NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 25: Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders behind the bench during the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on October 25, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images)
There seems to be a tendency to fire coaches frequently in recent years.
Based on this chart, we can understand that Derek Lalonde would also be let go this year, as would John Tortorella and Peter DeBoer at the end of the season.
As for Martin St-Louis, April 2026 would make sense, since as I’ve often said, I don’t believe MSL will be the coach who wins the Stanley Cup.
He is and was a very good head coach during the rebuild, but to get to the next level, it’s going to take another coach.
Dunno what tweaks can be made to NHL rules to punish dirty but technically legal hits, but I’d love to hear reasonable ideas that don’t take hitting out. Rule punishing all hits w/head contact won’t wash with players, who won’t accept penalizing clean hits with bad consequences.
Anything to help the Habs’ medical situation, which has been ripping them off for far too long.
On the other hand, the Habs can take solace in the Colorado Avalanche situation.
The team had to deal with the absences of Valeri Nichushkin (suspension), Gabriel Landeskog, Jonathan Drouin, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews and guys like Ross Colton (8 goals in 10 games) and Miles Wood, a very good support player.
Even the Islanders are doing more or less well, having recently confirmed that Alexander Romanov won’t be playing tonight (Sunday).
He joins a fine list of injured players including two other defensemen (Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly) and forwards Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair.
There are definitely worse injuries elsewhere in the NHL, but quality prospects like Hage and Reinbacher getting injured hurts…
Overtime
– Read more.
Habs fell to the Pens but this Call Of The Wilde for @Global_Montreal is about the rebuild.
Understand rebuild history. Understand the non-linear line it takes. Understand perfect losses without frustration is impossible.
We’re not experienced at this. https://t.co/GDB8MeViIz
In short, Matthews reacted well and didn’t hesitate to avenge his teammate.
Still, the Leafs lost 4-2 to the Blues in St. Louis.
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3. Golden Knights remain undefeated (8-0-0) at home this season
Once again this year, Vegas is one of the best teams in the NHL.
The Golden Knights are dominant, especially at home.
They’re so dominant at home that, so far, they’re undefeated at T-Mobile Arena, with all eight of their wins this season coming at home.
In fact, on their 8-3-1 record, they’re 8-0-0 at home and 0-3-1 away.
That’s a pretty impressive stat.
The Golden Knights’ 8ᵉ home win actually concluded last night in overtime, as Brett Howden played the hero against the Utah Hockey Club to give his team a 4-3 victory.
4. Canucks escape in extremis with victory over Sharks
Vancouver isn’t dominating at the start of the season, when on the contrary, it’s often harder than it should be for the Canucks.
They have a good team on paper, but the absence of Thatcher Demko in net seems to be hurting the team’s morale.
Last night, the Canucks struggled against the NHL’s worst team, the San Jose Sharks, scoring the winning goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game.
PIUS SUTER!
His second goal of the game is the game winner and was scored with just 26 seconds left in the third! pic.twitter.com/wiaqveVzDH
MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 02: Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates his goal with Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (22) during the Florida Panthers versus the Montreal Canadiens game on April 02, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Last night, after their 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Canadiens’ players were supposed to head straight back to Montreal that evening.
However, this was not the case.
A problem/accident with the team’s plane forced the players to sleep in Pittsburgh.
According to Renaud Lavoie, a tanker truck crashed into one of the wings of the Habs’ plane, cancelling the Habs’ flight that evening.
As a result, the Habs players had to spend the night in Pittsburgh rather than Montreal.
It’s important to note that the same kind of event occurred last year in Pittsburgh too, when it was a bus that crashed into the Canadiens’ plane.
In short, not only did the Habs lose last night, but the players had to sleep in Pittsburgh and wait until the next day to return to the Québécois metropolis.
The Habs play their next game on Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre, starting at 7 p.m., when the Calgary Flames come to town.
We don’t know what the Canadiens really think of him. Does the club love him? Does the club want to break him? Does the club want him to improve his game on the ice?
Can any of this be true?
What we do know, however, is that when the Habs have to let a defenseman go, he’s the one on the hook. Martin St-Louis left him out on several occasions recently… and he only played when the club had fewer than six healthy defensemen.
