Author: Dose

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“If Nazem Kadri becomes available, Montreal will be very high on the list”

Nazem Kadri’s name has been circulating (to some extent) in Montreal for several years now. The center-forward, who grew up a Habs fan, would fill a lot of needs in the city.

And in Calgary, where the club is seriously snapping him up, trading him before his value runs out could be interesting.

For the time being, however, the Flames are not interested in trading him. Rumour has it, however, that the Habs are not on the list of 13 teams to which Kadri would refuse to be traded.

And Elliotte Friedman, who was on Morning Cuppa Hockey this morning, insisted that the Habs will be aggressive in finding the best available center for his club. And he mentioned this about Kadri:

If Nazem Kadri becomes available, Montreal will be very high on the list. Montreal has what Calgary would want. – Elliotte Friedman

Friedman notes that Kadri is undoubtedly the most talked-about name in Montreal right now. With the Penguins off to a strong start this season (making the Sidney Crosby option more complex), the focus now seems to be on Kadri.

Kadri is under contract for this season and the next three at $7 million a year. In an exploding salary cap, that’s a salary that’s easy to digest… even if Kadri is already 35.

Because despite everything, he’s still productive: he has 10 points in 14 games so far this season. And he’d be a good fit for Ivan Demidov’s center.

Obviously, the question is what the Habs would have to give in trade. You’d think prospects and/or picks would be involved… but I wonder if a guy like Alex Newhook, who’s having a good time, would interest the Flames.

Kent Hughes will probably want to keep him… but at the same time, Newhook’s value may never be as high as it is right now, as JiC noted in a piece for TVA Sports. Maybe this will be a way for the club to go after Kadri without emptying its bank of prospects.

We’ll see how it all pans out, but Kadri’s name seems really, really popular in Montreal right now.

Let’s see if the Flames want to trade him now.

Overtime

– Attention baseball fans.

– Numerical disadvantage: no player is better than Joel Armia this season. He’d help the Habs in that department.

– Speaking of center players who could move.

– Weird, that.

– Interesting.

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Applause for Montembeault: “It’s part of the deal”, says Martin St-Louis

Last night, the Habs got off to a poor start against the Flyers. In fact, after only a few minutes, the visitors had a 3-0 lead… with only five shots on goal.

Considering Samuel Montembeault’s already fragile confidence, it didn’t help matters. Even if, in reality, it’s hard to blame him for those goals.

All this meant that later in the first period, we were treated to (ironic) applause for routine saves. And that’s the story of the day around town… because everyone has an opinion on it.

I’ve got mine too: more on that later.

Martin St-Louis was asked about this very subject. And the trainer’s response to all this was somewhat surprising: in his eyes, all this comes with the Montreal market.

In the sense that the highs are high, but the lows are low.

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In the eyes of the coach, who admits he felt empathy for his goalie, it’s all part and parcel of playing in a market like Montreal. The people are passionate, and sometimes frustration comes out in the wash.

But what we’ve noticed since the start of the day is that what happened in the first period yesterday outraged a lot of people. That’s what we’ve been hearing most often for the past few hours, at least.

And in reality, it’s true that this is a gesture that won’t win the Lady Byng for the fans. But to me, that applause wasn’t just for the goalie: it was the fans ‘ response to the Habs’ absolutely horrendous first period last night.

Because for the rest of the game, Montembeault received a constant dose of (completely sincere) love from the people on hand. But there’s less talk about that.

To me, it’s all getting blown out of proportion. Martin St-Louis is right: it’s part of the deal, for better or for worse.

And if Montembeault continues to save goals as he did after his difficult start last night, he’ll continue to get love from the fans. And that love will be heartfelt.

Overtime

– Speaking of the wolf.

– The guys have arrived.

– Interesting.

– Great P.K., hehe.

– William Nylander is having a big season.

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Series : The Habs have a 55% chance of making it according to a model from The Athletic

At the time of writing, the Canadiens are sitting in 2nd place overall in the NHL standings.

