Author: Dose

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Friedman: “Martin St-Louis is more motivated when there are doubts about him”.

The honeymoon between fans and Martin St-Louis is over.

The Habs head coach is at the heart of a lot of criticism at the moment, because his club is struggling on the ice.

And what’s happening is that there are starting to be a lot of doubts about him, since he doesn’t have much experience behind the bench of a National League club.

But according to Elliotte Friedman, the fact that there are doubts about the coach right now may not be a bad thing.

The tipster explains in the recent episode of his podcast that St-Louis is more motivated when people doubt him, and that this could help him find solutions to remedy the situation.

When people question him, he never forgets it. I think he’ll be even more determined to find solutions to help his club. That will motivate him. – Elliotte Friedman

Friedman recounts how, back in the day, when St-Louis went to the Olympics in 2014 after making the club due to injury (he wasn’t one of the original players), he asked Steve Yzerman for a deal when he returned to Tampa Bay.

Yzerman, who was his GM with the Lightning, was also GM with Team Canada.

St-Louis hadn’t liked the fact that his own GM hadn’t selected him to play in the tournament, and he still had it in for him when the Olympics ended, even though Canada had won the gold medal.

Motivated or not, Martin St-Louis needs to look to other coaches for inspiration.

For example?

Patrick Roy benched Samuel Bolduc because he didn’t like his performance… As for Jim Montgomery, he didn’t hesitate to bench his star player, David Pastrnak, because he wasn’t satisfied with what he brought to the rink…

Calvary, even Roman Rotenberg reserves this treatment for Ivan Demidov, who doesn’t deserve it…

What we need to understand here is that the Habs head coach needs to start sending messages to his guys who aren’t performing. That said, how is it that Christian Dvorak got 5-on-3 playing time last week against the Capitals, when he’s been doing nothing (and I’m being polite) on the ice since the start of the season?

How come there aren’t any players getting bailed out (other than Arber Xhekaj, like) despite the fact that we don’t see many of them on the ice?

It just doesn’t make sense…

There are many reasons to have doubts about Martin St-Louis’ work right now, because it seems like he’s having trouble adapting to what’s happening on the ice during games.

If that can motivate him to find solutions, so much the better… But there’s work to be done, because right now, not much is working for his team.

Overtime

– Especially at this time of year.

– He’s so underrated.

– Nice contest.

– Really?

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Ivan Demidov benched again

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2024/09/23: Ivan Demidov (91) SKA Hockey Club seen in action during the Hockey match, Kontinental Hockey League 2024/2025 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Avangard Omsk at the Ice Sports Palace. (Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 4:1 Avangard Omsk). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Roman Rotenberg isn’t exactly a Québécois favorite these days.

Ivan Demidov’s KHL coach is always one mistake away from benching the Canadiens’ prospect. And now, after a few weeks when things were going well for the prospect, “normal” has returned.

Demidov, against the Beijing club, played for only 8:27. He played for 2:53 in the second… and he didn’t touch the ice in the third AND overtime, even though he’d started the game on the top-9.

What did Demidov do that was so bad? Who knows. At this point, his coach is benching him for anything and everything.

But when you consider that Demidov had 11 points in his last eight games before today, that he’s one of the KHL’s best rookies and that he scored four points the last time SKA played the Beijing club, it’s hard to understand.

Want more?

The club lost 2-1 in overtime and never led during the match. Why, under such conditions, let Demidov rot on the bench when the club is looking for a forward?

It’s obviously beyond comprehension.

Let’s not forget that Kent Hughes is supposed to visit Russia in the near future to have a chat with his top prospects.

Will he only be chatting to Demidov? After all, you’d think he’d want to chat to his coach, too, to find out why the Habs’ top pick in 2024 is playing so little.

As long as it lifts the Russian prospect’s spirits a little, that’s something.

Overtime

– To watch.

– Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a finalist for a Silver Stick.[MLB Passion]

– Guys to watch in Laval.

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Injured on Saturday, Juraj Slafkovsky was back in practice this morning

Things are hopping in Brossard this morning.

After seeing four defensemen jump on the ice (along with Adam Nicholas) 90 minutes before regular practice, the club’s six centers had a summit meeting with face-off specialist Marc Bureau.

Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, Oliver Kapanen, Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook were all there.

So, before practice began, there were two groups working with specialists to correct some of the club’s major shortcomings at the start of the season.

And when I say two, I mean three. Samuel Montembeault was on the second ice of the CN Complex in Brossard to practice his shots with traffic in front of the net.

Among the aspects worth noting from the practice itself, it’s important to note that Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (non-contact) trained with the group again.

And in the short term, it’s also worth noting that Juraj Slafkovsky was present. Good news for the man who didn’t finish Saturday’s game.

Details to come…

Overtime

– Please note.

– Also worth watching.

– Of course.

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St. Vincent in Laval, St. Louis in Montreal: it makes management look bad

Pascal Vincent is much more qualified than Martin St-Louis.

The Canadiens had started the season well: two wins in three games against your three biggest rivals.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse: seven losses in nine games.

