Author: Dose

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The time Chantal Machabée stood up to a Habs player in the locker room

Thank god! Society has changed a lot since the ’80s. No, I’m not starting my text by alluding to Québécois municipal politics or Donald Trump (I’ve just come from a weekend in the States for son).

30 or 40 years ago, there was still a culture of intimidation/initiation AND male privilege in professional sports. Especially in hockey..

In the old days, female sports journalists were rare, and before Chantal Machabée, they didn’t have access to the Canadiens’ locker room after games.

What’s more, anyone involved in or around a professional men’s hockey team like the Canadiens had to go through a certain initiation rite before earning the respect of others. You had to earn respect the hard way, let’s put it that way.

How did Chantal Machabée earn the respect of Canadiens players when she started covering the team on a daily basis? By standing up to Shayne Corson (nude) in the team locker room.

Chantal, now the Canadiens’ VP hockey communications, told this story on Saturday on the Télé-Québec program Pour une fois. She was the show’s main guest this weekend, interviewed by Élizabeth Rancourt, Steve Bégin, Sébastien Delorme and Maïka Desnoyers.

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The full episode is available HERE.

Anyway, Chantal Machabée was in the Habs locker room at the Montreal Forum chatting with Guy Carbonneau and Shayne Corson was walking around Chantal naked, throwing hockey tap balls at her as she laughed.

Chantal finished her interview as if nothing had happened, then looked Shayne Corson in the eye from head to toe – while he was naked, remember – and simply said: “You don’t impress me

All the players on the team laughed, and Shayne Corson went to give her a high-five. It ended there, she had just earned Corson’s respect.

A few years later, she went to eat at Corson’s restaurant… and he offered her the meal on his arm.

Note that Chantal never confirmed that this was Shayne Corson on the Télé-Québec set – describing him only as #27 – but I’ve heard this anecdote with Corson’s name. And Corson, who wore #27, once had a restaurant on Bishop..

As I said at the outset: thank God society has changed since the ’80s.

overtime

– Three games this week.

– Habs will practice at 10:30 today.

– Read more.

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Pavel Zacha would accept a deal in Montreal

Is the Canadiens a perfect team? No. It’s off to a good start, but nothing’s perfect.

With such a hole in the middle (with all due respect to the work of players like Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook, who are off to a good start), we don’t know if it can last.

In the long term, it’s important.

That’s why Kent Hughes, who wasn’t able to get big reinforcements at center this summer as he would have liked, is still on the case.

And quite rightly so.

Among the names that have been circulating and will inevitably continue to do so is that of Pavel Zacha. The Bruins player could well be leaving Boston soon.

And Nicolas Cloutier, who spoke to TVA Sports on the subject, provided some details.

What he’s saying is that he’s not sure the Bruins will trade Zacha, whom David Pastrnak likes. But if that happens, Montreal is clearly a possibility.

Why? Because the Habs need help at center, because Kent Hughes is his former agent… and because the player wouldn’t say no to such a deal.

Trusted NHL sources assure us that Montreal is not on the list of teams to which Zacha would refuse to be traded, quite the contrary. – Nicolas Cloutier

Quite the contrary? Hmm…

At $4.75 million a year until 2027, when he becomes a free agent, the 28-year-old would fit into the Habs’ plan. And next summer, the Czech could be in line for a contract extension.

Zacha has 12 points in 14 games this season, including two goals. He’s 6’4 and shoots from the left.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the Bruins would want to send Zacha to Montreal. If several offers are on the table, sending him somewhere other than a big rival might make more sense in the event of a transaction.

But we’ll have to wait and see, because despite the Habs’ interest and the fact that Zacha wouldn’t say no to the Habs, there’s nothing to say that this will become a serious matter.

Stay tuned.

overtime

– Amazing.

– Well done.

– Read more.

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Simon “Snake” Boisvert targets Conor Geekie for the Habs

Simon Boisvert has come up with yet another target to get Canadiens fans talking. In the most recent episode of the Mathias and the Snake podcast , “The Snake” threw out an intriguing name: Conor Geekie, a young Tampa Bay Lightning player he believes deserves a serious look from Kent Hughes.

