COLUMBUS, OHIO - JANUARY 6: Kent Johnson #91 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates after the puck during the game against the Minnesota Wild at Nationwide Arena on January 6, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)
December 12 will be a “special” evening in Columbus.
The club has announced an event that will allow some to receive a gift from the organization, in addition to being able to meet Kirill Marchenko after the game on the ice.
The problem? The Blue Jackets have named the evening “Russian Heritage Night”.
Of course, this makes it easy to believe that the Jackets have really dropped the ball.
After all, we know that Russia is at war with Ukraine, that anything to do with Russia is controversial lately… And let’s just say that the timing of this announcement is far from ideal.
Check out the comments under former sports journalist Slava Malamud’s Twitter post:
Holy shit, are the @BlueJacketsNHL actually holding a freaking RUSSIAN HERITAGE NIGHT?
Are we serious? Can they be this tone deaf? Are they actually insane?
Unreal. Absolutely, entirely, inexplicably.
And nobody is asking any questions at all?@Aportzline? pic.twitter.com/HhLVcDGfJ6
It’s logical to believe that it’s a rather significant lack of judgment under the circumstances, and it’s also logical to believe that it won’t please all Blue Jackets fans.
Because in doing so… it looks like the Blue Jackets simply want to get themselves into trouble. And that’s not necessarily complicated to understand, we agree.
At least, I don’t know who thought of it on the Columbus side, but it’s a miss.
Tickets for the evening are available by clicking on the link right here… But on digging around, I realized that the Blue Jackets haven’t made any announcement yet about the evening.
It’s funny, but I have a feeling they’re better off avoiding it to avoid getting into trouble.
Finally, someone else who says it, who dares to talk about it, who deconstructs the myth, who understands that it’s not because you repeat a false idea that it becomes true!
Thank you Martin Leclerc, thank you! Hallelujah!
In fact, if you have ten fingers (or close to it), can count just a little better than the crows and go back to the 2017-2018 season – which ended with a3rd-place selection (Kotkaniemi) – you’ll see that we’re in exactly the seventh rebuilding season in the last eight!
2017-2018: The Habs trade Plekanec to the Leafs, draft 3rd, then trade Pacioretty for Suzuki in September. There’s no photo, these are all rebuilding moves.
2018-2019: The team only wants to be competitive, but surprises in season with 96 points and misses the playoffs in a cruelly competitive Eastern Association. The Habs were in the mix against all odds. The players have remained healthy and many have had the season of their career or close to it. Caufield was drafted 15th overall, a pick that many had expected to be a top-10 pick. Caufield quickly became a key part of the reset on the fly. A strange rebuilding year. A year the Habs would no doubt have liked to have had this season…
2019-2020: The Habs campaign isn’t going anywhere. It’s cracking up everywhere. With 11 games to go, Montreal has the 9th-worst record in the NHL – 24th in the standings – when the season comes to a halt in March. Now, Bettman invents a bizarre summer tournament to make a quick buck. Montreal, a big market, took part, surprising Pittsburgh before losing in the first round to Philadelphia. They drafted Guhle 16th, but would normally have entered the lottery for Lafrenière! Clearly a year of rebuilding somewhat thwarted by, let’s say , uh, Fate?
2020-2021: Last year of Bergevin’s contract, filling his club with veterans and muscle: Anderson, Perry, Toffoli, Edmundson, Chiarot and Staal. Clearly not a rebuilding season in the GM’s mind. The 56-game “COVID” season begins in January. This is the year of the “Canadian Division”. The Habs, 18th overall, once again make the playoffs through a quirk of fate and, to everyone’s surprise, make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. But what 99.8% of people have forgotten is that the Rangers and Stars, who missed the playoffs, seemed to have better clubs than the Habs this season…
(Credit: Screenshot nhl.com)
We all know the rest. Bergevin leaves. Gorton and Hughes take over. We trade a bunch of valuable players and tank, tank and tank some more.
2021-2022: Slafkovsky at the top. Trade for Dach. Mesar. Beck. Hutson at end of 2nd.
2022-2023: Reinbacher in 5th position.
2023-2024: Demidov 5th.
