Author: Dose

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With Demidov, Bolduc and Dobson, the Habs could be among the A.N. elite next season

The Canadiens will have the weapons to be dangerous offensively next season.

The acquisitions of Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc will help in this regard, and we could see a big difference on the powerplay.

Adding these two guys to the powerplay waves could really change the game…

In Grant McCagg’s eyes, Dobson and Bolduc could allow the Habs to score (at least) 10 more goals in 25-26 on the powerplay.

Because it’s true in a way: Dobson and Bolduc will add depth on the 2nd power play unit… whereas last year, the Habs didn’t necessarily have many quality players in that context with guys like Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook and Emil Heineman.

Oh, and the arrival of Ivan Demidov is also interesting…

By way of comparison, the Canadiens scored 47 goals with the man advantage last season.

And by scoring 57 goals, the Habs would have finished the campaign (tied) for 7th in the NHL for most powerplay goals.

Only the Sens, Red Wings, Jets, Devils, Lightning and Avalanche scored more than 57 times on the powerplay.

And we agree: if the Habs find themselves among this group… they’ll be among the National League’s elite.

(Credit: NHL.com)

The other clubs will have to be more disciplined when facing the Canadiens.

The Montreal club will have the firepower to wreak havoc on the powerplay… and that may compensate for the powerplay, which may not be as good with the departures of Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia.

Me, in all this, I wonder what the two powerplay units will look like in the first game of the season.

Martin St-Louis will have his work cut out for him… and with the quality of the guys we’ll have back, that could be tough too.

Overtime

– Of course.

– Can’t wait to see him go.

– I (really) like this.

– Oh.

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KHL: Alexander Zharovsky’s club wants the “Ivan Demidov treatment” from the Habs

Alexander Zharovsky is a popular prospect in Montreal right now.

The club’s second-round pick in 2025 (when the club had no first-round say on the heels of the Noah Dobson deal) has become popular fast.

And why? Because his talent is there and his ceiling is high. #Upside

Last year, Zharovsky was able to get a taste of the playoffs in the KHL because of an injury to his team. He did well, according to his coach, who felt he didn’t just survive, but had some good games on the ice.

Seeing him with confidence is a sure sign. And it undoubtedly helped convince the Habs to select him.

But soon, all eyes will be on the future. Will Zharovsky, who has two years left on his contract in Russia, be able to make his mark in the KHL from the start of the season? The question arises.

Marco D’Amico(who works for RG Media) went to the source on the matter. Viktor Kozlov, his coach with the Salavat Yulaev Ufa club, commented on the dossier, saying that nothing had been done. Obviously, he won’t give him a job unless the kid deserves it.

But that’s not the most memorable part of the interview, in my opinion.

My takeaway is that the Habs haven’t yet contacted their prospect’s Russian club (should happen later, I imagine)… and that Zharovsky’s team wants the Ivan Demidov treatment. That’s what I understand from reading between the lines, at least.

Let’s let the Canadiens visit us, see how they see Zharovsky’s development, and when the time comes, we’ll think about the possibility of letting him go. – Viktor Kozlov, laughing

Yes, Zharovsky’s coach (who is still under contract for two years, I remind you) said so, laughing. But you know as well as I do that every joke has a grain of truth.

To me, it sounds like the club wants a “bonus” for considering letting the youngster go a year early.

I imagine the Canadiens would like to bring the prospect to North America (Laval or Montreal) sooner rather than later, but I don’t know how far Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are willing to go to make that happen.

I guess we’ll find out in due course…

overtime

– Interesting.

– Wow.

– Really?

– Attention all interested parties.

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“The chances of seeing Sidney Crosby in a blue-white-and-red jersey will be very, very high.”

“Max, do you think Sidney Crosby will come and play in Montreal?”

If I haven’t been asked the question 50 times since the start of the off-season – notably on golf courses in the Montreal area – I haven’t been asked it once.

