Author: Dose

Categories
Uncategorized

“Noah Dobson is gone, but Tony DeAngelo will be able to replace his production.”

Much has been said about the Noah Dobson deal from the perspective of the Canadiens. After all, the club picked up a top-notch player who fills a need, but more importantly, a player who wanted to be in Montreal.

There’s no doubt that the Habs have improved as a result of this trade.

The case of the Islanders, however, is not as clear-cut. The club managed to get good value for a guy who wanted to leave, and in the long term, they’re hoping Matthew Schaefer can make Dobson forget.

In the short term, however, the Islanders are a lot worse. Emil Heineman will bring depth to the forwards, but defensively, Dobson’s absence will be felt.

We don’t know exactly what the Isles ‘ plan is to replace Dobson… but a sentence from the NHL Trade Rumors site in a piece on teams that could surprise in 2025-26 has enough to startle:

Noah Dobson is gone, but Tony DeAngelo will be able to replace his production by playing on the first wave of the powerplay.

If we look purely at the offensive side of things, it’s not completely absurd. We know that DeAngelo is an excellent offensive defenseman, who collected 19 points in 35 games with the Islanders last year.

The problem, however, is that replacing a player is about more than just points. DeAngelo, as good offensively as he is, is truly dreadful in his own zone… and putting him in the chair Dobson occupied last year is a recipe for disaster.

Dobson isn’t perfect defensively either, but he’s still much better than DeAngelo.

At $1.75 million a year, DeAngelo could be a useful player for the Islanders without costing too much. That said, if the Islanders really think they can put DeAngelo in Dobson’s chair and not notice a difference, good luck.

Overtime

– He’ll have to start his season in October rather than February this time.

– This isn’t the first time Grant McCagg has mentioned it.

– The next few days will be crucial.

Categories
Uncategorized

5-on-5 primary passing: Cole Caufield is among the NHL’s elite

Cole Caufield is one of the best goal scorers the Habs have had in a very long time. The Habs’ diminutive forward has a flair for the net, scoring 37 goals in 2024-25.

He finished the campaign tied for 13th in the NHL for most goals.

But what was particularly impressive about Caufield this year was how dominant he was at 5-on-5. In fact, if you look at all NHL players last year, only 12 scored more points than Caufield in this phase of the game.

(Credit: Screenshot/Evolving-Hockey)

It’s not all that surprising when you consider that he was among the league’s elite in terms of 5-on-5 goals scored… but if he’s so high up in the rankings, it’s because he’s also distinguished himself in terms of assists.

And when you look at the numbers, you come to just that: in 2024-25, at 5-on-5, only 21 players amassed more primary assists than Caufield across the NHL.

For a goal-scorer who some didn’t see being able to succeed at 5-on-5, that’s really, really impressive.

(Credit: Screenshot/Twitter)

Caufield’s 17 primary assists puts him in first place with the Habs, even ahead of Nick Suzuki. The captain still has 16, which is far from bad (he ranks 29th in the NHL), but it’s less than Caufield.

What all this shows is that Caufield has really succeeded in becoming a much more complete player without losing his identity. The line he forms with Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovský is dominant on the ice, and it’s all due (in part, at least) to the fact that Caufield has found a way to contribute in so many ways.

And all without losing his scoring touch.

Martin St-Louis deserves credit for motivating Caufield to find ways to help his team win games. And today, we have to admit that it’s all paying off for the Habs.

Because no, Caufield isn’t just a 5-on-5 scorer (as was once the case): he’s one of the NHL’s best forwards, period.

Overtime

– Speaking of Caufield. He’ll want to try and carve out a place for himself in that group.

– What do you think?

– Can’t wait to see what the club’s plan is.

Categories
Uncategorized

Young stars : NHL Europe puts Alex Newhook in the Habs top-3

Alex Newhook has just completed his second season with the Canadiens. After an interesting 15 goals and 34 points in 55 games in his first year, Newhook regressed in 2024-25, obtaining only 15 goals and 26 points in 82 games.

