Author: Dose

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Tony DeAngelo: Ivan Demidov should never have slipped to 5th place

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2024/10/28: Sergei Plotnikov (L), Ivan Demidov (C), Tony Deangelo, known as Anthony DeAngelo (R) SKA Hockey Club seen in action during the Hockey match, Kontinental Hockey League 2024/2025 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Sibir Novosibirsk at the Ice Sports Palace. (Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 6:3 Sibir Novosibirsk). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In Montreal, we love Ivan Demidov.

Yes, we do… even though he hasn’t played a single career game in a Canadiens uniform.

It’s just like Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield, really. We were all looking forward to seeing them arrive in Montreal…

The excitement is there when we talk about the Canadiens’ prospects, because since his selection at No. 5 in the draft, positive comments have been coming from everywhere when he’s in the news.

Speaking of the draft, Tony DeAngelo believes that Demidov should never have slipped to the Canadiens.

He doesn’t understand why other teams ignored him, because according to the former NHL defenseman who now plays with Demidov in Russia, the latter is a “world-class” talent.

DeAngelo was on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast and he really wanted to give his teammate a shout-out:

During his appearance on the podcast, DeAngelo also stated that he sees Demidov becoming a 30-goal-per-season top-6 winger… In the worst-case scenario.

If – and I mean if – Demidov progresses as DeAngelo predicts, the Canadiens will have one of the best players in the National League on their hands.

But that’s what makes the defender’s comments so interesting: he’s around Demidov every day or so, and he’s in the best possible situation to see him progress… And you can’t discount the fact that DeAngelo knows the National League.

After all, he played eight seasons in the NHL, which is no mean feat. He knows what he’s talking about.

But we have to be careful here.

Obviously, as much as everyone wants DeAngelo to be right, chances are it won’t work out too. And I’m not saying that to denigrate Ivan Demidov’s talent: it can happen to any talented prospect who makes the jump to the NHL. There have been examples in the past, and it’s not to be dismissed.

On the other hand, when you see an 18-year-old succeed in the KHL because he’s got skills, because his skating is on point and because he has undeniable offensive qualities, that’s a good sign for the future.

And that’s obviously what DeAngelo focuses on when he sees his teammate on the ice.

Overtime

– Interesting.

– Artem Zub is out with a long-term injury.

– The three NHL stars of the week.

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Rangers and Senators ready to make big moves

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 11: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers looks on before a face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game Four of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 11, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Senators and Rangers are in the same boat.

On paper, both clubs have what it takes to be among the best in the National League.

But in both Ottawa and New York, the team’s performance is disappointing. And now there’s a lot of noise…

Let’s start with the Rangers.

The New York outfit has lost its last two games, and it looks like panic is setting in within the organization.

The Rangers got washed out 6-2 by the Oilers at home on Saturday night… And that’s got the executives over there wanting to get moving right now to send a message to the rest of the group.

In a tweet, Elliotte Friedman mentions the names of Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. Not a coincidence:

Is this a bit premeditated on the Rangers’ side?

After all, the club has a 12-6-1 record so far this season…

But there are two ways of looking at this. One: the team’s record is quite satisfactory. We’re keeping things on track to see if recent rough patches can be repaired.

The second: the Rangers have one of the league’s best forwards (Panarin), one of the league’s best defensemen (Fox) and possibly the league’s best goalie (Shesterkin).

It’s supposed to get better…

I can’t wait to see what they do. And I especially wonder what the value of a player like Trouba or Kreider would be…

It’s misery again in Ottawa

Still, still, still…

In Ottawa, it’s always the same thing. No matter how hard we try, the same disappointing result comes up again and again.

That said, knowing that “everything is on the line” with the Senators may not be such a bad thing.

In a text from Responsible Gambling, we learn that Ottawa executives are considering the idea of making a big deal:

Could Brady Tkachuk find himself at the heart of some rumours?

If the Sens want to make a big splash… Maybe by trading the captain, the Senators would be able to shake things up a bit.

Because I don’t see Tim Stützle and his potential changing addresses just yet.

On the other hand, Tkachuk is in his fourth season as Sens captain, and since his appointment, his club has been in dire straits.

Is it time to trade Tkachuk, despite his qualities on the ice?

Would it be enough to see the other players get the message and rise up to rock the boat?

That’s what we have to ask ourselves here.

Overtime

– Meanwhile, we wonder what the Penguins will do with Sidney Crosby.

– A returner for the Ducks.

– Wow.

– Really?

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Patrik Laine practices with a regular jersey

Great news in practice.

Patrik Laine, who resumed practice with the group in the last few days, no longer wears a jersey prohibiting him from receiving contact. He now has a regular jersey.

