Author: Dose

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St. Vincent in Laval, St. Louis in Montreal: it makes management look bad

Pascal Vincent is much more qualified than Martin St-Louis.

The Canadiens had started the season well: two wins in three games against your three biggest rivals.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse: seven losses in nine games.

And it’s worse than worse right now, as the Habs have lost their last three games by a cumulative score of 17-6.

Only the Sharks have a worse record than the Canadiens so far this season in the NHL. And they’re only one point behind the Montrealers…

The Habs don’t score enough goals… they score too many… they give unacceptable performances in front of their fans… their leaders, veterans and head coach are constantly challenged…

It’s obvious to me that Geoff Molson, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and the players set expectations a little too high before the season started. How on earth could anyone have thought that the team we’ve been seeing on the ice for the past month could fight for a playoff spot?

The Habs are once again a bottom 5 – or even bottom 3 – club that is more involved in a lottery race than a playoff race. It’s been that way for the last three or four years. Nothing changes.

No, the Canadiens haven’t progressed in the last year; they’ve actually regressed…

The problem – or the joy, call it what you will – is that just a few miles north, in Laval, the opposite is true. The Rocket sits atop the North Division with an 8-1-0 record. Only the Calgary Wranglers have a better record than Laval (9-1-0).

While the Canadiens are losing, the Rocket are winning. The Habs’ training club has won its last seven games. The Rocket is off to the best start in its history, no less!

All this despite injuries to David Reinbacher, Alex Barré-Boulet, Filip Mesar and Jakub Dobes, among others!

Please don’t tell me that the habs are doing so well this fall because of injuries. The Rocket is managing to get by despite several key players being sidelined.

Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux (who was out for several games due to a recall with the big club), Connor Hughes, Owen Beck, Luke Tuch… many players have stepped up in Laval.

But why?

How to explain this?

I think a (large) part of the answer lies behind each team’s bench.

It’s often said that the NHL is not a development league, but a results league. Yet the Canadiens’ coach is a developmental coach whose coaching experience prior to arriving in Montreal consisted of coaching pee-wees and advising John Tortorella as a power play consultant for a year.

In Laval, one level below, they put in place a 53-year-old guy (only four years older than St-Louis) whose track record is already VERY long.

(Credit: HockeyDB)

Think about it: Martin St-Louis is currently making his mistakes as a rookie NHL coach. He’s learning the job, with no real mentor by his side…

Whereas below him, there’s an ultra-prepared coach who knows how to coach and who, both collectively and individually, knows how to bring out the best in his players. The coach below is far more qualified and experienced than the coach above him…

While there’s crying, panic and/or attitude in the Bell Centre dressing room, there’s laughter, fun and performance in the Place Bell dressing room.

Still, it’s special that the coach who’s supposed to be coaching to develop and not necessarily to win, is winning…

Whereas the first-team coach doesn’t win… and seems to be making his players regress! If this continues, it’s going to get embarrassing…

Pascal Vincent is much more qualified than Martin St-Louis.
(Credit: Getty Images)

Yes, the Habs are rebuilding, and no, we shouldn’t expect them to win 70% of their games, but there are limits. When you watch the Rocket games, you see that the coach is able to teach and demand clear, concrete concepts from his players (who apply them). When you watch the Canadiens, you always wonder how they manage to be so disorganized on the ice.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will have to ask themselves one thing: what works in Laval that could be brought to Montreal?

In the short term, we can’t bring Pascal Vincent.

But we can bring Joshua Roy, Alex Barré-Boulet (once he’s healed), Jakub Dobes (once he’s recovered), Logan Mailloux (and coach him well), Luke Tuch or who knows which player dominates down below.

And frankly, why not ask Pascal Vincent to mentor Martin St-Louis?

No, it doesn’t make sense to ask the AHL coach to mentor the NHL coach; it should be the other way around.

But it doesn’t make sense to have St-Louis in Montreal and Vincent in Laval. The fact that Martin St-Louis had a great NHL career doesn’t justify everything…

At this point…

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4 habs defensemen on the ice 90 minutes before practice

Right now, there are four defensemen who seem assured of playing every night for the Canadiens. We’re talking about David Savard, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson.

That leaves Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron in a two-position rotation.