And my answer is always the same: Sidney Crosby will start next season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Should the Pens languish at the bottom of the overall standings after the Olympics, Crosby – like Evgeni Malkin – will evaluate all his options.

Reminder: Malkin will be completing the final year of his contract, and Crosby, the penultimate. Malkin is a year older than Crosby.

If one says yes to a potential trade offer, the other is likely to do the same.

At the last amateur draft, held in Los Angeles, the word on the floor was that Crosby might ask Kyle Dubas to trade him to Colorado in February/March, to join his good friend Nathan MacKinnon.

But this morning on X, David Ettedgui suggests otherwise. With bold, paragraphs and asterisks..

According to the former agent, the chances of Sidney Crosby joining the Canadiens next summer are very, very high. They’d even be higher than those of the Avalanche.

To do so, however, would require..

1. The Penguins don’t win the Gavin McKenna lottery, otherwise Crosby might be tempted by the idea of mentoring young McKenna as Mario Lemieux did for him.

2. The Canadiens have yet to acquire an additional top-six center.

3. The Habs will have a (much) better season than the one just ended, so much so that it will be logical to think that the Montrealers will be aiming for top honors in 2026-27.

That’s a lot of ifs, but we can afford to believe.

I’d add a fourth if: Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will have to agree to pay something significant to acquire Crosby, who may only have one more season of hockey to offer the Montreal club. Yes, the Habs would have the assets to acquire Crosby, but would they be willing to give them up for just 82 of Crosby’s 84 games? Damn good question..

And the more I think about it, the more there has to be a fifth if: Crosby will have to be healthy by then.

Extension

– I wonder if Mario Lemieux’s intention to buy the Penguins might force Crosby to stay in Pittsburgh. With shares in the franchise, like..

– I also wonder if the Habs might be better off targeting Evgeni Malkin at the deadline, especially given the Russian reputation he’s building. Although Malkin is likely to leave the NHL next summer..

– Crosby with Demidov and Laine (or Dach), that’s a whole second line!

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Jacob Fowler really does rank higher than Jakub Dobes among prospects (by The Athletic)

Canadiens fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Jacob Fowler in Montreal.

In fact, ever since he was drafted, there’s been this aura around the American. Everyone feels that if he develops well, he has the potential to become an excellent goaltender.

It won’t happen right away, because prospects need time, but still.

Fowler did well in his two seasons in Boston, in the NCAA, and he was also good in Laval at the end of the season. He didn’t break everything (which is normal, at his age), but he showed that he’s up to the task.

With just a few months to go before his first full season in the pros, his popularity in the NHL hasn’t waned – quite the contrary.

According to Scott Wheeler, who covers prospects for The Athletic, Fowler is the second-best prospect among goalies who belong to an NHL team.

Yaroslav Askarov (Sharks) is first. And the two goalies are the only ones in Wheeler’s “Category 1”, meaning they’re in a class of their own, in effect.

Basically, this means the Canadiens have Ivan Demidov, who is in the top-3 of all The Athletic prospects, David Reinbacher (a stud at the blue line) and Fowler in front of the net who all have little or no NHL experience. #TheFutureIsRose

Regarding Fowler, Wheeler repeated what he often says.

He’s the kind of goalie that, if he sees the puck and can move, will stop it. – Scott Wheeler on Jacob Fowler

Note that the top-20 analyst has two goalies in his #1 category, 16 goalies in his #2 category… and Jakub Dobes is 19th, in the third category (out of three) of the ranking.

Wheeler doesn’t see the Habs’ backup goalie of last season at all in the same class as Fowler.

overtime

– Please note.

– Indeed.

– The Baseball All-Star Game is tonight.

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David Ettedgui: Sidney Crosby was strongly advised against coming to Montreal

The name Sidney Crosby refuses to die in Montreal.

Will the legendary Penguins center-forward ever play a game for the Canadiens? We know that many people in Montreal would like to see that happen.

If the past is any indication of the future, you’d think not.