So, under the circumstances, it’s natural to wonder about his future in town. Are the Canadiens thinking of trading him? Does the club want to build around him?
According to Darren Dreger, who spoke to TSN 690 this morning, the Canadiens don’t want to part with Xhekaj, who can be part of the future if he continues to play to his strengths.
I asked @DarrenDreger today about Xhekaj and if he thinks he’s part of the Habs future. Here’s what he said on the Xhekaj question:
“If Kent Hughes ever decided to put Arber Xhekaj on the trade block, there’d be double-digit teams interested in Arber Xhekaj.”
He also added that if the club were to place the Sheriff on the market, at least a dozen teams would be interested in getting their hands on his services from Montreal.
Is anyone surprised? No. After all, we know that Xhekaj has good market value.
But what the story doesn’t tell is the price at which he could be traded. After all, I have no doubt that several teams would call to inquire about his availability.
But would it be at a price that would move the Canadiens forward?
I don’t think that the sacrosanct first choice that we once “could have” for his services has really been on the table. And I don’t think it will be in November 2024 either.
I don’t see the Habs getting the piece they want for WiFi. I see him staying for now… but to be continued.
Overtime
– Caution.
They’re the favorites to win the World Series in 2025.
Let’s just say that when Christian Dvorak was the only Habs scorer, it says a lot about the kind of game Martin St-Louis’ team played.
The Habs didn’t play their worst game, and still managed to generate some good chances, especially in the third period, but in the end, the players lacked opportunism.
Of course, credit must be given to Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who did very well in a game where he saw the opposition shoot at the net more often than his team (26 to 24 for the Habs).
In short, one might say that it was an uneventful game/loss for the Habs.
However, the referees’ performance made the game degenerate.
Several infractions by the Penguins, more specifically by forward Noel Acciari, were not penalized by the referees, creating a lot of animosity in the game and a lot of frustration on the part of the Habs players.
The Penguins forward made a number of dirty hits on the Habs players, including the one on Juraj Slafkovsky’s head late in the game that got the most attention.
Clearly a dirty hit, it broke the Habs’ momentum, especially as it went unpunished and Slaf retreated to the dressing room.
The Habs had plenty of life in the third period, but Acciari’s hit cut the Habs’ momentum.
So it’s only natural that Acciari’s hit was the one that broke the camel’s back, forcing the Habs players to react after the clock had run out, to avoid receiving a penalty as the club looked to tie the game.
As soon as the game ended, Arber Xhekaj attempted a knee-on-knee hit on Acciari, creating total chaos on the ice, as all players on the ice were involved in a free-for-all, with Xhekaj and Struble the main players on the Habs side.
FIGHT IN THE FINAL SECONDS IN PITTSBURGH
Arber Xhekaj tried to go knee-to-knee, chaos ensued, and Ryan Graves put a HURTING on Jayden Struble pic.twitter.com/tr9WXzXuMY
Anyway, the point is that, in the end, if the referees had done their job instead of letting Noel Acciari do whatever he wanted without consequence, it wouldn’t have come to this.
Kevin Bieksa himself said that Acciari had it coming and deserved it, and that in the end, the Habs had to react and give Acciari his due.
#HNIC‘s Kevin Bieksa on #Habs Arber Xhekaj going after Noel Acciari: “it’s an eye for an eye; you hit our guy with a dirty hit, I’m trying to get you with a clean hit and yeah, ideally he doesn’t throw a knee but I don’t think he’s too apologetic about that”
In short, the referees did a pitiful job yesterday, and today, Arber Xhekaj is being insulted and denigrated on social networks, when in the end, he only did his job by avenging Acciari’s dirty moves.
It’s a shame, but more and more, it seems that no matter what Xhekaj does, he’ll be punished and seen as the ONLY bad guy.
If you missed it, the PWHL will again play at the Bell Centre in Montreal this season as the Montreal Victoire will host the Boston Fleet on March 1: https://t.co/8vopk9AT2G
After last season’s football season, the NFL saw a great end his career.
Jason Kelce, one of the best centers in history, hung up his boots after 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only has the league lost one of its finest players, but also an exceptional human being, an ambassador for the game.