Well, the three defensemen in question decided to jump on the ice no less than 90 minutes before the start of the Canadiens’ regular practice in Brossard. That’s what Eric Engels reported.

Although Struble hasn’t really skipped a beat since his return to uniform, he knows he can jump any time.

Arber Xhekaj has often been left out over the past two weeks, and Justin Barron didn’t play in Saturday’s game. Both men are not indispensable at the moment.

Remember that Xhekaj and Struble can go to the AHL without going through the waivers. They know that internal competition is important and that a Logan Mailloux can be recalled at any time.

And let’s also mention that Lane Hutson got the message (even if he’s playing well), as within minutes of seeing his three young teammates jump on the ice, he chose to join them.

Adam Nicholas was there, too.

We’ll see if this translates into concrete results on the ice, but it’s clear that the four players who skated an hour and a half before the others know they have something to be ashamed of when it comes to the Habs’ biggest problem: defensive coverage.

Overtime

– Who else?

– Third line again for Ivan Demidov.

– For those who want to support Michael Pezzetta. #Movember

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This season, it’s Juraj Slafkovsky who gets his McDonald’s ad

For several years now, Canadiens players have been teaming up with McDonald’s to do commercials. This year, it’s Juraj Slafkovsky’s turn.

Instead of a burger, this year it’s poutine. As long as Slaf doesn’t eat too much of it before his games, the Canadiens should be okay, I guess.

Slaf and Simon-Olivier Fecteau collaborated on the concept of “En audition avec Simon”, which became “En audition avec McDo”, to present the smoked BBQ poutine with chicken.

Simon-Olivier Fecteau, seen in his director’s chair in the McDo ad, is at the heart of the concept with his ideas for greatness in advertising with McDo.

What you need to know is that the ad is divided into several parts. The video above is the final result.

Basically, we see Fecteau auditioning Slaf to see if he’d be the best man to play the role of Juraj Slafkovsky in the ad. And Slaf tells him, in French, that he’s Juraj Slafkovsky.

But despite everything, Fecteau is skeptical. And one of his sentences was still funny.

Je le sais-tu, moi, who’s the best actor for the part. Claude Legault gave me a great Juraj in the morning. – Simon-Olivier Fecteau to his sidekick Étienne de Passillé

In the following ads, the director asks Slaf to raise his poutine as if it were the Stanley Cup, to throw himself through a flaming hoop for the sake of the ad, and to set himself on fire for added drama.

And throughout the ads, the Slovak always speaks in French (except when he’s talking to his agent on the phone to complain), tossing in short phrases. It’s a nice touch.

Last year, Cole Caufield was there with Claude Legault. There was also a Québécois touch, since the burger at the heart of the ad was maple-based.

Over the years, the likes of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Marc Bergevin, Brendan Gallagher, Tyler Toffoli and Shea Weber, to name but a few, have done ads with McDo.

Overtime

– Where is the club going?

– A Golden Glove for Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays. [MLB Passion]

– Normal.

– Wow.

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Angela Price criticized for voting for Trump

Tomorrow is an important day in the United States. After all, Americans will have an important choice to make: Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

Obviously, you know as well as I do that this is a divisive issue.

Angela, Carey Price’s wife who has never shied away from her ideas, recently confessed publicly that she has chosen to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

And as TVA Sports reports, via a text by Jessica Lapinski, she’s received plenty of criticism for it. In particular, she was suggested to go to hell as a result of her comments.

What you need to know is that publicly posting your political choices always leads to comments like this. And I’m not saying it’s acceptable, obviously, but it’s the norm.

Angela, a social network specialist, must have known this before she answered a question on the subject.

That didn’t stop her from saying that, in her opinion, Kamala Harris doesn’t have what it takes to become the first female president in history. And that’s probably where she came in for some criticism.

On the other hand, she believes Donald Trump is a “strong leader” for the country.

Overtime

– The Athletic in the green recently.

– Connor McDavid in practice. [RDS]

– The NHL is not an easy league.

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Lane Hutson is already making history among rookie defenders

Lane Hutson has been turning a lot of heads in the NHL since the start of the season. He’s becoming more and more a part of the opponent’s game plan, and Tom Wilson’s post-whistle push yesterday was perfect proof of that.