It was an odd year for Newhook, who took a long time to collect a single assist. But for a guy the Habs were hoping to take to the next level, he was a bit of a disappointment.

In the eyes of many, then, Newhook is no longer necessarily seen as a big part of the team’s core. He still has a place in Montreal (I expect to see him step up to the power play), but probably not on a top-6 team.

So it’s quite surprising to see that according to NHL Europe, which spotlighted three young stars from each team, Newhook is one of the Habs’ three young stars, along with Juraj Slafkovský and Lane Hutson.

Yes, Alex Newhook is placed with those two guys.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NHL Europe (@nhleurope)

Remember that Cole Caufield was born 26 days before Newhook… and Ivan Demidov is almost five years younger. These two guys would have been much more deserving of their place, we agree.

In 2025-26, Newhook will complete the third year of a four-year contract that pays him $2.9 million a year. Sooner or later, the forward will have to prove that he can be part of the long-term solution in Montreal, even if it means playing something other than a purely offensive forward.

If he becomes a player in the mold of a Paul Byron, for example, he’ll be useful to the Habs. Maybe not in the way the Habs had originally hoped, but useful nonetheless.

But while Montreal sees Newhook as a guy who may have to reinvent himself to be part of the Habs’ long-term core, NHL Europe sees him as one of the Habs’ three young stars.

Nothing less.

Overtime

– That’s right.

– News from the Tour de France.

– Interesting news.

Categories
Uncategorized

Top 15 CH prospects: positions 15 to 13

After theusual introductions, including definitions, departures, graduates and honorable mentions, this week sees the start of the “real” 2025 Top 15 of the Habs’ most important prospects!

So, starting today, we should be seeing players who could one day become replacements equal to or better than certain elements already in place in Montreal.

Isn’t that the very meaning of an important prospect for an organization?

15. Bryce Pickford | DD | 19 years old | 81st, 2025 | First ranking

Potential: 29/40
Insurance: 15.5/20
Utility/rarity/use value: 21/30
Trade value: 6/10
Total: 71.5/100

Potential
All in all, Pickford is a fairly complete, mobile defender who can play well in both directions of the rink, as well as providing a good dose of sturdiness.

After playing in the shadows of Kevin Korchinski, Jeremy Hanzel, Sawyer Mynio and Luke Prokop in his first two seasons in Seattle, Pickford went the way of Medicine Hat, who aspired to top honors last year.

He went on to score 47 points in 48 regular-season games and a very impressive 13 goals in 18 playoff games as part of a powerful team led by young prodigy Gavin McKenna.

During the playoffs and the Memorial Cup, Pickford was noted for his major-league wrist shot and efficient puck movement. We also saw his hands at the Habs’ last development camp…

It will be interesting to see what impact McKenna’s departure (NCAA, $700,000!) will have on his production at Medicine Hat, when he’ll suddenly be playing for a much weaker club.

But he could also be traded again to an aspiring club, this time as a veteran who will already be 20 next spring..

Insurance and value for the organization

There’s been a lot of movement on the right side of defence in recent months, and the selection of Bryce Pickford in the middle of the third round of the last draft is in line with the “depth” the organization is looking for at this position.

The Logan Mailloux trade, which took place a few days after Pickford’s arrival, further confirmed his importance. So there’s a certain path to the NHL for him if everything falls into place when the time comes.

In addition to a considerable level of talent and a certain assurance with regard to his development, due in part to his age (19), the main reason why we place Pickford ahead of guys like Kapanen, Thorpe, Farrell, Roy and company is simply because, as a right-handed defenseman, his profile is rarer and more useful to the organization.

And with all due respect to Bogdan Konyushkov, Pickford can already be considered the4th most important right-handed defender in the organization, after Dobson, Reinbacher and Carrier.

Finally, the Edmonton native may not have Logan Mailloux’s size or athleticism, but considering Dobson’s arrival, he’s a perfectly adequate “replacement” for the former first-round pick in the team’s bank of prospects. He should report to the Rocket next spring after his final season in the WHL.

Ultimately, we can look forward to a reliable third-pair defenseman capable of fulfilling a variety of missions as needed.