2024-2025: We talk about the “mix” almost like a marketing slogan, we hope with our lips, but everything points to a top-10 draft, and top-5 is really not that unlikely once again!
So, how many fingers do you see, Winston? how many rebuilding seasons have you counted in the last eight, including the current one, dear informed and attentive readers?
Yes, 7 in 8!
So, in reality, dear Winston, we’re in year 7 of 8 of the rebuild… and there may be one more before the submarine rises to the surface.
That’s a lot less marketing than “we’re in year three”!
But marketing, as in Mad Men, is exactly that: illusions, make-believe, half-truths…
A goatshow, in French.
Despite one of the most bizarre and unexpected Stanley Cup finals in history in 2021, a final that’s becoming a bit like the tree that hides the forest, the traces of thereset on the fly, Marc Bergevin’s mini-reconstruction, are still very tangible.
Many of the team’s young pillars come directly from this phase!
So where does this collective amnesia come from? Where does this collective blindness come from?
If, say, the Habs had drafted Quinn Hughes or Brady Tkachuk instead of KK, would we be so hesitant to set the start of the rebuild in the spring of 2018?
Don’t think so.
If, say, the Habs hadn’t slightly overperformed in 2018-2019, drafting him Cole Caufield at #15, would we be as hesitant to include him in the rebuild?
Think not.
Then, if, say, the Habs had drafted 8thin 2020, as they were set to do, would there be as much hesitation in setting the start of the rebuild before 2022?
I don’t think so.
In short, if we go back to the summer of 2018 with KK and Suzuki, see Caufield as a top-10 in 2019, count 2020 as another top-10 (without COVID), and then anticipate another top-10/top-5 in a few months, we’ll then be at our 7th top-10 or top-10-equivalentdraft in the last eight seasons.
Doesn’t that give us a MUCH more accurate picture of the Habs rebuild as a whole?
No shame in that, it’s NORMAL and it’s SO MUCH BETTER!
But, let’s face it, it’s a picture he shouldn’t be ashamed of, because it’s a normal process for anyone who isn’t drafting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin along the way…
Five, six years are record rebuilds, especially when they culminate in a Stanley Cup.
It takes what it takes, and SO MUCH the better if we’re in year 7 of 8 of the rebuild!
That means the plants are growing and it’s harvest time.
If we were only in year three or four, we’d still be spreading manure…
The norm for a reasonably successful rebuild is between 8 and 14 years, with no guarantee of a Stanley Cup, as we’re seeing with the Oilers, 9 years after the McDavid draft and over 13 years after the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins draft.
In other words, it often takes the first players in your rebuild to become the deans of the dressing room before you see the real fruits of your patient labor.
MONTREAL, QC - JULY 07: Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes addresses the crowd during the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft on July 07, 2022 at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)
In recent weeks, we’ve heard from a couple of informants that Kent Hughes was looking to add a player to his roster.
The Canadiens’ GM hasn’t budged… But just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean we should write it off.
Especially in light of Darren Dreger’s recent comments.
Dreger was on TSN 690 earlier this morning, and while he didn’t say there’s a deal in the works, he did link the Canadiens to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Because if the Pens disappoint, they could be looking to improve, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that Kyle Dubas has been seen a few times at the Bell Centre this season (even if he has to do his job as a leader for Team Canada).
In Montreal, there will be a surplus of forwards when Laine and Harvey-Pinard return, which could prompt Kent Hughes to make a move :
I think there’s a reason to link Montreal and Pittsburgh even if there’s nothing imminent. But the fact that the Canadiens are healthy, maybe the time to move with Pittsburgh or someone else will come soon. – Darren Dreger
Dreger went on to say that the Penguins have some interesting players… But that these players could be traded with a sweetener for a trade to take place if the players in question don’t interest Kent Hughes.
That said, Pittsburgh has holes all over the lineup.
I really wonder which Canadiens players could help the Penguins… Especially since we know that Kent Hughes isn’t going to part with a guy who can help the Canadiens right now.
(Credit: Daily Faecoff)
Here again, we have to be careful.
Darren Dreger didn’t say a trade was going to happen tomorrow: he simply brought up the idea because, on paper, it does make sense.