Simon Boisvert isn’t pulling this out of thin air. Geekie, a big 6’4″ center drafted 11th overall by the Coyotes in 2022, was traded to Tampa Bay in the trade that sent Mikhail Sergachev to Utah. Since then, he’s struggled to carve out a real place in the lineup of a veteran-filled team like the Lightning.

“The Snake” sees a familiar scenario: a young offensive talent stuck in an organization where playing time is scarce. Exactly the kind of gamble the Canadiens like to take since the arrival of Kent Hughes.

“The guy’s got offensive talent, but right now, he’s stuck in Tampa. It’s not because he’s not playing well… but rather than giving him eight, nine minutes a game, we’re sending him to the AHL.” – Simon “Snake” Boisvert

The picture is clear: Conor Geekie has the talent, but he doesn’t have the space. In a market like Tampa, where the Lightning are still aiming for top honours, individual development often takes second place to immediate performance. The result: a 20-year-old first-round pick who sees his progress slow down simply for lack of opportunity.

In Montreal, it would be a different story. The Canadiens have proven, with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, that they know how to spot youngsters in need of a fresh start. The organization isn’t afraid to bank on potential, especially when it comes to players with interesting size and an offensive center profile.

And Geekie ticks a number of boxes. Tall, intelligent and capable of scoring, he’s exactly the type of player the Habs are looking to add to their core. Simon Boisvert would even trade a late first-round pick or a second-round pick and a prospect to acquire him. And when talking about prospects, Boisvert mentioned Owen Beck.

This kind of addition would fit in perfectly with Kent Hughes’ strategy of betting on youth, but on youngsters who are already a little more advanced. Players who still have everything to prove, but who already possess a solid base to integrate quickly into Martin St-Louis’ structure.

Tampa won’t be in a hurry to sell him, but the situation is worth keeping an eye on. With a tightly managed payroll, a limited pool of prospects and an aging core, the Bolts will sooner or later have to make some tough choices.

overtime

– Matthew Scheafer is the top scorer among defensemen.

– The Hurricanes have recalled goalie Pyotr Kochetkov and defenseman Domenick Fensore.

– Jonathan Huberdeau scores his second goal of the game against the Flyers.

– Beckett Sennecke scores his fourth goal of the season in fine fashion.

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Samuel Montembeault is still one of the NHL’s worst goaltenders

The Canadiens may have won 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night against the Senators, but let’s just say it wasn’t Samuel Montembeault who saved the day. His outing yesterday was unconvincing, and MoneyPuck’s numbers back up what many fans saw with their own eyes.

According to the specialized site, Montembeault currently ranks second among the NHL’s worst goaltenders in Goals Saved Above Expected, a statistic that measures how many goals a goaltender prevents (or allows) based on the quality of shots. As a result, he has let in 7.6 more goals than expected so far this season. Only Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators does worse. Not ideal for a guy who’s supposed to be establishing himself as a number one in Montreal.

Here’s the chart in question.

And yesterday was another perfect summary of his start to the season: good saves here and there, but also some worrying sequences. On Ottawa’s first goal, the Québécois goalie went the wrong way, sliding to his left while the puck stayed on his right. The result was an open cage and a headache-inducing goal. It’s not an unstoppable shot, it’s a reading error, pure and simple.

This kind of sequence, when it happens once, you quickly move on. But when it’s repeated week after week, it starts to cause a stir. And in Montreal, we know how quickly patience runs out with a doubtful goalkeeper.

The rest of his game wasn’t disastrous, but he never seemed in complete control either. Dangerous puck returns, a little hesitation in his movements, and that little lack of confidence we’ve noticed since the start of the season. Fortunately, the forwards were up to the task again, otherwise we’d be talking about an entirely different result today.

Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes continues to impress. The young Czech, who has shared the net with Montembeault since the start of the season, is showing consistency and composure in goal, as he is still unbeaten. He doesn’t work miracles, but he doesn’t give away a lot of free goals. And that, for a coach, is worth its weight in gold.

In short, Montembeault needed to take advantage of the start of the season to establish his number-one status. Right now, he’s mostly giving Dobes a chance to steal the job. And in Montreal, when the net starts slipping out of your hands, it doesn’t come back easily.

overtime

– Charles Coste dies aged 101.

– Jean-Gabriel Pageau avenges his teammate with a hard-hitting check.

– The Lightning win their fifth in a row against the Utah Mammoth.

– Matthew Scheafer scores his fourth goal of the season.

– The Islanders score two goals late in the third period to escape with the win, having trailed by one goal.

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Top-5: Two late goals in 29 seconds give Islanders victory

Last night, there were five games on the bill.

Here are the results and highlights of those five games:

1. Two goals in 29 seconds give Islanders victory

In New York, the Blue Jackets were in town.

Columbus led for much of the game, but late on, it all came crashing down. The Jackets allowed two goals in 29 seconds, and not only did the home team win, but the visitors didn’t collect a single point.

Matthew Schaefer was sensational once again, scoring two goals.

He leads the NHL in goals for rookie defensemen with five.

And among all rookie players, all positions combined, he’s first in points (tied with Ivan Demidov) with 10.

(Credit: NHL.com)

What a comeback by the Islanders.

Elvis Merzlikins couldn’t believe his eyes.

2. Sam Dickinson scores his first NHL goal

The Wings were in San Jose yesterday to take on the young Sharks, who put on a good show.

Late in the game, young defenseman Sam Dickinson picked a good time to score his first NHL goal.

The goal sent the game into overtime.

Overtime decided nothing in the end, so the shootout was necessary.

James van Riemsdyk scored the shootout winner.

Cam Talbot then closed the door.

3. Fifth straight Lightning victory

The Lightning started the season very poorly.

But lately, it’s coming back. Yesterday, they faced the Mammoth and won 4-2. It was the fifth straight win for Jon Cooper’s team.

Utah had scored the first goal of the game.

But, at 2-2, Jake Guentzel scored the winning goal.

Nice move at the mouth.

In addition to the goal, the American picked up an assist.

On the losing side, Ian Cole played a part in both his team’s goals (two assists).

4. Cutter Gauthier continues to shine

The mighty Devils took on the young Ducks yesterday.

Cutter Gauthier took charge with a goal and an assist in a 4-1 victory. He now has 12 points in 10 games.

Since the start of the season, he’s been very impressive and is probably the best player on his team.

Another young player dominating in Anaheim is Beckett Sennecke. He also finished the game with a goal and an assist.

Anaheim reminds me a lot of the Habs.

It’s the young guys who are dragging the team along. Here, you can see Jackson LaCombe’s magnificent pass.

Despite the defeat, Jack Hughes found the back of the net.

His 10th of the season.

5. Finally a Flyers win

Things are really bad in Calgary. After winning their first game of the season, the club has lost 11 of the next 12.

Yesterday, in Philadelphia, they held on for a 2-1 win.

A third win for the Flames. Jonathan Huberdeau opened the scoring.

The Québécois didn’t stop there, however.

He also scored his club’s second goal.

Travis Konecny closed the gap late in the third period, but it was too little too late.

Dustin Wolf did well in front of the visitors’ net, stopping 17 of 18 shots.

Overtime

– Yamamoto week, indeed.

– Six players collected two points or more yesterday.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Four NHL games on tap tonight.

(Credit: Google)
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Simon “Snake” Boisvert targets Conor Geekie for the Habs

Simon Boisvert has come up with yet another target to get Canadiens fans talking. In the most recent episode of the Mathias and the Snake podcast , “The Snake” threw out an intriguing name: Conor Geekie, a young Tampa Bay Lightning player he believes deserves a serious look from Kent Hughes.

