Author: Dose

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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!

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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.

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

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?

(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});

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!

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

Shane Wright unable to produce this season

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 09: Shane Wright #51 of the Seattle Kraken skates during the third period of a game against the Arizona Coyotes at Climate Pledge Arena on April 9, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

Remember Shane Wright? Just kidding, every Canadiens fan remembers Shane Wright, the man who was tipped to be the first pick in the 2022 draft and whom many would have liked to see the Canadiens select first instead of Juraj Slafkovsky.

However, I don’t think many people today regret the choice of Slafkovsky, because Wright has had a rather ordinary start to his career, to put it mildly.

The man who was eventually drafted fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken has just two points, one goal and one assist, on the books so far this season.

In twenty-eight career games, Wright has just nine points, including six goals. Can we start talking about a bust?

It’s still early days, but so far, these statistics shouldn’t reassure Kraken management that they’ve made the right choice. At least the forward has a positive differential, which shows that if he doesn’t put his name on the score sheet, he’s not hurting his team.

However, when you compare him to the players they preferred, you might think the Canadiens made the right selection with Slafkovsky, who has 25 goals and 68 points in 130 games.

The same goes for the New Jersey Devils with defenseman Simon Nemec (3 goals, 17 points in 69 games) and the Arizona Coyotes (now HC Utah) with Logan Cooley (22 goals, 54 points in 94 games).

(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});

It has to be said that the 2022 draft produced one of the League’s hardest vintages for teams to evaluate, not least because of the Covid-19 context that complicated the development of young players as well as their scouting .

Nevertheless, I’m sure the Kraken will be patient with Shane Wright, giving him the best possible chance to develop into an NHL impact player.

Moreover, his situation is not unlike that of Alexis Lafrenière with the New York Rangers who, after three rather modest first seasons, blossomed during the last playoffs and established himself as one of the team’s top-six forwards, already tallying ten points including five goals in eleven games this season.

In short, while it’s still early to talk about a bust in the case of Shane Wright, the Kraken must be looking forward to seeing their youngster contribute more regularly to the scoring. Only time will tell.

Overtime

– Record start for the Rocket!

– The Lions are on a mission!

– Five in a row for the Eagles!

– Victory for the Cards.

– The Crew is eliminated.

– sixth straight win!

This content was created with the help of AI.

Categories
Dans les coulisses

Leafs’ power play currently ranks last in the NHL

BOSTON, MA - MAY 04: Toronto look on after Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 4, 2024, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a rather ordinary start to the season. With thirteen points in twelve games (6-5-1), the Leafs look more like a team in the mix than a Stanley Cup contender.

One of the reasons for Toronto’s slow start is their poor performance on the powerplay, with a success rate of just 7.9%, good for last place in the League. That’s just three goals in thirty-eight chances!

As James Mirtle says, it’s hard to believe the power play is that bad this year. And since this post, that number has dropped from 8.3% to 7.9% as the Leafs were zero for four with the man advantage in a 4-2 loss to the Blues in St. Louis.

The problem is, it’s costing the Toronto outfit dearly to have a powerplay that languishes in the bottom half of the League. The Leafs’ four star forwards – Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares – cost the team over $46 million in salary, or 53.1% of the payroll.

Add in the $7.5 million salary of power-play defenseman Morgan Rielly, and that’s a lot of pussies on the ice not scoring.

The team has also offered a contract to former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty to give even more ammunition to a power play that finished seventh in the League last season with a 24% rate.

For several seasons, the Leafs’ power play has been at the heart of the team’s success, and one wonders whether the problems at the start of this season can be attributed to the arrival of new coach Craig Berube and his assistants. And if these setbacks continue, could they end up affecting the team’s overall performance?

(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});

However, if the powerplay is struggling, the Leafs are doing quite well on the disadvantage, with 83.3% efficiency for eighth place in the NHL. The team also has the fourth-best five-on-five goal output with plus-ten.

So you’d think that with a better power-play performance, the team would have a better record than thirteen points in twelve games. That still puts them third in the Atlantic Conference, but only four points ahead of the Canadiens, who currently occupy last place.

Well, the campaign is still young, and all it takes is one good night for the Leafs’ power play to unblock, but in the meantime, the team is losing more games than it should.

Overtime

– Good day for our skaters.

– Great game from Jackson and Henry!

– Bills win over section rivals.

– Burrow on fire!

– And the other NFL games.

This content was created with the help of AI.