No, this is no joke. The club is off to a truly extraordinary start to the season, and it’s a bit of a surprise too. If the playoffs were to start tonight, the club would easily get its ticket… but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will still be the case at the end of the regular schedule.

In a recent piece for The Athletic, Dom Luszczyszyn – taking into account the strength of each club’s schedule – puts the chances of the Habs making the playoffs at… 55%.

The important thing to remember is that the Canadiens have a complicated schedule between now and the end of the season.

In particular, it will face…

  • the Avalanche twice
  • The Golden Knights twice
  • Devils three times
  • The Jets twice
  • The Mammoth twice

These clubs have talent and are currently among the National League’s elite. It won’t be easy, to put it another way.

But if the Canadiens keep playing the way they’re playing now…

(Credit: Screenshot / Tankathon )

The powerplay will have to continue to be really good, everyone will have to do their job… and Samuel Montembeault will also have to settle back in if the Habs are to be in a position to make the playoffs.

It won’t happen with a snap of the fingers, we agree. But if Suzuki and Caufield continue to dominate, Demidov continues to improve, Matheson and Dobson continue to be excellent, Hutson continues to be one of the NHL’s best offensive defensemen and Monty regains his confidence… the Canadiens are going to be a dangerous club. Very dangerous.

And the club’s progress will be interesting to watch over the coming weeks and months.

Overtime

– Oh.

– He’s on fire.

– We want to hear from you.

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Samuel Montembeault must stop looking at his stats

Anyone following the start of the Canadiens’ season is well aware of this.

We’re not seeing the confident Samuel Montembeault we got used to seeing in 24-25. He’s not able to protect his club’s advances, and he’s having trouble – a lot of trouble – so far this season.

I hear he’s unhappy with his performance, too.

Stéphane Waite talked about it in the recent episode of Sortie de zone: Monty has to stop spending so much time looking at his stats and talking about them.

The former Montreal goalie coach mentioned that Carey Price never looked at his stats, and that it can make a difference on the ice. Because if Monty puts that much importance on his numbers… it’s sure to throw him off a bit.

[Samuel Montembeault] said “I felt good, but it’s not good for my stats”. And I don’t like that. I don’t want to hear about your stats, Sam, win games! – Stéphane Waite

Richard Labbé talked about it too: it’s not uncommon for guys to go see Chantal Machabée in the locker room after games to get their stat sheet.

And clearly, the journalist is making a connection with Montembeault:

Stéphane Waite is 100% right.

Because it’s true, in a way: we don’t care**** about statistics. The important thing is to see Monty stop the puck to help the Canadiens win hockey games… And that’s not what’s happening right now.

Montembeault is one of the worst goaltenders in almost every statistical category, and it’s clear that if he puts too much emphasis on those numbers, it can affect his confidence.

And right now, Monty needs to regain the confidence he had last season, when he helped his club make the playoffs in the East even though nobody expected it.

Overtime

– It gets tougher.

– Oh.

– It’s going to be a great night.

– Pooler alert.

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2nd center: “I’m thinking of Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly as potential targets”

Things are going well for the Canadiens at the moment.

The club lost last night’s shootout to the Flyers, but has still picked up at least one point in eight of its last ten games. Which is actually really good.

And maybe that’s why there’s a little less talk about the infamous center position problem. If the club lost more often than not, we’d probably be talking about it quite differently today…

But for the Habs to keep up this pace for the rest of the season, they’ll need to improve their center line. And that’s why the subject remains important, even if the club is enjoying success on the ice.

Several names have been mentioned in recent weeks and months. And David Pagnotta(The Fourth Period) has two in mind:

Montreal has been linked with Nazem Kadri, but I’m also thinking of veterans like Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly as potential targets later in the season. – David Pagnotta

Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn are kind of in the same mold: they’re older (both 34), they’re experienced, they’ve already won the Stanley Cup… and their respective contracts aren’t incredibly expensive.