Simon Boisvert isn’t pulling this out of thin air. Geekie, a big 6’4″ center drafted 11th overall by the Coyotes in 2022, was traded to Tampa Bay in the trade that sent Mikhail Sergachev to Utah. Since then, he’s struggled to carve out a real place in the lineup of a veteran-filled team like the Lightning.

“The Snake” sees a familiar scenario: a young offensive talent stuck in an organization where playing time is scarce. Exactly the kind of gamble the Canadiens like to take since the arrival of Kent Hughes.

“The guy’s got offensive talent, but right now, he’s stuck in Tampa. It’s not because he’s not playing well… but rather than giving him eight, nine minutes a game, we’re sending him to the AHL.” – Simon “Snake” Boisvert

The picture is clear: Conor Geekie has the talent, but he doesn’t have the space. In a market like Tampa, where the Lightning are still aiming for top honours, individual development often takes second place to immediate performance. The result: a 20-year-old first-round pick who sees his progress slow down simply for lack of opportunity.

In Montreal, it would be a different story. The Canadiens have proven, with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, that they know how to spot youngsters in need of a fresh start. The organization isn’t afraid to bank on potential, especially when it comes to players with interesting size and an offensive center profile.

And Geekie ticks a number of boxes. Tall, intelligent and capable of scoring, he’s exactly the type of player the Habs are looking to add to their core. Simon Boisvert would even trade a late first-round pick or a second-round pick and a prospect to acquire him. And when he talks about prospects, he mentions Owen Beck.

This kind of addition would fit in perfectly with Kent Hughes’ strategy of betting on youth, but on youngsters who are already a little more advanced. Players who still have everything to prove, but who already possess a solid base to integrate quickly into Martin St-Louis’ structure.

Tampa won’t be in a hurry to sell him, but the situation is worth keeping an eye on. With tight payroll management, a limited pool of prospects and an aging core, the Bolts will sooner or later have to make some tough choices.

overtime

– Matthew Scheafer is the top scorer among defensemen.

– The Hurricanes have recalled goalie Pyotr Kochetkov and defenseman Domenick Fensore.

– Jonathan Huberdeau scores his second goal of the game against the Flyers.

– Beckett Sennecke scores his fourth goal of the season in fine fashion.

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Samuel Montembeault is still one of the NHL’s worst goaltenders

The Canadiens may have won 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night against the Senators, but let’s just say it wasn’t Samuel Montembeault who saved the day. His outing yesterday was unconvincing, and MoneyPuck’s numbers back up what many fans saw with their own eyes.

According to the specialized site, Montembeault currently ranks second among the NHL’s worst goaltenders in Goals Saved Above Expected, a statistic that measures how many goals a goaltender prevents (or allows) based on the quality of shots. As a result, he has let in 7.6 more goals than expected so far this season. Only Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators does worse. Not ideal for a guy who’s supposed to be establishing himself as a number one in Montreal.

Here’s the chart in question.

And yesterday was another perfect summary of his start to the season: good saves here and there, but also some worrying sequences. On Ottawa’s first goal, the Québécois goalie went the wrong way, sliding to his left while the puck stayed on his right. The result was an open cage and a headache-inducing goal. It’s not an unstoppable shot, it’s a reading error, pure and simple.

This kind of sequence, when it happens once, you quickly move on. But when it’s repeated week after week, it starts to create a buzz. And in Montreal, we know how quickly patience runs out with a doubtful goalkeeper.

The rest of his game wasn’t disastrous, but he never seemed in complete control either. Dangerous puck returns, a little hesitation in his movements, and that little lack of confidence we’ve noticed since the start of the season. Fortunately, the forwards were up to the task again, otherwise we’d be talking about an entirely different result today.

Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes continues to impress. The young Czech, who has shared the net with Montembeault since the start of the season, is showing consistency and composure in goal, as he is still unbeaten. He doesn’t work miracles, but he doesn’t give away a lot of free goals. And that, for a coach, is worth its weight in gold.

In short, Montembeault needed to take advantage of the start of the season to establish his number-one status. Right now, he’s mostly giving Dobes a chance to steal the job. And in Montreal, when the net starts slipping out of your hands, it doesn’t come back easily.

overtime

– Charles Coste dies aged 101.