The reason I say this is that, according to David Ettedgui, who tweeted on the subject, Crosby was “strongly” advised against going to Montreal by a former Habs player.

Without that, the odds were good he’d be in town as a free agent eight years ago, according to the former agent.

Crosby was never a free agent, and his contract that just expired was for 12 years, not eight. Did Ettedgui forget to take this into consideration, knowing that contracts are now limited in terms of years?

Or would Crosby have waited to sign long-term in Pennsylvania (he signed in June 2012 to stay from 2013 to 2025) if he had really wanted to come to Montreal and hadn’t been discouraged otherwise, as Ettedgui points out?

Sidney Crosby is fine where he is in Pittsburgh. And to change teams would mean risking a situation where he wouldn’t fit in / where things are done differently.

In Pittsburgh, he knows what to expect. But he also knows to expect defeat…

For added context, let’s remember that in the summer of 2012, Marc Bergevin was the club’s GM. But he had just arrived to replace Pierre Gauthier and had just named Michel Therrien as coach. Crosby knows Therrien well, of course.

All that to say, the important thing is to ask yourself what Crosby thinks of the current Canadiens, not of Pierre Gauthier or Marc Bergevin. And the Kid won Olympic gold with Martin St-Louis.

overtime

– Really?

– Justin Carbonneau wanted to stay loyal to the Armada. [98.5 Sports]

– Nice photo.

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Canadiens: one of the only teams currently over the salary cap

Salary cap warnings.

In summer, the 32 Bettman Circuit teams can exceed the salary cap by 10%. But by the first day of the season, everything must be back to normal, of course.

Why is this? To give teams flexibility in building their rosters.

In Montreal, the desire to avoid placing Carey Price on the off-season injured list (there are advantages to waiting until the first day of the season) means that a lot of off-season work is cut.

Not surprisingly, on Cap Wages, the Habs are one of only three clubs currently over the salary cap. The Panthers and Canucks are in the same boat, according to the site.

(Credit: Cap Wages)

Not all sites calculate the salary cap in the same way. But even so, on PuckPedia, there are three teams currently over the cap… and the Habs are one of them.

The calculation is different, since CW doesn’t necessarily count Laval’s youngsters, while PP adds Oliver Kapanen and Joshua Roy to the line-up right now, in order to have a more realistic roster. But either way, the Habs are over the cap.

(Credit: Puck Pedia)

Whichever way you look at it, Kent Hughes has less leeway than before. He can thank Geoff Molson for agreeing to spend so much: not every owner wants that, with the cap rising.

The difference with 2022, when Hughes took over as GM? There were more big, heavy contracts. There are still some today (Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson), but time is taking its toll and these contracts are less onerous than they used to be.

The big contracts today are mostly those of younger guys who will be there to try and win the Stanley Cup and who are part of the core.

The addition of Noah Dobson and the signing of Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle are examples, as are Nick Suzuki (signed by Marc Bergevin) and Cole Caufield.

The club may not have a lot of clout, but the lineup is shaping up nicely. But it’s clear that going after Jordan Kyrou, for example, wouldn’t be easy, since you’d have to free up some salary to do it.

Remember that the Habs must also sign Jayden Struble, but that the American defenseman won’t be asking for the moon and won’t drastically change the Canadiens’ salary structure.

overtime

– It was a good contest.

– Nice.

– Wow.

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Sidney Crosby’s future: “You can’t dismiss the Kings too quickly”

Sidney Crosby has certainly been the talk of the town for some time now.

Many wonder if he’ll finish his career in Pittsburgh, or if he’ll decide to go elsewhere to get another shot at the Stanley Cup.

Because, yes, it’s Crosby who will decide his future in the NHL.

Obviously, the Montreal Canadiens have been linked to the generational player, as he has already mentioned Montreal as a possible destination to end his career. Not to mention the fact that he grew up a Habs fan.

The Colorado Avalanche were also seen as a potential destination, because Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon know each other very well.