It’s another step towards a return to the game. We don’t know when that will be, but it confirms that it’s coming.

What my colleague Marc-Olivier Cook is reporting is that Laine is wearing a red sweater. It’s the same color as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook, among others.

Will Laine play with the captain and #13 when he returns? The question arises.

Joshua Roy was also wearing a white jersey. Jake Evans, Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky also wore the same color.

Would Martin St-Louis want to try Roy at some point with Slaf and Dach in the middle? Who knows.

Details to come…

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Joshua Roy takes “quite a bit more control” than Logan Mailloux

The Canadiens are in a bad way. How do you get over it?

One solution that could be on the table, if the Canadiens wanted to do it, is to recall some of the Laval guys. But there are several aspects to consider when talking about recalls.

Firstly, the Habs like to see their youngsters win at the bottom rather than lose at the top.

Secondly, there has to be room. If we take the forwards, for example, we need to remember that Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Patrik Laine are about to return to the game. So calling someone back isn’t on the table, for better or for worse.

But thirdly, the Laval boys have to earn it.

And on that subject, in his morning column on BPM Sports today, Anthony Marcotte said something that struck me when talking about the Laval Rocket’s last few days.

The voice of the Pickle Bowl Rocket believes that Joshua Roy is very involved and takes things in hand, and that he does so “quite a bit more” than a guy like Logan Mailloux, for example.

Even if Roy and Mailloux don’t play the same position, comparing them is interesting. After all, both wanted to make their mark in Montreal after camp, and both started the season in Laval.

Both obviously have the potential to help the Habs in the long term.

Mailloux, in his audition with the Habs this season, showed that he lacked a little something to become a full-time NHL player. And to hear Anthony Marcotte say that he doesn’t take things into his own hands enough, that’s not a good thing.

If he did, he’d be right up there. There’s no doubt in my mind.

Roy is still at the bottom because the Habs aren’t making room for him at the top (when it would have been possible to do so in the last few weeks) and that must be some kind of message. But at least hearing that he’s doing well down there is good news: he understands things.

Now it’s Logan Mailloux’s turn to do the same.

Overtime

– Only one game on the schedule yesterday: the Maple Leafs won 3-2 against Salt Lake City.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– 14 games today in the NHL… two on Tuesday… 15 on Wednesday… none on Thursday (for American Thanksgiving)… and 14 on Friday: it’s a strange week.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

– Lucas Beckman: a local goalie to watch. [TVA Sports]

– Don’t forget the 1960s: Serge Savard’s message.

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Players forced to walk to NHL games (in Toronto and Calgary)

“To get to the arena, I had to walk through a snowstorm”.

Maybe it’s your grandfather reminding us of the hardships of the past, but that’s also how Travis Boyd will be able to describe his first game with the Minnesota Wild.

The Minnesota native, who played his college hockey with Minnesota State University, signed a deal with the Wild this summer. However, he had yet to play a game with the team so far this season.

Boyd was finally recalled by his team to face the Flames in Calgary last night.

Caught in a traffic jam around the Scotiabank Saddledome, notably due to a snowstorm, Boyd had to park his vehicle and then run to the amphitheatre in running shoes in the snow.

A first game with his childhood team that Boyd will long remember. Unfortunately, the forward was blanked from the scoresheet.

But it’s not just in Calgary that players have to walk to their games.

Earlier in the day, the entire HC Utah team had to take a walk through downtown Toronto before their game against the Maple Leafs. The bus was unable to move in the city’s heavy traffic, and the players disembarked to walk to Scotiabank Arena.

At least the weather in the Queen City was milder on the march than in Calgary.

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Could the inexperience of the Utah organization explain the delay of the team bus? I imagine traffic in Toronto is a little more complicated than in Salt Lake City, but hey, they’ll find out next time!

By the way, tonight’s game between HC Utah and the Toronto Maple Leafs will also be an opportunity for the Nylander brothers, William and Alex, to play their first NHL game together with the same team.

Alex Nylander signed a one-year contract this summer as a free agent with the Toronto Marlies, but the Leafs’ numerous injuries forced his recall last Friday and the team offered him an entry-level contract.

This is the first opportunity for the two brothers, who have played against each other on numerous occasions in the past, to finally play a professional game with the same team.

Overtime

– Toronto wins the match.

– Big save!

– It’s tight at the half.

– Out for the season.

– Time to retire.

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The Canadiens need Sean Monahan’s production this season

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Sean Monahan is off to a good start with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The forward already has twenty points, including seven goals in twenty games so far this year.

In particular, he’s on a seven-game point streak (1 goal, 6 assists) that coincides with his team’s three-game winning streak.

This winning streak gives the Jackets a respectable first quarter of the season, playing for .500 with a 9-9-2 record, three points out of the final playoff spot.