The spectacular plays he makes in transition and in the offensive zone don’t go unnoticed by the regular and advanced stats.

As Grant McCagg reports, he’s on track for 52 mentions this season. No rookie other than Matthew Barzal has reached 50 assists in the last 16 years.

The way he’s playing, he could very well reach the plateau.

Hutson also ranks high in Habs history for most assists by a defenseman in his first 13 career games.

It’s pretty spectacular and you have to consider that Hutson doesn’t even play on the first wave of the powerplay.

It’s incredible when you open the social networks and some analysts put the emphasis on his missed games and some of his defensive deficiencies. The worst part is that when you look at the games, he’s not the worst defensive player on the team, far from it.

There are a few things to clarify. Lane Hutson is 20 years old and averages over 20 minutes a game. He’s going to make mistakes, and that’s perfectly normal.

He looks like he belongs in the NHL and doesn’t let himself be intimidated. Imagine him in 2-3 years when he’s even more mature on the ice.

What’s more, it’s been a long time since the Habs have had a skilled defenseman like Lane Hutson. He’s a unique talent, and we mustn’t limit him too much.

The Habs must learn to live with their mistakes, because what they bring to the table is already extraordinary.

Overtime

– A real man’s fight.

– They keep finding a way to win.

– Nice pass!

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Elliotte Friedman: Kent Hughes in a danger zone

The Canadiens are off to a very poor start to the season. The 9 points collected so far don’t reflect the team’s weak defensive zone and inability to right the ship when things go wrong.

In recent weeks, we’ve heard that the Habs are interested in a sturdy defenseman and forward, but the market is tough right now.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Habs are in a danger zone where they don’t want to make the mistake of trading a young player too quickly.

What’s more, in his opinion, Montreal isn’t an attractive destination right now to settle down and play in for the long term. At least not yet.

Friedman mentioned this information in his podcast 32 thoughts.

In his opinion, the fact that taxes are high and the team isn’t good enough yet won’t help Kent Hughes in the short term.

Friedman believes, however, that the general manager has gone about it the right way with high draft picks, and that Montreal could eventually become a destination of choice.

Still, even when the Habs are at the top of their game, it won’t be as easy to attract free agents as the Rangers did.

The tax system doesn’t help, but neither does the pressure of Montreal.

As for transactions, Kent Hughes needs to be patient, especially with young players. He’s accumulated a number of them over the last few drafts, but needs to make sure he keeps the good ones, especially if it’s for trades of rental or near-rental players.

Overtime

– A great acquisition.

– What a blossoming!

– It should be quite a game.

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Alex Formenton sues his former agent for more than $20 million

Alex Formenton is one of five members of Hockey Canada’s 2018 World Junior Team who have been charged with sexual assault.

All five players are still awaiting trial.

But Formenton is in the news for another reason today: the former Ottawa Senators is suing his former agent for more than $20 million for negligence, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Formenton claims that his former agent, Wade Arnott (Newport Sports Management), gave him bad advice when the Sens made him a qualifying offer on July 5, 2022, which had to be accepted by July 15.

He claims that he was not represented according to “professional standards” and that he was misinformed about the procedure for signing a new contract.

Formenton was therefore unable to sign a new contract… and was therefore unable to play in the National League in the 2022-2023 season.

The result?

In Formenton’s eyes, Wade Arnott is responsible for a significant loss of revenue between 2022 and 2024… As well as a loss of future revenue.

He would have liked to be better protected:

Alex Formenton now works in construction. He resigned to a $125,000 deal with Swiss club Ambri-Piotta, but ended his association with the club last January.

That said, the story of the lawsuit will continue to be the talk of the town, not least because of Formenton’s reputation.

Not surprisingly, Wade Arnott declined to comment on the lawsuit.

It remains to be seen how the case will conclude.

Overtime

– Shohei Ohtani has fun.

– Yikes.

– Good idea.

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Tortorella “benched” Michkov to send him a message

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Matvei Michkov has managed to make new friends quickly in Philly.

With nine points in his first ten games in a Flyers uniform, he’s living up to the (high) expectations placed on him.

But Michkov – like every other player his age – isn’t perfect… And his coach sent him a message last night.

The Flyers were facing the Blues, and in the first period, Torts decided to “bencher” his player to call him to order.