In the last few hours, Jason went ballistic. A “fan” called his brother Travis a fag***. The fan deserved what he got: his phone was smashed by Jason.
Every angle of Jason Kelce smashing a fans phone for calling his brother Travis Kelce a faggot for dating Taylor Swift pic.twitter.com/Ndb2zMiTwq
This supporter richly deserved it, and whether he’s an athlete or not, you don’t treat someone like that.
Ever since he publicly dated Taylor Swift, the Kansas City Chiefs’ close winger has seemed an unloved soul. Yet the only “mistake” he’s made is playing with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, the unloved ones of American football.
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Otherwise, Travis is a guy so close to his community, and like his big brother, he’s an exceptional human being. The Kelces have been very well brought up. They’re good football players and even have a podcast together, one of the most popular podcasts in the world.
It’s called New Heights, and it’s certainly a podcast not to be missed.
Coming back to Jason’s gesture, I don’t think he’s to blame. All the supporter had to do was shut up and keep his homophobic comments to himself.
It’s 2024, dude… C’mon …
Overtime
– Watch Elliotte Friedman’s interview with Juraj Slafkovsky.
Let’s just say that, with the injury to Alex Barré-Boulet, Roy has earned himself the first recall in Montreal. I’d much rather have him play with the Habs than Christian Dvorak, but unfortunately I don’t make the decisions.
If he dominates with the club-school, why not leave him there, though?
Maybe that’s why; Sylvain Vincent’s team is in first place in the North Division with an 8-1-0 record. And in the AHL, only the Calgary Wranglers (9-1-0) have a better record.
In the absence of Jakub Dobes, Connor Hughes was on duty, and for the second time in 24 hours, he stopped the Providence Bruins. This time, he stopped 27 of 30 shots.
The Canadiens had another tough night last night in Washington. The season is not even a month old, and already the Montrealers have had five thaws since the start of the season:
6 to 3 vs Penguins 4 to 1 vs Kings 7 to 2 vs Rangers 8 to 2 vs Kraken 6 to 2 vs Capitals
This was the team’s first thaw on the road, the other four having (unfortunately) been suffered in front of Montreal fans at the Bell Centre.
Apart from the play of Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, nothing is going right for the Canadiens.
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson are giving it their all…
He gives what he can give, Gally.(Credit: Getty Images)
But for the rest, it’s zero, as Julie Masse sang.
The Habs have the second-worst cumulative differential in the NHL(minus-15). Differential means nothing individually when the sample is small, but collectively, over a sequence of more than 10 games, it’s very revealing.
The Canadiens aren’t just losing games: they’re constantly getting washed out. It’s not necessarily the fact that the team has won only four of its 11 games that worries me this morning, it’s the fact that it’s downgraded far too often.
1. Montreal’s goaltenders (and defense) are giving up the most goals per game on average so far this season in the Bettman circuit: 4.18. And the forwards don’t even score three per game…
2. The Canadiens have been dominated in shots on goal in nine of their 11 games, often by almost twice as many.
3. In five-on-five situations, the Canadiens are struggling. Only the Ducks have a worse Corsi than the Habs in the entire NHL.
4. The Canadiens are on track for a 67-point season, which would put them in the NHL’s bottom 5 for the fourth year in a row. This would put the Habs in 28th place for the third straight season (after finishing 32nd and last).
5. Christian Dvorak, who made yet another mistake that no quality NHLer can afford to make last night, should be waived and sent to Laval.
6. Arber Xhekaj, Joel Armia, Alex Newhook…
I could go on like this until tomorrow, but I have professional (and personal) obligations.
Expectations
Before the start of the season, I said repeatedly – and got crap for it – that I didn’t believe in the Habs ‘ chances of making the playoffs. I watched the playoffs last spring and the Canadiens were light years away from being able to play that style of hockey.
And it couldn’t be said that the team we saw during the preparatory schedule was any better than last year’s: Dach, Kapanen, Hutson and Heinamen IN, Kovacevic, Allen, Monahan, Pearson and Ylonenv OUT…
In short, I’m not surprised (at all) by the Canadiens’ successive defeats. Although the way we’re taking a lot of these losses is worse than I expected, but hey…
Except that something has changed with the Habs. Martin St-Louis saying he doesn’t want to listen to criticism from people he wouldn’t ask for advice… Juraj Slafkovsky claiming he doesn’t have a solution/explanation, adding to journalists that they’ll probably find it when they write their articles… Cole Caufield implying to Guillaume Lefrançois that the latter can’t really talk about the consequences of shoulder surgery, because he’s never had shoulder surgery…
Clearly, the media and fans have higher expectations this season… and so does the club!