Sean Monahan’s production also allowed him to make Columbus club history by becoming the third player to score at least twenty points in their first twenty games with the team. He joins Andrew Cassels and Johnny Gaudreau.

Although unintentionally, the former Canadiens player found another way to honor the memory of his good friend Johnny Hockey.

In fact, Monahan’s good start to the campaign could have helped the Habs perform better this season. His production of one point per game would make him the team’s leading scorer so far this season.

His presence would also make for a more balanced attack, while Monahan could have helped the contribution of our second line.

I understand why trading Monahan made sense from a rebuilding point of view, but it really felt like the organization sacrificed the present for the future.

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Yes, we got a good return with a first-round pick from the Jets who we then traded to the Kings to pick up excellent prospect Michael Hage, but who’s going to be able to help the team in what? One year, two years, maybe more?

However, Monahan is the kind of veteran you want on your team, who will lead by example and bring a good ethic to the youngsters.

This is really the first move in the rebuild where I’ve felt the team regress and start to fall in the standings following the Monahan trade. And you have to wonder if it’s the same regression we’re feeling so far this season.

In short, let’s hope Sean Monahan can keep up the momentum and have a good season with the Blue Jackets.

Overtime

– The solution?

– Ouch…

– It doesn’t stay that way for long.

– Big win for the Packers.

– The Broncos are to be taken seriously.

– Duel of birds.

– Silver for Canada.

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Jim Montgomery with the Blues: the real loser is Claude Julien

One piece of news that came out of nowhere over the weekend was that of Jim Montgomery’s signing with the St. Louis Blues.

After firing Drew Bannister on Sunday morning, the Blues went big for Montgomery, who was recently fired by the Boston Bruins.

It seems to have been a spur-of-the-moment move for the Blues, but the choice seems justified.

Montgomery is an excellent coach and there had to be a change in St. Louis.

What’s more, the Montreal coach has already been an assistant in St. Louis in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

However, my problem isn’t with the choice of Montgomery, but rather with the fact that Claude Julien has been completely forgotten.

The club should have taken a closer look at them, so it’s not necessarily Bannister who’s the loser in this story.

The big loser is Claude Julien, who was already an assistant.

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Julien has proved in the past that he can be a very good instructor, and the Blues should have looked in their own backyard before taking their business elsewhere, although Montgomery isn’t a bad choice.

On the other hand, like the Blues’ new coach, Julien also has a Jack Adams trophy in his pocket.

And I think it’s a bit disrespectful not to have at least looked at Julien for an interim position, while they looked at their options.

Not interviewing an assistant already in your backyard, when the latter has specifically said he wants to coach this team, is indeed disrespectful.

Interestingly, the last three Boston Bruins head coaches fired were all Jack Adams winners (Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery).

And they all found new jobs in eight days or less.

Montgomery should still pay off for the Blues, and hockey remains a business first and foremost.

But this seems to be a whim and Julien could have been as good a candidate as Montgomery.

Only time will tell if this was the right choice for the Blues.

Overtime

– A player on the waivers to make room for a youngster: why doesn’t the Habs do the same?

– A nice arrow aimed at Ryan Reaves.

– Am I the only one who really likes Pezzetta’s moustache? Obviously, it’s not a mustache of the calibre of Lanny McDonald’s, but still!

– What a mind-boggling start from Jaylen Brown.

– Heavy loss for the Charlotte Hornets.

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Dante Fabbro could become another great waivers story

Ahh, the great stories of the waivers.

All Montreal Canadiens fans will forever remember Paul Byron and all he did after being claimed by the Canadiens.

Other players such as Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling, both of whom were drafted by the Florida Panthers, also had great second-chance careers.

This season, one name in particular surprised many on the hockey planet: Dante Fabbro.

The 26-year-old right-handed defenseman was placed in the waivers earlier this month by the Nashville Predators, and many fans saw him landing in Montreal.

The Habs were going for second choice, after the San Jose Sharks, but Fabbro was ultimately chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Things are going rather well for Fabbro, who already plays an important role in the Jackets’ defensive brigade.

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On Saturday night, he scored his second goal under his new colors, amassing a total of four points in six short games.

Not bad for a debut.

Not only does he contribute offensively, but he has also become a man Dean Evason trusts and uses to great effect.

Fabbro played 19:17 and 16:16 in his first two games with Columbus, but in the last four games he hasn’t played less than 22 minutes per game.

And all that, with no time on the powerplay or shorthanded, if the frequently updated lineups on “Daily Faceoff” are anything to go by .

Fabbro definitely seems to be becoming another of those great waivers stories, and the poor Predators must be biting their fingers off.

Overtime

– Guillaume Lepage’s interview with Jacob Fowler.