And it’s worse than worse right now, as the Habs have lost their last three games by a cumulative score of 17-6.

Only the Sharks have a worse record than the Canadiens so far this season in the NHL. And they’re only one point behind the Montrealers…

The Habs don’t score enough goals… they score too many… they give unacceptable performances in front of their fans… their leaders, veterans and head coach are constantly challenged…

It’s obvious to me that Geoff Molson, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and the players set expectations a little too high before the season started. How on earth could anyone have thought that the team we’ve been seeing on the ice for the past month could fight for a playoff spot?

The Habs are once again a bottom 5 – or even bottom 3 – club that is more involved in a lottery race than a playoff race. It’s been that way for the last three or four years. Nothing changes.

No, the Canadiens haven’t progressed in the last year; they’ve actually regressed…

The problem – or the joy, call it what you will – is that just a few miles north, in Laval, the opposite is true. The Rocket sits atop the North Division with an 8-1-0 record. Only the Calgary Wranglers have a better record than Laval (9-1-0).

While the Canadiens are losing, the Rocket are winning. The Habs’ training club has won its last seven games. The Rocket is off to the best start in its history, no less!

All this despite injuries to David Reinbacher, Alex Barré-Boulet, Filip Mesar and Jakub Dobes, among others!

Please don’t tell me that the habs are doing so well this fall because of injuries. The Rocket is managing to get by despite several key players being sidelined.

Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux (who was out for several games due to a recall with the big club), Connor Hughes, Owen Beck, Luke Tuch… many players have stepped up in Laval.

But why?

How to explain this?

I think a (large) part of the answer lies behind each team’s bench.

It’s often said that the NHL is not a development league, but a results league. Yet the Canadiens’ coach is a developmental coach whose coaching experience prior to arriving in Montreal consisted of coaching pee-wees and advising John Tortorella as a power play consultant for a year.

In Laval, one level below, they put in place a 53-year-old guy (only four years older than St-Louis) whose track record is already VERY long.

(Credit: HockeyDB)

Think about it: Martin St-Louis is currently making his mistakes as a rookie NHL coach. He’s learning the job, with no real mentor by his side…

Whereas below him, there’s an ultra-prepared coach who knows how to coach and who, both collectively and individually, knows how to bring out the best in his players. The coach below is far more qualified and experienced than the coach above him…

While there’s crying, panic and/or attitude in the Bell Centre dressing room, there’s laughter, fun and performance in the Place Bell dressing room.

Still, it’s special that the coach who’s supposed to be coaching to develop and not necessarily to win, is winning…

Whereas the first-team coach doesn’t win… and seems to be making his players regress! If this continues, it’s going to get embarrassing…

Pascal Vincent is much more qualified than Martin St-Louis.
(Credit: Getty Images)

Yes, the Habs are rebuilding, and no, we shouldn’t expect them to win 70% of their games, but there are limits. When you watch the Rocket games, you see that the coach is able to teach and demand clear, concrete concepts from his players (who apply them). When you watch the Canadiens, you always wonder how they manage to be so disorganized on the ice.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will have to ask themselves one thing: what works in Laval that could be brought to Montreal?

In the short term, we can’t bring Pascal Vincent.

But we can bring Joshua Roy, Alex Barré-Boulet (once he’s healed), Jakub Dobes (once he’s recovered), Logan Mailloux (and coach him well), Luke Tuch or who knows which player dominates down below.

And frankly, why not ask Pascal Vincent to mentor Martin St-Louis?

No, it doesn’t make sense to ask the AHL coach to mentor the NHL coach; it should be the other way around.

But it doesn’t make sense to have St-Louis in Montreal and Vincent in Laval. The fact that Martin St-Louis had a great NHL career doesn’t justify everything…

At this point…

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4 habs defensemen on the ice 90 minutes before practice

Right now, there are four defensemen who seem assured of playing every night for the Canadiens. We’re talking about David Savard, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson.

That leaves Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron in a two-position rotation.

Well, the three defensemen in question decided to jump on the ice no less than 90 minutes before the start of the Canadiens’ regular practice in Brossard. That’s what Eric Engels reported.

Although Struble hasn’t really skipped a beat since his return to uniform, he knows he can jump any time.

Arber Xhekaj has often been left out over the past two weeks, and Justin Barron didn’t play in Saturday’s game. Both men are not indispensable at the moment.

Remember that Xhekaj and Struble can go to the AHL without going through the waivers. They know that internal competition is important and that a Logan Mailloux can be recalled at any time.

And let’s also mention that Lane Hutson got the message (even if he’s playing well), as within minutes of seeing his three young teammates jump on the ice, he chose to join them.

Adam Nicholas was there, too.

We’ll see if this translates into concrete results on the ice, but it’s clear that the four players who skated an hour and a half before the others know they have something to be ashamed of when it comes to the Habs’ biggest problem: defensive coverage.

Overtime

– Who else?

– Third line again for Ivan Demidov.

– For those who want to support Michael Pezzetta. #Movember

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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