But the Avalanche don’t necessarily have what it takes to acquire #87, unlike the Habs.

On the Shaun Starr Show, Marco D’Amico made it clear that we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the Los Angeles Kings from the equation.

Here’s the clip.

D’Amico spoke briefly about Pat Brisson, Sidney Crosby’s agent, and there are certainly connections to be made between the Kings and Brisson.

First, although not really a factor, Brisson has lived in Los Angeles for quite some time. He knows the city very well and could undoubtedly give Crosby some tips on the big Californian city.

But what really comes into play is that Pat Brisson is a very good friend not only of Luc Robitaille, the Kings’ President of Hockey Operations, but also of Marc Bergevin, the Kings’ Senior Advisor to the GM.

Brisson is a long-time friend of both of these fairly influential Los Angeles Kings, so this would definitely give the Kings an edge over the vast majority of other NHL teams.

What’s more, Los Angeles is a very desirable sports market, and that could attract Crosby.

When you can finish your glorious career in California with a franchise like the Kings, you think about it more than once.

On the other hand, D’Amico adds the fact that the Kings are doing a fantastic job of destroying their prospect bank, so there aren’t many interesting prospects to offer the Penguins.

Goaltender Carter George is one of the Pens‘ most attractive prospects, but don’t discount Liam Greentree (26th overall in 2024), who racked up 119 points this season in the OHL.

He has also amassed 24 points, including 14 goals, in 11 playoff games.

Pittsburgh will certainly want to target these two prospects to replenish its prospect bank.

Overtime

– Speaking of Crosby.

– Great news for Buffalo and Byram.

– For those who want to rinse their eyes.

– Read more.

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“K’Andre Miller will be better in Carolina than Noah Dobson will be in Montreal”

Noah Dobson is in Montreal to bolster the Canadiens’ defensive brigade, especially on the right flank.

The Montreal club saw David Savard retire, and although he was no longer the David Savard of the golden years, he played an extremely important role on the team.

Dobson’s latest season has many worried, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the Islanders were the fifth-worst team in terms of goals per game last year.

Only 2.71 goals per game, you don’t get very far with that.

And let’s not forget that the Islanders’ defensemen took issue with Patrick Roy’s defensive system.

There’s another important defenseman who changed addresses via transaction this summer: K’Andre Miller.

The former New York Rangers defenseman is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes and will play an important role in the top-4.

On this subject, Jonny Lazarus of Daily Faceoff made a rather surprising statement.

According to him, Miller will be better in Carolina than Dobson in Montreal.

However, Lazarus points out that Dobson is a better defenseman than Miller, but the impact Miller will have with his new team will be greater than the impact of the Habs newcomer.

Lazarus added to his point by saying that the Hurricanes’ style, the way they play, is more suited to the left-handed defenseman, but he sees it mostly in the long term.

“I think four years from now, the way we talk about K’Andre Miller will be very different than it is today.” – Jonny Lazarus

That’s a fair point, and it’s hard to compare the two defensemen, since they play two completely different styles.

But I’m still of the opinion that Miller won’t have a bigger impact than Dobson, even if the latter probably won’t get any playing time on the first powerplay.

He will, however, have a very important 5-on-5 role, will bring some offense and could be the quarterback on the second wave of the powerplay. He will play on this wave with good offensive players such as Kirby Dach, Zachary Bolduc and possibly Mike Matheson and Alex Newhook.

He has an imposing frame too, although he’s not the most physical player on the ice and will still be able to clean up in front of the net in his own zone.

He also has a cannonball that will mystify his opponents.

In short, Montreal has acquired an excellent defenseman, possibly a top-7 right-handed defenseman in the NHL, which is worth a lot in a team like the Habs that lacks right-handed defensemen.

Overtime

– Pastrnak is certainly one of the NHL’s best forwards.

– Elias Pettersson takes the blame for his disappointing season.

– Bummer.

– Quite surprising.

– Now that’s a slap in the face.