The Penguins(who are impossible to rebuild) want to allow Sidney Crosby to have a competitive club… And knowing that the Habs will soon have too many forwards in town, that’s where Kent Hughes could benefit.
Substitution of friend Stéphane Gonzalez alongside chum Georges (BPM Sports) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday…
Big news coverage from CF Montreal…
Meeting with my partners at DLC Média Inc, Olivier Primeau and the guys from H et L Média Wednesday evening at Place Bell…
Coaching…
Transfer of all my financial assets to Disnat…
In short, I’m not angry that it’ s already Friday.
Lysanne Richard and the d***pics
This week, Jean Trudel and I unveiled the sixth episode of Stanley25 Season 2. Season 2 has only four short weeks left…
In the first segment, we discussed alpha males, the Kirby Dach problem, Patrik Laine’s imminent return to the game, Martin St-Louis’hard-coaching and leadership, Alex Newhook’s new condo, Montreal players’ cruising methods, French among streamers, paparazzi and BlueSky.
Then, we welcomed Lysanne Richard – who is making a comeback at the age of 43 – to the set of 9millions and chatted Stanley25-style with her.
What’s it like to have the Real Madrid guys as fans?
How much does Big Brother make?
How do you see the phenomenon of transgender athletes in women’s sport?
How unpleasant is it to miss a high-flying dive? Spoiler alert: it’s REALLY unpleasant…
Why do you think : yeah, I feel it, I’ll send my gr**** bandaged to Lysanne?
What do you expect when you take a picture of your contraption and send it to a girl (whether you know her or not)?
It fascinates me (in a bad way)…
I invite you to check out this week’s podcast; there’s some really good stock.
Georges Laraque and the gift of creating incredible radio moments
I’ve only replaced Gonzo for three days, and I could put together a top 10 list of radio moments I’ve experienced… radio moments that can only happen with Big Georges at the mic.
On Tuesday, we talked to Martin Dubreuil, a Québécois actor…
On Wednesday, Syd Fowo was forced to admit that he liked white wrestlers when he was young. Probably my funniest radio moment of the week…
And yesterday, a listener called in… and told Georges that she likes to get “picked up” once in a while!
Please note that the three extracts I’m talking about start automatically when you click on play. They are placed.
Patrik Laine will always be Patrik Laine: the guy will always have a nonchalant skating stroke.
But he’ll also always be Patrik Laine for the right reasons. When he’s healthy, there are few players in the National Hockey League more talented than him.
And this morning at practice, that’s just what we saw.
Our colleague Marc-Olivier Cook, who was on site, filmed Laine practicing, once again, before the others. He also took part in regular practice – wearing a non-contact shirt.
What jumped out at him when I chatted?
He looks better than he did at yesterday’s practice. – Marc-Olivier Cook
Laine, as you can see from colleague Cook’s videos, was making tight turns before practice started. So, clearly, he’s really improved.
The turns he was making couldn’t have been done without putting weight on his knees. So he’s doing better.
Laine is testing his knee with more intense turns. Adam Nicholas is there working with him.
He’s looking good this morning, the maverick, even if he’s still wearing a non-contact jersey.
Obviously, we still don’t know when he’ll rejoin the regular lineup. We’ll have to give the Finn time, since there’s no rush and he’s not exactly ready to return.
This morning, he wasn’t on a regular line-up. Neither was Michael Pezzetta… and he must have a lot on his plate.
Trios in practice :
Slaf – Suz – Dach
Newhook – Evans – Caufield
Gallagher – Dvorak – Anderson
Heineman – Condotta – Armia
Pezz + Laine extra
So nothing changes. Looks like Pezz will have to wait his turn again… @DLCoulisses
We can expect to see this lineup against the Golden Knights tomorrow night (because yes, one day, the Habs will play again), but nothing is confirmed yet, of course.
Remember that tonight, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will play his second fitness game with the Laval Rocket.
Overtime
– Karel St-Laurent was still at Habs practice.
Another practice this morning for @stlaurent35 with the Canadiens.
Will he be the one in net Saturday against the Golden Knights? Hmm…
The Penguins are in trouble in the standings. There’s no doubt about it.
Apart from the Canadiens, no other team in the East has a worse points percentage than the Penguins. It doesn’t look good for Pittsburgh in the short term.