O’Reilly is in the third year (of four) of a deal that pays him $4.5 million per season… while Schenn is in the 6th year (of 8) of a contract that pays him $6.5 million per season.

I’m tempted to say that Ryan O’Reilly might be a more attractive player, because we know how good he is in the face-off circle…

Of course, it also depends on the price you have to pay to get these two guys off your team. The market is so thin at center that it’s going to cost a lot to acquire a guy who can play in the top-6, and that’s where Kent Hughes may be held back – especially since we don’t know what the Penguins are going to do with Sidney Crosby.

Ultimately, though, Schenn and O’Reilly could prove to be interesting candidates for the Canadiens when you look at their characteristics.

Overtime

– Still.

– I like the explanation.

– Hehe.

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Nikita Zadorov destroyed Islanders fans on social networks

Last night, the Islanders received a visit from the Boston Bruins.

The game won’t go down in history: the Bruins won 4-3 (in a shootout) to claim their fourth consecutive victory.

But that’s not all the game was about. Midway through the second period, things got a little chippy behind the net… especially after Nikita Zadorov hit Mathew Schaefer pretty hard. A scrum broke out and all the Islanders players came to the young player’s defense:

Obviously, Zadorov’s gesture didn’t go down well with the Islanders players… but also with the club’s fans.

Nikita Zadorov said in a story that several fans wrote him a message on Instagram to tell him off and say nasty things… because they, too, wanted to come to Schaefer’s defense.

But Zadorov’s response to people’s comments became… perfect:

Get out of my DMs and go to the arena tocheer on your team. THIS PLACEWASLIKE A LIBRARY TONIGHT !!!! – Nikita Zadorov

He’s not making any new friends on Long Island, is he.

As mean as it can be, Nikita Zadorov has a point.

Because when you see photos of the amphitheater last night, you realize just how empty it was. It’s flat for the Isles players… and seeing so many empty benches in the photo that follows makes you realize just how little fan support there is.

All in all, I liked the reaction of the Islanders players. They saw Schaefer get shuffled and they all came to his defense to send a message: you don’t touch our rookie… who may be our best player so far this season, too.

But, on the other hand, Zadorov also sent a clear message to the club’s supporters… and that’s fair enough.

Overtime

– Good old Gally.

– Ouain.

– A fine line-up awaits him.

– To be continued.

– Notice to interested parties:

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Are Americans stupid or what?

Ask any artificial intelligence to tell you what the goal/objective of an ice hockey match is, and it’ll tell you something like this: score more goals – i.e. put the puck in the opponent’s net – more times than the opponent will (in your net).

The aim of a tournament like the Milan-Cortina Olympics? To do it often in the pool phase, and then in every game thereafter.

That’s why Bill Guerin is likely to take Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman as his goalkeepers for the games. With them, he maximizes his chances of allowing fewer goals than the opposition. #3Best GoaltendersUSA

Except that if I go by NHL.com’s list of 14 forwards and eight defensemen likely to break into Team USA ‘s lineup, I don’t see Cole Caufield’s name anywhere.

Lane Hutson, I can understand his absence because of the probable presence of Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox… but Cole Caufield?

Between you and me – and not just because we’re Montrealers/Québécois – looking up the top scorer in the entire NHL since the start of the current season wouldn’t make sense. Caufield has 10 goals in 13 games, as many as Cutter Gauthier, Jack Hughes, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon .

Deliberately ignoring the league’s top scorer in a short tournament where the objective is to score more goals than the opposition on consecutive nights could be seen as madness. Or incompetence.

Let’s just say that if the Americans are eliminated too early in the tournament, Bill Guerin will be exposed as GM..

Especially since the U.S. scored just one goal in the semi-finals, and then just one more in the bronze final of the 4 Nations tournament last winter..

Not selecting Cutter Gauthier may make sense because of his short track record – a bit like Hutson – but Caufield has experience and scored no less than 40 goals last year (season + playoffs). And he’s become a complete all-around player..

I was talking to my friend and colleague Jean Trudel yesterday on Stanley25(9million) and he came up with a theory: there must be someone somewhere in the Hockey USA offices who doesn’t like Cole Caufield.