Here’s a player with character and a team player who could one day be called upon to replace Alexandre Carrier in the same kinds of missions.

And with the Mailloux trade and the very surprising (in a good way!) return obtained by the Habs (Bolduc), we have no choice but to recognize the considerable value of a young right-handed defenseman with interesting potential…

We like the gamble the Habs took with Pickford.

14.Owen Beck | C | 21 years old | 33rd, 2022
Potential: 30/40
Insurance: 15.5/20
Utility/rarity/use value: 20.5/30
Trade value: 6/10
Total: 72/100

Beck has already been in this ranking for a while.

From the same generation as Slafkovsky, Mesar, Hutson and Engstrom, Beck is a bit like the group’s metronome. He’s a serious little man, in his element, one day at a time, one thing at a time, a little train that goes a long way, and for whom everything comes to he who waits.

Etc.

But that doesn’t make Beck a completely “beige” player.

His vision and creativity may not be his greatest strengths, but the Ontarian skates with drive and determination. He wins face-offs, hits opponents hard, has a great wrist shot, records his share of points and is alert defensively.

Although we would have liked to see more from him during his 12 games in Montreal and in the Laval playoffs last spring, we did get to see his qualities and efficiency in the regular season, where he scored 44 points in 64 games with the Rocket, while maintaining a +10 differential.

In short, eventually you should have in Beck a reliable, versatile fourth-line center or bottom-six player who could inherit a key shorthanded role.

Beck is close to the NHL. All he needs is a little experience.

All in all, I think his overall impact should be slightly greater than Oliver Kapanen’s, and he would be my choice between the two in the medium to long term.

But, in similar roles, with Jake Evans ahead of him and Kapanen slightly older, the Canadiens have the luxury of macerating Beck a little longer in Laval if they wish.

However, as with Kapanen, Beck is no longer a rare player in the line-up as a right-handed or depth center, so the Habs also have the option of trading him without a problem.

In short, we have to give him high marks for his arrival in the pros, and he certainly didn’t go unnoticed by professional scouts last season on the catwalks of AHL and NHL arenas…

13. Florian Xhekaj | C/AG | 21 years old | 101st, 2023
Potential: 31/40
Insurance: 14.5/20
Utility/rarity/use value: 21.5/30
Trade value: 6.5/10
Total: 73.5/100

Here’s a much rarer bird in 13th place.

The “little brother of the other” had a surprising first season in the pros and made many eyes wide open with his scoring touch.

It’s not every 20-year-old who has a 24-goal season in the AHL, without even touching the ice on the powerplay…

But we have to be careful with our assessment of Xhekaj’s talent. His success percentage on his shots was abnormally high at over 25% (!!!) and he may have had a bit of “beginner’s luck”.

That said, if we disregard the goals and go back to his overall profile, we understand even better the meaning of the “Unicorn” nickname Nick Bobrov gave him when he was selected in 2023.

The Canadiens don’t really count on another player with this profile: a big, left-handed forward with offensive skills, who can play center, is fast enough, mean to the end of his fist, and also has a good feel for the game in both directions of the rink.

Xhekaj outplayed a lot of people in Laval last year, and many have high prospects for him in the upcoming camp, not least because he can provide the kind of shoulder kick that was sorely lacking in the playoffs against Washington…

For his part, the main interested party promised himself, among other things, a big summer of practice where he wants to put on more muscle mass..

We’ll see as time goes on, but I for one remain cautious and moderate in his case in this month of July.

Xhekaj doesn’t have to make the big club in October for his career to be a success. There would be nothing wrong with giving him more experience and developing him further in Laval, whatever Logan Mailloux thinks…

That said, during his end-of-season review, Kent Hughes, himself, referred to the fact that he’s looking for robust players of his profile and wants to keep doors open for some youngsters. We can deduce from this that Xhekaj will probably be given a very long audition at the next camp, provided he performs adequately.

Yes, even though Joe Veleno has just been offered a one-year contract as a left-handed depth center…

Conclusion
Still, it’s a pretty solid start to the countdown to the 15-13 positions with these three up-and-coming support players, two of whom, Xhekaj and Beck, could play a number of games in Montreal as early as next season.