But who could have predicted such an outcome… except everyone?
At some point, the club will have to do what should have been done at least a year ago: launch a proper rebuilding process to rebuild a powerful team.
But that’s impossible to do over there.
For one thing, the owners don’t want it to happen right away. They seem to want to offer Sidney Crosby a competitive team as long as he’s with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He has two years left on his contract… after this season.
If Crosby doesn’t want to go, he’s not going. And reading Josh Yohe’s piece on The Athletic, it seems clear that the same thing is happening with Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin will be as free as a bird in a year and a half.
Then there’s the Kristopher Letang case. While Josh Yohe doesn’t see him as untouchable and opens the door to a trade, he doesn’t see him being traded this season.
And let’s just say that the door isn’t wide open. It’s just that it’s not locked…
The Penguins won’t easily be able to get rid of Letang’s contract ($6.1 million until 2028)… or Erik Karlsson’s ($10 million on the club’s books until 2027)… or Bryan Rust’s… or- I think we get the picture.
The club has no youth and doesn’t seem able/willing to trade its quality pieces. It’s going to take a while before the rebuilding starts, and when it does, it won’t be a retool on the fly: it’ll be painfully long.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard replaces the injured Alex Barré-Boulet on the Rocket’s 1st line this morning. Laurent Dauphin is back on the ice with Riley Kidney and Xavier Simoneau.
In the most recent episode of our podcast, we talked about individual honors, Blue Jays strategy, Anthony Rizzo’s future and Cody Bellinger rumors https://t.co/UyDK8l7tsA
The Canadiens have an excellent player on their hands in Juraj Slafkovsky. But the problem is, this season, it doesn’t always look that way.
The Slovak, who signed a big contract in recent months, is clearly putting a lot of pressure on himself. And one wonders whether he’s up to the task at the moment.
I’m convinced that one day, the answer will be yes. But right now?
It’s up to Martin St-Louis, in particular, to find solutions to help Slaf get back on track. And what’s interesting is that the two men communicate often.
I’m not surprised to learn that, given St-Louis’ renowned talents as a communicator. But still: it’s good to hear from the main man involved.
In his piece of the month on the NHL website, Slaf mentioned that he has a good relationship with his coach, who often tests and pushes him to get the best out of him.
And the young forward admits he’s not always the easiest player for his coach.
In his most recent blog post, Juraj Slafkovsky discusses his relationship with his coach
As long as it’s done respectfully, I figure it’s a good thing. After all, St-Louis himself was a player who… often challenged his coaches on many aspects.
And that’s how a club and a player can grow.
Marty gives me advice, but he also listens to my recommendations.
There’s always a dialogue. Sometimes I feel my idea is better, but I have to admit he’s right more often than I am! – Juraj Slafkovsky
The good thing is that Slaf didn’t have to talk about this in his text of the month. Once again, he didn’t have to agree with Martin St-Louis for leaving him out for a few shifts against Columbus.
If he does, it’s obviously because things are going really well with MSL.
The two men meet often, and if I were St-Louis, I’d remind him that in his first year after signing his big contract in Tampa Bay, he had a bit of a hard time.
Brad Marchand expressed how the emotion and energy from one player impacted the Bruins in their first win under interim head coach Joe Sacco. https://t.co/CGqc4GWOUX
If we look at Tankathon, we can see that if the playoffs started today and all logic was respected, Montreal would draft 4th and 22nd, a position similar to 2024.
(Credit: Tankathon )
Let’s hope the Flames hit a wall and finish 21st in the NHL (11th pick).
Extension
– More fear than harm.
The Wild held their breath following this contact directly on Kirill Kaprizov’s knee pic.twitter.com/c07Kg775cx
ELMONT, NEW YORK - APRIL 27: Martin Necas #88 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the first period against the New York Islanders in Game Four of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at UBS Arena on April 27, 2024 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
This summer, two big names attracted attention for potential trades. Patrik Laine and Martin Necas had both asked to be traded by their respective teams.
The Canadiens acquired Laine and Necas decided to sign a short-term deal with the Hurricanes. Montreal was rumored to be interested in both players.
There is so much truth in the old saying that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.
Martin Necas, anybody?