I have to admit, otherwise, Caufield’s absence would mean that the decision-makers – who are paid a lot of money – don’t know how to build a good hockey team in 2026.

Patrick Kane before Cole Caufield in 2026 is just a no-no (even though he scored some important goals 10 years ago).

If they decide not to bring Cole Caufield to Italy next winter, we’ll have to come to one conclusion: Americans – in hockey – are stupid.

Dumb, in the sense of stupid. Or ignorant.

Extension

I invite you to watch this week’s episode in its entirety. We re-launched Kirby Dach, talked about how good Juraj Slafkovsky is at doing one specific thing, gave Ivan Demidov some love, talked about how DansLesCoulisses kids some journalists on the beat, talked about the time Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki had some fun with the Montreal media last year, discussed Kris Letang’s decision to move his family to Montreal, railed (again) against the roof of the Olympic Stadium, talked about how the team’s new team can’t wait to get out of the game, talked about how the team’s new team can’t wait to get out of the game, talked about how the team’s new team can’t wait to get out of the game, talked about how the team’s new team can’t wait to get out of the game.the Olympic Stadium roof (again), speculate on Jean’s time at BPM Sports, tell the story of a media boss who’s starting to challenge his journalists and the content they create, trade on how alcohol-affected sleep is hurting NHLers and predict the next Calder Trophy winner. Enjoy!

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Confirmed: Jakub Dobes to play tomorrow night

No surprises here.

In a press conference, Martin St-Louis confirmed what everyone knew: Jakub Dobes will play tomorrow night’s game in New Jersey.

I don’t think anyone is surprised.

After Samuel Montembeault got two starts in a row (and wasn’t perfect, by the way), it makes sense that Dobes gets a start.

After all, the keeper has been on fire since the start of the season, he hasn’t played in a while, the game is on the road and the club will feel confident with a keeper on fire against a big club.

So there’s no surprise in today’s news, as far as I’m concerned.

Details to follow…

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Kaiden Guhle skated this morning

Kaiden Guhle has been injured for several weeks now. On October 18, the Canadiens announced a four- to six-week absence for their defensive linchpin.

It’s now been almost three weeks since his injury, and we’re entitled to wonder whether the defender is doing well.

The good news is that the man with the official lower-body injury has now started skating on his own again, this morning in Brossard.

Positive news.

Colleague Maxime Truman got the scoop that Guhle skated solo, wearing a tracksuit, for the first time since his injury. He did so before his team’s practice and before the media arrived.

So there’s no footage of that, since he was away from the cameras.

There are still many steps to be taken before Guhle will be able to join the Canadiens in games, including seeing him skate with the others. But every small step is positive.

For the moment, the Canadiens have six defensemen at home and seven on the road. Marc Del Gaizo is there when the club needs an insurance policy – in the stands – on the road.

But when Guhle returns, it will put pressure on Arber Xhekaj and the defense corps in general.

For the moment, Guhle’s absence isn’t being felt too keenly. But being able to count on his presence in the Canadiens’ top-4 would be ideal for Martin St-Louis.

To be continued.

overtime

– Interesting.

– Nice.

– Oh?

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Nick Suzuki misses practice: a day of treatment for the captain

The Canadiens have announced some bad news.

Nick Suzuki, the club’s iron man and one of the NHL’s most reliable players, isn’t practicing today because he’s having a treatment day.

This was announced just before practice.

What you need to know is that many guys undergo therapy days during the year and end up not missing any games afterwards.

You might think that’s what’s in store for the captain. But you have to wonder, since he’s still missing a club practice.

Why does he miss a practice, anyway?

Let’s just say that it’s very logical to think that Nick Suzuki, who sacrificed himself at the end of overtime blocking a shot, was injured during Ivan Demidov’s penalty, with less than 10 seconds left in overtime.

I guess seeing the captain sacrifice himself like that must inspire the rest of the guys.

Details to come…