We remember the not-so-distant past when this top 15 was a “top 12” in which it was hard to find this kind of profile at the beginning of the countdown..

And let’s not forget that we’ve included Oliver Kapanen – who’s likely to have a full-time job in Montreal in the fall – as well as such fine “projects” as Tyler Thorpe and the two goalies Radkov and Volokhin, in the ” honorable mentions “.

And there’s always Roy and Farrell, who could rise from the ashes and surprise us..

Needless to say, there’s plenty of talent in the Habs’ bank of prospects.

We’ll be back next week with positions 12 to 10.

Let’s start talking about quality…

Categories
Uncategorized

Brendan Gallagher on a stable line: the ideal way for him to perform

Martin St-Louis will have the very important task of forming the best possible trios with all the elements at his disposal for next season.

The head coach of the Montreal Canadiens will have several possible combinations on hand, and he’ll have to find the best options to make all his players shine.

The task is already looking pretty tough for the 2025-2026 season, and things could change between now and the first game of the season, which takes place on Wednesday, October 8 against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

Practice camp may well help St-Louis in his decisions, but the fact remains that he already has several elements to consider strongly at the moment.

On defense, it’s going to be a nice puzzle with all the possible defensive pairings, and on forward, there will also be a wide variety of possible combinations.

Because after the first line-up of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, it’s going to be harder to form trios.

And St-Louis will have to find good combinations quickly, if he doesn’t want to hamper his players’ performances by constantly changing his trios.

This could be even more detrimental to a guy like Brendan Gallagher.

Indeed, as Stu Cowan explains in the latest episode of The Sick Podcast, the Habs’ #11 will need stability to perform and produce like he did last season.

What greatly benefited Gallagher last season was that he had mostly the same linemates for most of the season.

Gally completed a solid veteran line with Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson.

Now that Dvorak has left for Philadelphia via the free agent market, Stu Cowan mentions Jake Evans as an ideal replacement.

And when you think about it, that would be perfect for Gallagher and Anderson, as it would form a solid, stable third or fourth line capable of giving the Canadiens good minutes.

The Habs would then have a stable first line and a stable fourth line as well, while the others could be combined in different ways on the other two lines.

Ultimately, the most important thing to note is that Gallagher, to be most effective, needs to be on a stable line with linemates who don’t move around too much.

Gally himself mentioned that it was easier for him this way a few years ago.

And we all remember the legendary efficiency of the Gallagher – Danault – Tatar line, which was one of the NHL’s best five-on-five for a long time.

In short, Martin St-Louis will have to take this into consideration if Gallagher is to be as effective as possible, as he was last year, with his 21 goals and 38 points in 82 games.

Even if the CH veteran slows down, he’s still capable of doing the Habs proud, if placed in the right chair.

Overtime

– Ivan Demidov in 2026?

– Indeed.

– Montreal CF in action at home tonight.

– To be followed closely.

– Bravo!

Categories
Uncategorized

Errors in French: Senators disrespect French fans (again)

The Montreal Canadiens is the only team in the entire National Hockey League to make its social networking announcements in French, before doing so in English.

French always predominates over English, which is totally normal.

Then, in the rest of the NHL, it’s only the Ottawa Senators who also use French, and then only sometimes.

The problem is that when they do use French, they’re seriously unprofessional, as we saw again this morning.

In announcing the new two-part contract for Québécois forward Xavier Bourgault on Twitter/X, the Senators really took pity on their French.

They wanted to make a nice gesture by also posting the announcement in French, given that Bourgault is Québécois, but in the end, they once again showed a lack of respect for French-speaking fans.

The announcement read as follows

(Credit: Screenshot Twitter/X)

I’ve put it here as a screenshot, because of course the Senators corrected their big blunder by removing the tweet and making a new one without any mistakes.

It still took about 30 minutes.

The errors are obvious and quite serious, as it clearly reads “ont avoir accordé” instead of “ont accordé” and “au Xavier Bourgault” instead of “à Xavier Bourgault”.

