montreal (the playoffs are proof of that) and I don’t think he’ll want to leave before reaping the rewards of the rebuild.

Since the CH doesn’t have a president of field hockey operations on paper (a VP and a GM), a club that would like to have Kent Hughes or Jeff Gorton could offer a position as president. But at the moment, neither the CH nor the two men seem to want to break the current formula – and with good reason.

I’d be really surprised to see Gorton go to New York. The only reason I can think of is because of his family… but there’s nothing to suggest that’s what he wants. Nothing.

In my case, we’re moving on to another call. I’d be more than surprised to see Gorton go.

in bursts

– Enjoy your reading.

– CH : no training today.

– Claude Julien turns 65.

– Of note.

– Attention all interested parties.

– Rocket news.

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Has Mathew Barzal learned French to play with the Canadiens?

The salary cap is going up this summer in the NHL. The Habs have some salary cap room and some youngsters/choices to move. The Montreal club needs a second center to surround Ivan Demidov.

That’s all well and good. And on paper, it’s true.

But if Kent Hughes wants to make a move to improve his team, he’s going to need a realistic target in a team that might be willing to trade a quality center.

Since we know that Lou Lamoriello is no longer in charge of the Islanders’ field hockey operations, let’s just say that there’s a good chance that some guys will be traded in the next few months.

After all, we suspected that the old Lou wouldn’t launch a rebuilding process. But maybe the new GM, be it Patrick Roy or someone else, could.

And that’s when you wonder if the Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson of this world could go elsewhere.

Dobson’s case is different, since the defenseman is a year away from independence. But in the case of the two center players, who are under contract until 2013 (at $9.15 M and $8.5 M per year respectively for Barzal and Horvat), it’s different.

Trading them wouldn’t be cheap, but I’m sure the change in management will mean that the next field hockey operations boss, whether he’s GM or president, will be getting calls for his top players.

It’s only natural.

Which brings us back to Kent Hughes. The Habs GM doesn’t have much choice but to call Long Island to see if one of the big players could be traded this summer.

On that subject, there’s this old tweet from Pierre LeBrun that’s resurfacing. It’s about the fact that Barzal, a BC native, speaks French.

He thinks his parents sent him to French immersion school when he was young because his father secretly hoped he’d play for the Habs one day. – Pierre LeBrun on Mathew Barzal

Of course, we know that Barzal, who can say no to 22 teams via his partial no-trade clause, will control his destiny. And if he feels going to Montreal isn’t right for him right now, he won’t go just because his father made a decision 20 years ago.

He’ll make the decision for the Mathew of 2025 – if there is one, of course.

But since the CH is on the right track, we figure this is something that can tip the scales (a little) in the CH’s favor. In any case, it can’t hurt, we agree.

Remember that Barzal has been injured this season, but that otherwise, he’s relatively often healthy.

(Credit: Hockey DB)

in a row

– Read more.

– Pascal Vincent: his time in Columbus made him a better coach. [98.5 Sports]

– Lane Hutson: still room for improvement. [TSN 690]

– He’s been historically bad.

– Things are bad in Toronto.