In my latest for@TheAthletic, catching up with Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky on that plus more on his team’s great start https://t.co/6FwgHc2yVt
In this text, LeBrun explained that the Jets were serious candidates in the race for Necas, except that they were far from the only ones. The Blue Jackets and Canadiens were also serious contenders in the race.
In fact, a total of 28 teams contacted the Hurricanes to try to negotiate a deal involving Necas. Only three teams didn’t budge. Crazy!
LeBrun confirmed on TSN on Thursday that Montreal was one of the most serious candidates in the battle for Necas, along with the Jets.
LeBrun on TSN says the Canes talked to 28 of the 31 other teams about Martin Necas, they got some serious trade offers as well, Winnipeg and Montreal were among them. Obviously the Canes must be pretty happy they talked through their issues.
According to LeBrun, the Jets were close to acquiring Necas, but he didn’t want to sign a long-term deal with the team, which put an end to negotiations.
The Hurricanes are very happy to have succeeded in convincing Necas to stay with them. The young forward already has 30 points this season after just 18 games!
A player with that kind of production would have driven most Montreal fans crazy.
We also have to wonder whether Laine might not have been a plan B for Kent Hughes. Necas extended his contract with Carolina at the end of July, while Montreal acquired Laine in August.
One thing is certain, however: Laine cost far less than Necas would have cost the Habs. In his piece on The Athletic, LeBrun talked about an offer from the Columbus Blue Jackets that included their fourth overall pick in the last draft.
I get the impression that Hughes preferred to keep his fifth pick to select Demidov rather than go after Necas.
Overtime
– He’s a good captain.
“He’s different.
When Nick Suzuki became the youngest captain in Habs history in 2022, he had quite a challenge ahead of him.
Two years later, although he’s not the most flamboyant on the ice, nor the most vocal in the dressing room, I consider him to be very… pic.twitter.com/xGDLB8y4fr
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 13: Toronto Maple Leafs Center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates his 69th goal of the season with his team mates during the second period of the NHL regular season game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 13, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In the last playoffs, the Maple Leafs were again eliminated in the first round. Rumors of some sort of core reshuffle raged, but the only thing that changed was the head coach.
Many were hoping for the departure of playoff-bound Mitch Marner. Others thought that William Nylander could have made an excellent return in a trade.
Few pointed the finger at Auston Matthews, except that playing without Matthews could be the solution for the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs’ captain has been out of the lineup since the November 3 game, hampered by an upper-body injury. Toronto has played seven games since his absence.
The Maple Leafs have won six of those seven games.
That’s pretty crazy, considering Toronto had won so many games in their first 13 games of the season with Matthews in the lineup.
But this is not a new trend in Toronto. Here’s the Maple Leafs’ record without Matthews versus with Matthews, since the start of his career.
(Credit: Stat Muse) (Credit: Stat Muse)
When you do the math, you realize that the Maple Leafs have a .640 win rate when he’s not playing, versus a .568 rate when he is.
That’s pretty crazy, considering we’re talking about a player who approached the 70-goal plateau last season and is almost always among the contenders for the Maurice-Richard Trophy.
The Leafs’ solution to playoff success could be to get rid of Matthews. He could also bring a huge return in a trade to help the team become more balanced.
Matthews’ absence also benefits Marner’s record. The latter has 76 points in 61 NHL games when Matthews isn’t playing.
Leafs Mitch Marner has 74 points in 60 career games without Auston Matthews in the lineup. pic.twitter.com/X2bDSBG7qc
– Datsyuk officially retires as a member of the Red Wings.
Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk unretires and signs a day NHL contract with the Detroit Red Wings! Once a Red Wing, always a Red Wing! #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/kcJey0Cwi0
.@NHLPlayerSafety has released an educational video for all stakeholders in the game (players/execs/coaches/fans/media) explaining why Whitecloud hit on Knies is not a suspension.
– Landeskog is still no closer to a return to action.
LeBrun on Insider Trading says Avs still not sure on timeline for Landeskog, still has not resumed normal hockey activities with the Avs. Original timeline was 12-16 months, we are now in the 18th month.
(@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2024
#GoRocket pic.twitter.com/EbBxe8tcA1
https://t.co/NL2WEl5S8P
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