In short, it’s really hard, and the translation clearly doesn’t look like it was done by a human, as Marc-Olivier Beaudoin points out.

At least the Sens took the time to correct their gaffe, but it’s still pretty insulting to see such blatant errors published in a French tweet.

We’re not talking about a missing “s”, clearly.

What’s worse, this isn’t the first time French has been massacred in Ottawa, as you can read here.

And here.

Overtime

– Listen now.

– One to watch.

– Coming up.

Categories
Uncategorized

Trade requested by Yegor Chinakhov: “it’s all down to the coach”

It’s the middle of the off-season in the National Hockey League, but even so, there’s movement all over the league among various teams.

In addition to a handful of signings and the Dakota Joshua deal in Toronto, there’s some big news from Columbus, where 24-year-old Russian forward Yegor Chinakhov has requested a trade.

The request was made public just two days ago, and it took everyone by surprise.

Chinakhov’s agent cited misunderstandings with Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason as the reason.

In response, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell stated that he wouldn’t trade Chinakhov simply to accommodate him, and would therefore only trade him if he received an acceptable offer for his forward.

It’s understandable that the chances are slimmer than high that Chinakhov will leave Columbus if you listen to Waddell, but when you analyze the words of Chinakhov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, it’s quite the opposite.

Indeed, Babaev, who also represents Evgeny Kuznetsov, remains quite clear that he sees no possibility of his client remaining in Columbus.

Chinakhov wants to be traded, and he wants to find a new NHL team, while he has no plans to return to Russia.

One might think that there are many reasons why Chinakhov wants to leave the Blue Jackets, but his agent reiterated once again, making it clear that it’s all about the coach, Dean Evason.

“Chinakhov is comfortable with the team and the city. But he’s not comfortable with this coach. It’s all about the coach.” – Shumi Babaev

These are heavy words, and it really makes you wonder what could have happened.

According to Babaev, it has to do with the fact that Evason never communicated with his client during the whole of last season, at various times, both when his client was injured, when he returned, and when he was left out for practically the whole of the last month of the season.

If that’s all there is to it, it begs the question as to why the trade request comes so late in the off-season.

Anyway, the fact remains that the Russian winger has asked to be traded, so it’s interesting to paint a picture of this player if he were to be traded.

Chinakhov is left-handed, 6’1″ and 201 lbs. He was drafted in the first round (21st overall) in 2020 by Columbus, and has been producing at a decent pace in the NHL ever since, through a few injuries.

In 2023-2024, the Russian scored 29 points, including 16 goals, in 53 games, and last season he scored just 15 points, including seven goals, in 30 games, as he suffered a major injury.

At 24, Chinakhov still has some potential, and it’s clear that the talent is there. The Blue Jackets didn’t draft him in the first round for nothing.

In short, it’s clear that some teams will be interested in Chinakhov, and it will be interesting to see whether the Canadiens will turn their nose up at him, even if he is a winger.

So it’s a file we’ll be keeping a close eye on.

Overtime

– Good news.

– He’s doing great.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Buffalo Sabres’ annual woes: “a real problem at the league level”

It’s now been 14 consecutive seasons, and therefore 14 years, since the Buffalo Sabres last made the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The franchise has become the laughing stock of the National Hockey League, and every year it’s the same story.

And the biggest problem in all of this is that the fans are the only ones who are bothered by the franchise’s failure, since every player in Buffalo eventually gets fed up and wants to leave the organization.

Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, Jeff Skinner, and most recently J.J. Peterka, have all left the Sabres in recent years.

Worst of all, many of these players have gone on to win Stanley Cups and be decorated with success after being released by Buffalo.

So the Sabres have really become a joke in the NHL, when they’re not winning, and all their players want to leave as soon as possible.

And all these setbacks, well, it’s become a real problem for the whole league.

Indeed, that’s what renowned whistleblower Chris Johnston said on the Off The Post podcast.

For him, it’s obvious that what’s going on with the Buffalo Sabres has really become a concern throughout the National Hockey League.

It’s not normal for a team to become so much of a joke, and a circus, that no player wants to stay.