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Mike Morreale sees Zachary Bolduc as a very promising player this season

Many wonder how the Montreal Canadiens will fare in 2025-26.

We know the team is young, and the departure of veterans like David Savard, Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak certainly hurts.

On the other hand, there have been some fine additions this summer, and the club can also count on Ivan Demidov to electrify every game as a rookie.

Zachary Bolduc is undoubtedly a very interesting acquisition, as he has a flair for scoring goals and can also contribute physically.

However, few see him as a player who can surprise for the 2025-26 season.

In a recent article on the NHL website, Mike Morreale named players who could explode this season, and Bolduc is on that list.

As Morreale mentions, not only is he a promising goal-scorer, but he’ll certainly have a bigger role in Montreal and more playing time per game.

And there’s always the possibility of seeing him play with a certain Ivan Demidov (who, incidentally, is seen as the next Kucherov), a combination I’d prioritize at the start of the season. With a center like Kirby Dach, it would make a really intriguing line-up.

What’s more, NHL Fantasy has compiled a list of the best players aged 23 and under in the Atlantic Division, and Bolduc ranks 8th.

However, what really stands out is that the Habs have FOUR players in the top-8 of this ranking.

The Habs are on a roll this season.

It’s really impressive to see so many players from the same club invading the standings like this.

We know that the Habs’ core is very young, but to see Lane Hutson at the top and especially Demidov (who has only played seven games in his career) in 7th place says a lot about the club’s future.

To these four players aged 23 and under, we add a core made up of Nick Suzuki (25), Noah Dobson (25), Cole Caufield (24) and Kaiden Guhle (23).

The future is (very) bright in Montreal.

Overtime

– This is a beautiful drawing.

– Tony Marinaro got to drink in the Stanley Cup thanks to Roberto Luongo.

– Imagine Erik Karlsson returning to Ottawa.

– Interesting.

– Read more.

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“Some see Ivan Demidov becoming the next Nikita Kucherov”

At the end of the season, we got a taste of Ivan Demidov with the Canadiens. The talented young Russian forward only played a handful of games in Montreal, but already we could see the talent coming out of his ears.

He wasn’t quite ready for the NHL, and that’s perfectly normal. But having had a taste of it, he’s better prepared for the season ahead.

That said, in 2025-26, Demidov will spend the entire season in Montreal. We’ll have the chance to see him shine for 82 games… and, above all, to see just how much he has the potential to change everything in Montreal.

Because yes, Demidov has that kind of potential. And in a text on the NHL website, where they present the players most likely to explode in 2025-26, Mike Morreale names Demidov and adds this about him:

Some see [Ivan Demidov] becoming the next Nikita Kucherov. – Mike Morreale

Kucherov is unquestionably one of the NHL’s best forwards, with 113, 144 and 121 points respectively in his last three seasons. He’s one of the best playmakers of his generation and has an almost unrivalled offensive flair.

He’s almost indisputably one of the top five forwards on the Bettman circuit, after all.

And that just goes to show how much potential Demidov has as a young player. There are ways for him to have a great career without necessarily becoming as dominant as Kucherov, but he has the potential to become that kind of player.

It’s not for nothing that he’s the stuff of dreams in Montreal, after all.

In the same article, Zachary Bolduc is also mentioned as a player who could explode in 2025-26. Shawn P. Roarke, who chatted about Bolduc, sees him taking a step forward into a bigger role in Montreal.

He wouldn’t be surprised to see him reach the 25-goal plateau.

So, there’s reason to be excited about Montreal’s young group of forwards, but Demidov will undoubtedly be the most talked-about guy in the coming months. He’s a special talent the likes of which the Canadiens have rarely seen in recent years.

And if he reaches the level of a Nikita Kucherov, the Habs will really, really be on the road.

Overtime

– Speaking of the wolf.

– Another big name to watch at the next draft.

– Nice photo.

– Ah.

– Too bad for Montreal.