– Read more.

– Well done.

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Round-up of Habs prospects: Michael Hage scores five points in a crazy game

While the Montreal Canadiens were being booed by their fans at the Bell Centre for their disgraceful performance against the Vegas Golden Knights, several of the Habs’ prospects stood out.

Indeed, many of them put a smile back on the Habs fans’ faces after a tough, tasteless defeat.

Here’s a rundown of the performances of the Habs prospects that caught the eye.

NCAA – Michael Hage – Center – 18 years old

Generally speaking, when a team drafts more than one player in the first round of a draft, it’s the first player drafted who gets the most attention, and whose performances are analyzed and followed closely.

The prospect or prospects drafted further back in the first round are therefore somewhat overshadowed, as was the case with Filip Mesar and Juraj Slafkovsky.

But this time it’s different, because despite all the attention Ivan Demidov rightly receives, Michael Hage manages to make a big splash every week with his excellent NCAA performances.

Indeed, Hage stands out in virtually every game he plays, and this weekend was no different.

After scoring two goals on Friday, Hage added to his tally last night with no less than five points.

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The Habs prospect picked up a goal and four assists in a wild 10-6 win for the University of Michigan over Penn State University.

The craziest thing about it all is that Hage finished his night with a -4 differential, given that he scored all five of his points on the powerplay.

In short, Hage is on fire in the NCAA, having just had a seven-point weekend in two games.

That now gives him 16 points (eight goals and eight assists) in 11 games, which is really impressive for an NCAA rookie.

Hage is really getting the habs fans excited about him, and they can’t wait to see him land in Montreal.

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AHL – Joshua Roy – Right wing – 21 / Jared Davidson – Center – 22

The Laval Rocket is off to a great start this season, thanks in large part to the club’s young players.

The team’s success is closely linked to the excellent performances of Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux and Jared Davidson, not to mention Alex Barré-Boulet and goalkeepers Jakub Dobes and Connor Hughes.

Last night, the Rocket were in action against the Belleville Senators, as Pascal Vincent’s team attempted to put an end to their first consecutive losing streak (2 losses in a row).

Mission accomplished, as the Rocket won 3-1, thanks to three points from Joshua Roy and two goals from Jared Davidson.

Here’s Roy’s goal.

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And here are the two goals from Davidson, who once again showed just how good his wrist shot is.

With their goals, Roy and Davidson lead the Rocket scoring charts with eight goals each.

And in terms of points, Roy is at the top with 16 points in 17 games, while Davidson is fifth with 11 points in 14 games.

Honestly, Roy clearly deserves a call-up to the Canadiens, so dominant is he in the AHL right now.

And even Davidson deserves a shot at the NHL by season’s end, as he continues to develop and improve.

But with the impending returns of Patrik Laine and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Roy and Davidson are likely to stay down, which isn’t a bad thing considering how well the Rocket are rolling.

Overtime

– Montgomery signs five-year contract with Blues.

– For interested parties.

– Coming up.

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“Even the goalkeepers who go to the Four Nations Tournament don’t make those saves” – St-Louis

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Samuel Montembeault was completely left to his own devices last night in the Montreal Canadiens’ crushing 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

It’s a real shame for the Québécois goaltender that his teammates abandoned him like that.

Montembeault had been on an excellent run with an efficiency rate of .966 in his last four games, but it all came crashing down in the second period when the Golden Knights scored five unanswered goals.

Monty had started the game so well with an impeccable first period, allowing his team to stay in the game with 12 saves, many on excellent scoring chances.

In short, last night’s defeat was in no way Montembeault’s fault, as Martin St-Louis made clear in his post-game press briefing.

What’s also important to note is what the head coach added immediately afterwards.

“Even the goalkeepers who will be going to the Four Nations Tournament don’t make those saves.” – Martin St-Louis

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Indeed, St-Louis defended his goaltender, saying that the goals scored by the Golden Knights last night wouldn’t even have been stopped by the best goaltenders in the world – those who will be taking part in the Four Nations Tournament.

One might think that St-Louis is simply defending Montembeault with this statement, but at the same time, one might think that St-Louis is perhaps discreetly implying that Monty won’t be going to the tournament to represent Canada.

Montembeault has been considered a serious candidate to represent the Canadiens at this tournament since the start of the season.

Does St-Louis know something we don’t?

Because by saying that the goalkeepers of the Four Nations Tournament themselves wouldn’t stop Vegas’ goals last night, well, St-Louis is in a way excluding Montembeault.

In the end, maybe St-Louis was just clumsy in his defense of his goalie, but it’s still an interesting quote.

Overtime

– A clearly undeserved day off.

– He won’t have been at the helm of the St. Louis Blues for long.

– More positives from the Maple Leafs.