A year after refusing to utter the “P” word , management, coaching staff and players talked in September about at worst being in the mix, and at best making them, the damned playoffs.
Nobody expected the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup this year (or next), but pretty much everyone expected to see progress, however small. Management’s message wasn’t the same this year.
But right now, we’re not seeing any. And we should still see some, even if Patrik Laine is out of action…
Defensively, in our zone, it’s even worse than last year. And the year before that too…
The problem, in my opinion, is that the organization set the bar too high (too fast) when it talked about a mix last September. The club is still rebuilding and there are still holes everywhere. There are plenty of youngsters to learn, especially at the back, and a number of high-paid veterans are no longer doing anything up front. Thinking we’d make the playoffs with this group was a dream come true.
And believe me, there were plenty of dreams among Montreal fans. If you knew how many people bet on “yes, the Canadiens will make the playoffs” at Mise-o-jeu…
Kent Hughes set the bar too high.(Credit: Getty Images)
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton set the bar too high before the start of the campaign with their mix. And the fans, fed up with spending flat evenings in front of their TV sets, or even worse, spending a fortune on one-way games at the Bell Centre, drank the Kool-Aid. It’s normal, sport is emotional/irrational… and they hope for the best for their team.
Except that in sport (as in life), it’s important to set goals that are achievable, but still relatively difficult to reach. If you reach them too easily, you’ll demote yourself. Same thing if you never reach them! That’s what high-level coaches are taught in training courses…
P.R. or poor assessment?
Some people claim that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton talked about mixes because, at PR level, not doing so would have been a disaster. So they lied or misrepresented the truth in front of the cameras…
Instead, I think the Canadiens’ management believed their team was a little further along than it actually is.
Otherwise, why lie? Every thaw puts a huge (and new) layer of disappointment/pressure on chum Martin behind the bench. Trying to avoid 24-48 hours of disappointment in September, only to have your fan base experience it for six months, isn’t exactly P.R. excellence!
I think so too.
I don’t think Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton said they wanted to be in the mix for PR reasons, thinking “no, we’re going to be in the cellar again, but we have to pretend.”
I think they saw themselves going from 32, to 27-28, to 20-24. #TheirMix
In short, we’re all unfortunately in the same spot as last year: we all want to turn off our TVs before the Habs games are over.
At least youngsters like Slafkovsky, Caufield, Suzuki, Hutson and Guhle are making progress. Lucky them…
What’s next?
Since a number of Habs executives told Pierre LeBrun, Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli that the Canadiens were looking for reinforcements on the blue line (right-handed defenseman), up front (sturdy forward) and in front of the net (experienced goaltender), I agree that no, Habs management isn’t satisfied with their team’s start to the season. They were hoping for better. Which confirms, in my opinion, that it wasn’t just a P.R. move to talk about being in the mix…
There’s a storm brewing around the Canadiens right now, and we’d all like it to stop. The Habs first!
I’m pretty sure Martin St-Louis and his bosses didn’t see their team throwing up all over themselves when they made projections in September.
Since we can’t lower expectations once they’ve been clearly established, Hughes and Gorton will have to find reinforcements, elsewhere or in Laval…
Martin St-Louis will have to adjust his defensive system and start hard coaching. We’re going to have to get rid of the veterans who’ve run out of steam. Otherwise, the culture instilled in the youngsters won’t be the right one…
And the guys are going to have to start playing in a more structured way. And with more conviction and determination…
Because right now, the Canadiens are like the ti-gars who are aiming for 60% on their report card, but got 30% and 40% on their first try. He’s going to have to start studying and stop foxing when it’s sunny in the afternoon (and he has math, French, science or English classes)…
https://t.co/EXwzAPsXtO pic.twitter.com/Vftnu1n8lD
@BellevilleSens
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: RDS2 