– Jean-Gabriel Pageau avenges his teammate with a hard-hitting check.

– The Lightning win their fifth in a row against the Utah mammoth.

– Matthew Scheafer scores his fourth goal of the season.

– The Islanders score two goals late in the third period to escape with the win, having trailed by one goal.

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Steven Stamkos linked to the Canadiens

It’s no secret that the Canadiens would love to acquire a second center to complement and support Ivan Demidov.

Could Steven Stamkos fill that role in Montreal?

Jeff Marek, on the Sekeres & Price podcast, discussing the rumor that the forward is headed to Vancouver, believes that the Habs might also be interested in acquiring him as a replacement for Patrik Laine.

This was the second time in just three days that Stamkos’ name came up in discussions for a center, while Marco D’Amico also raised the possibility on The Starr & D’Amico Show podcast.

It might be a nice publicity stunt to bring a veteran like Stamkos to Montreal, but I’d be really surprised if the organization made that move.

The problem is that the veteran has been a shadow of his former self since arriving in Nashville and, at 35, you really have to wonder if his best years are behind him.

After a sub-par season in which Stamkos scored 53 points, including 27 goals, plus a minus-36 rating, the forward has just one goal, one assist and a minus-6 rating in thirteen games so far this year.

The main thing we’d replace Laine with Stamkos is his problems on the ice.

Not to mention that the former Lightning star still has three years left on his deal, worth an average of $8 million a year. Even if the Predators agreed to pay 50% of his salary, it’s too long and too expensive a contract for a player in decline.

It’s not a gamble worth taking, as I don’t think the veteran can regain his former form at 35, and his acquisition is likely to be a problem for the organization to manage.

And that’s even if Nashville asks for very little in return for Stamkos.

What’s more, I’d be really surprised to see Kent Hughes do this deal. Acquiring a declining veteran of uncertain performance with a very bad contract is the antithesis of everything we’ve seen from the general manager since his arrival in Montreal.

In Overtime

– Lions defeat.

– The Canes are one to watch.

– He’s on fire!

– Ouch!

– MLB in a nutshell.

– He’s really dominant.

– What a kick!

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Trading David Reinbacher is not a good idea (according to Marco D’Amico)

We’ve known it for a while, but the Canadiens are looking for a second center to back up (and follow) Ivan Demidov.

So far, Oliver Kapanen has had this responsibility, and while he’s off to an interesting start this season with seven points, including four goals, in twelve games, it’s not yet clear whether this combination can work in the long term and in the playoffs.

However, if the Habs want to acquire a center, they must also give something in return, and the name of a prospect who often comes up as a trade chip is David Reinbacher.

However, Marco D’Amico doesn’t think trading the young defenseman right now is a good idea.

Firstly, because its value isn’t great right now. According to him, that would be ” sell low “.

But more importantly, D’Amico would only trade Reinbacher for an established, long-term #2 center like Mason McTavish.

It makes sense when you consider the Habs’ prospect’s incredible potential. You don’t want to see him dominate the NHL for the next ten years in return for a rental player.

On the other hand, for a player like Sidney Crosby, who’s under contract for the next two seasons, is sacrificing Reinbacher worth it?

We’re not talking about a long-term option, but one that could put us in the category of contender for top honors as early as this season.

Especially since, if the Habs sign Mike Matheson for 3 or 4 years, the team’s top-4 for the next few years will be in place, and the club could have trouble making room for Reinbacher on the blue line in the short to medium term.

With that in mind, Montreal might as well maximize his value as let him stagnate in the organization.

This is a problem the Canadiens may increasingly face with their prospects over the next few years.

However, it’s also questionable whether Montreal really needs a second center in the long term, when Michael Hage could be joining the club in a year or two.

Above all, I think that in Reinbacher’s case, there’s no hurry and he should be given time to play. His value is likely to rise quickly, and the Habs will have a better idea of what to do with this prospect.