Johnston is clear that this is not good for the league as an organization.

Having a team that lacks so much seriousness, it’s really hard, and it gives the NHL a bad image.

If every time Buffalo develops a solid hockey player (Peterka, Montour) or even a star (Eichel, Reinhart), they end up trading him because that player wants out, or there have been problems of some kind, that’s serious.

You’d think you were watching an MLS team pulling out all the stops this season (without naming it), so many players arrive and leave Buffalo so quickly.

It’s even worse with the recent Bowen Byram saga, when the defender wanted to be traded, but finally decided to sign for two years with the Sabres, the exact amount of time that will allow him to become a free agent and pack his bags.

In short, the Sabres really need to find a solution, because if they don’t, things will only get worse, and we could see the Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin of this world asking to be traded. We could even add Owen Power.

It would really be the end of the road if these two stars were to leave the team.

Overtime

– Interesting.

– Wow.

– Good news.

– What a great shot.

Categories
Uncategorized

Evgeny Kuznetsov: Zachary Bolduc’s arrival closes the door on a deal with the Habs

The Canadiens are going into next season with a strong club.

The additions made by Kent Hughes this off-season have considerably improved the Team, and we’ve been talking about it for a few weeks, if not months, even if he hasn’t added his second center, it’s not the end of the world.

Would Evgeny Kuznetsov have been the second center in the event of a signing? We know he’s interested in playing in Montreal, and we now know (via Marco D’Amico on The Shaun Starr Show) that the team was also interested before July 1.

Now, especially since the acquisition of Zachary Bolduc, bringing the Russian to town would be more difficult.

I might even add the acquisition of Joe Veleno to the equation, as he’ll be playing center. But as for Bolduc, he’s currently working on his face-offs, and maybe during the season he’ll be moved to center permanently.

I would have seen Kuzy in Montreal, but not since Bolduc’s arrival, that’s for sure. According to PuckPedia, the Habs have the second-highest payroll in the league. Montreal is nearly five million dollars over the cap.

The former Caps and Hurricanes player would have cost a minimum of $2 million, which would have made the situation even worse. It’s true that Carey Price’s contract will go on the LTIR at the start of the season, but it would be tight, regardless.

A Bolduc at minimum wage, I’d take him over Kuznetsov 100% of the time, though. Having both wouldn’t have been so bad, but, according to D’Amico, that won’t be possible.

Overtime

– Sabrina Ionescu wins.

– Great win.

– Wow.

– They’re on fire.

Categories
Uncategorized

Michigan goals: Aatos Koivu wants to make it in the NHL

When we think of the Habs’ prospects, Aatos Koivu’s name doesn’t automatically come to mind.

Instead, we think of Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, David Reinbacher and Jacob Fowler. Koivu is a former third-round pick of the team and, while many think he’ll never make the NHL, the young man is very confident in his skills.

So confident, in fact, that he’d like to try out for the Michigans if he makes the NHL.

Michael Hage and Saku’s son answered questions and, if you have four minutes, I invite you to watch the segment.

Aatos practices the maneuver in Europe (he tried it 10 times last year) and if Matvei Michkov wants to stop doing it, it’s just the opposite for the Finn. He’ll want to impress the gallery. Hage and Koivu also answered a question about Arber Xhekaj: “who of the two would throw down the gloves against Xhekaj?”

Hage offered, because he’s bigger, but let’s just say he doesn’t believe in his chances. The team’s social network manager also advises against it. Good thing.

The two Habs prospects are also very impressed with another of the team’s prospects, L.J. Mooney. Both were surprised by his play at development camp and, even though they’ve played against the American before and know his talent, they were really impressed by his game in Montreal.

Earlier, both had praised the diminutive forward as nasty and a sick player. This one could turn out to be a steal.

Finally, Hage and Koivu answered the most important question: “Who’s better at golf? Hage is slightly better, with a handicap of 7. The Finn, who doesn’t wear number 56 because 5+6=11 (his father’s number), is at 9. Not bad at all!

Overtime

– Really?

– Great support.

– No surprise there.