The Flyers’ head coach wasn’t satisfied with Michkov’s 5-on-5 performance, and that’s why he made this decision.

Because if Michkov continues to play sluggishly, there will be other consequences:

Where I’m going to have to teach, and I’m not going to tell you everything, but if we keep seeing the same mistakes, he’s going to miss out on playing time. I’ve been very honest with him about that. – John Tortorella

TVA Sports also reported:

For a young player, you have to understand one thing: when you’re on the ice, your mandate is to give it your all.

That said, we know that Michkov has a bad habit of dragging his feet sometimes on the ice… And to make sure it doesn’t happen again, Torts decided to take action.

And he did the right thing.

Matvei Michkov is a very talented player, and everyone knows it.

But just because he’s got talent coming out of both ears doesn’t mean he shouldn’t do things the right way.

That’s part of the adaptation process for a player making his National League debut.

Overtime

– Congratulations!

– That’s exactly it.

– He’s come a long way.

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Should Slafkovsky already be better than Caufield and Suzuki?

Among all the talk about the Habs so far this season, not much is being said about Juraj Slafkovsky.

Stats-wise, he has six points in seven games, which isn’t bad. However, he only has one goal and his level of involvement in the offensive zone is nowhere near what it was at the end of last season.

But is this a reason to draw conclusions? According to Simon “Snake” Boisvert, the answer is yes.

He appeared on Tony Marinaro’s podcast “The Sick Podcast” to discuss the Habs’ season.

“I thought it was going to be Suzuki and Caufield this year. We’ll talk about it later this year” – Simon Boisvert

He added that his draft was weak and that the season was long after that, but it’s the fact that he’s already talking about it that gets me.

We’re talking about a first overall pick in a less-than-stellar draft who’s still learning.

He’s a great player, and it’s often slower in terms of progression for this type of player. Slafkovsky is showing encouraging signs and is putting points on the scoreboard.

In his case, you have to be patient, unlike many veterans who simply aren’t up to the task right now.

It’s just a matter of time. And when it does, it will be hard to stop, just as it was at the end of the season last year.

A young player’s progression is far from linear, and dips are normal. Don’t panic, especially after 11 games.

Overtime

– One might ask.

– Wow!

– The Rocket has its share of injuries.

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The Canadiens are one of the worst teams in terms of goals scored

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 26: Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans (71) plays the puck during the St. Louis Blues versus the Montreal Canadiens game on October 26, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Canadiens have now lost three straight games, scoring seventeen goals in the process. That’s far too many! Especially when the team only scores six goals in reply.

With fifty goals already conceded in just 12 games, the Habs occupy second-to-last place in the NHL, ahead only of the Colorado Avalanche, tied with the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, who have both played one game more.

Although the image doesn’t show the right number of goals, the Canadiens are thirty-first in the League. That goes a long way to explaining the club’s lacklustre start to the season.

The team has particularly struggled in five-on-five with a minus-fourteen differential for twenty-ninth place across the NHL. This is a regression for the organization, which finished last season with a respectable minus six for twentieth place.

Arpon Apsu of The Athletic questions the Canadiens’ objectives, seeing no progress so far this year.

It’s all the more frustrating given that the special units are working better this year (although the disadvantage is ripping some off recently).

How can we explain this regression? We can point to the lack of experience of our defensive brigade for our setbacks in this area, but shouldn’t it be getting better?

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Could the hybrid defensive system that the Canadiens’ coach, Martin St-Louis, is trying to implement with the team be too complicated for a young defense? That’s what Brian Wilde of Global News thinks in his article published this morning.

Playing a hybrid system means constantly switching between a zone defense and a man-to-man defense depending on the situation, requiring a level of communication and maturity that seems to be lacking from the Canadiens so far.

It often seems that the players think too much on defense and react to the play rather than anticipate it. This would explain the Canadiens’ annoying habit of giving away a second goal quickly after conceding one.

Perhaps it’s time for St-Louis to implement a simpler defensive system better suited to a defensive brigade. The Habs should apply the good old KISS method: Keep it simple, stupid, because sometimes it’s better to keep it simple…

In Overtime

– Wild win in overtime.

– Ovy scores in fourth straight game.

– Gold glove for Varsho.

– Nice mark for Ehlers.

– Pick six!

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