And let’s hope he stays injury-free for a long time to come.

Overtime

– An option for the Habs?

– Listen now.

– The Jays’ priority

– A situation he knows well.

– Three undefeated teams.

– What a catch!

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Top-5: CH prospects in the news

The Canadiens have a nice bank of prospects. Everyone knows it.

Sometimes, I get the impression that there are so many talented youngsters in the organization that some are overlooked.

So I’ve decided to put together a list of five Habs prospects who have been somewhat overlooked since the start of the season. And we have to start with Florian Xhekaj, who made such a splash at the Montreal practice camp.

1. Florian Xhekaj

La Licorne hasn’t had a great start to the season.

Xhekaj has a bigger role on the offensive end (he plays on the Rocket’s powerplay), but seems to be struggling to find his rhythm. The brother of the other has just one goal in his first 10 games of the campaign, and it’s worth remembering that in 24-25, he scored 24 in his first pro season.

Is this just a bad patch? Let’s hope so, because we all want to see him succeed…

At least he hasn’t lost his fire:

2. Hayden Paupanekis

Hayden Paupanekis may be the Habs’ most intriguing prospect.

At 6’5 and 205 pounds, he impresses with the fluidity of his skating stroke, and we would have loved to have seen him in action at the Canadiens’ practice camp a few weeks ago.

The center was unable to attend because he was battling mononucleosis.

That said, things have been going relatively well for him since the start of the WHL campaign. Paupanekis scored four points in his first six games of the season, but we know he’s best known for his defensive play too.

Seeing him produce at 18 in the WHL is still good news. And if he can add even more offense to his game, he’s going to be one of the really important prospects in Montreal because of his size.

3. L.J. Mooney

When we saw L.J. Mooney dominate the development camp this summer in Brossard, we all said the same thing.

Has the Canadiens just found Cole Caufield or Lane Hutson 2.0?

We know that his small size scared some clubs at the draft. And we know that this is a recurring “problem” for players as tall as 5’7, as is the case with Mooney.

But we also know that talent comes out of both ears…

Mooney is in his first NCAA season with the University of Minnesota and he’s been quieter lately. The diminutive forward has five points (two goals) in ten games so far, and while he’s able to stand out on the ice, it doesn’t always convert into a goal or an assist.

It’s worth mentioning one thing, though: things aren’t going great for his club either. The team has been struggling to score goals since the start of the season, and that’s understandable when you consider that Mooney is his team’s third-highest scorer with five points.

I have a feeling he’ll get his act together. And let’s not forget that not all youngsters dominate the NCAA at 18…

4. Bryce Pickford

I LOVED Bryce Pickford’s performance at the Habs rookie camp in early September. He’s mobile, he’s got great vision for a defenseman and he’s got a really good shot.

The proof?

In 14 WHL games this season, Pickford scored no less than seven goals (!). He has 13 points in 14 games and is one of the top defensemen in the league in his 19th year.

The youngster has some interesting qualities. And he’s clearly putting those qualities to good use in Medicine Hat, where he’s his team’s third-highest scorer – even though he’s not a forward.

5: Aatos Koivu

Canadiens fans know him well.

You know, when your father’s name is Saku and he’s worn the “C” on his jersey for so many years in Montreal… Hehe.

No joke, Aatos’ second season is going much better than his first in Finland. In 24-25, he scored one goal in 31 games (and added seven assists)… and he already has six points in 18 games so far this season.

Would we like to see more? The answer’s definitely yes.

But let’s not discount the fact that he’s only 19 and it can take time for a youngster to acclimatize to the professional level.

He’s showing great flashes and that’s what’s interesting at the moment. Games like this… it’s worth sharing :

Alexander Zharovsky, Michael Hage, Jacob Fowler, David Reinbacher, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy… these guys often get a lot of attention when we talk about the Habs’ top prospects.

But I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what’s going on with some of the organization’s other youngsters. Because they’re talented too.

Overtime

– Nice line-up.

– Beautiful.

– The result is sickening.