Author: Dose

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Six goals in nine games: Jared Davidson certainly climbing the Habs hierarchy

When Samuel Blais was called up for waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs just before the start of the season, it was clear that the Canadiens were one injury away from being short-handed.

And of course, that injury came when Patrik Laine was injured, and will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

This opened the door for Joe Veleno, who has now played six games for the Habs, but has done nothing impressive or memorable to solidify his place.

He hasn’t done a bad job, but he’s clearly not doing enough to keep his place in the lineup night after night.

Had Samuel Blais still been in Montreal, Veleno would clearly have skipped his turn for a few games, whereas right now, the Montrealer is a little too comfortable.

However, that could soon change, given that Laval has some up-and-coming players, one in particular being Jared Davidson.

The 23-year-old Laval Rocket forward is off to an excellent start, with six goals and eight points in nine games so far this season.

His eight points tie him with Laurent Dauphin at the top of the Rocket scoring charts, and his six goals are good for first place among all AHL scorers, tied with three forwards.

In short, Davidson has been dominant this early in the season, and is clearly one of, if not the, centerpieces of Pascal Vincent’s squad so far.

And with such strong performances, it’s clear that Davidson is moving up the organization’s hierarchy.

Right now, if we were to go on merit, the Rocket’s #49 would be the Canadiens’ best recall option, especially considering his style of play.

The Habs unfortunately lost Blais to the waivers, but Davidson could very well fill a similar role, as he plays a very rugged game, while having a solid offensive talent, which relies above all on his excellent shooting.

At 23, Davidson still hasn’t had his chance in the NHL, yet he’s progressed very well since turning pro, and has had excellent training camps with the Habs each time.

In short, Davidson’s development is following an excellent curve, and it’s certainly time to give him a chance in Montreal to see what he’s capable of.

I’m sure he’d do no worse than Joe Veleno.

It’s definitely worth a try, especially as he’s currently the Rocket’s best player, ahead of the likes of Owen Beck (four points in eight games) and Florian Xhekaj (three points in nine games).

Overtime

– Deserved.

– Not to be missed tonight.

– An incredible scenario.

– The Rocket back in action this afternoon.

– Playoffs begin today for the Alouettes.

– To be followed closely.

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Robert Thomas: “It would take a collapse in St. Louis for it to become tradable”

Despite the fact that the Montreal Canadiens are off to an excellent start this season, and currently rank among the NHL’s top teams, there’s one issue that refuses to die.

That issue is the acquisition of a second center, a potential acquisition we’ve been talking about all summer and really expected to see.

In the end, the Habs still haven’t acquired a center for their second line, and things are going really well all the same.

The fact remains that, despite the Habs’ 8-3-0 record, there’s still talk of potential trade options among NHL players who would fit into a second-center role.

Of course, there are some dream options who would do more than be a second for the Habs, such as Sidney Crosby and a certain Robert Thomas, who has just vaguely appeared in the rumour mill.

And where there’s a dream option, there’s also an almost impossible option, especially in the case of Thomas, as Marco D’Amico reports.

Indeed, the reputable informant took the time to point out that Robert Thomas was clearly not up for trade to St. Louis.

It would really take a huge collapse on the Blues’ part for their first-choice center to become tradeable, and for them to consider sending him elsewhere.

So we’re a long way from seeing Thomas land in Montreal, which is logical enough, even if it would be absolutely incredible.

Thomas is a mainstay with the Blues and one of the NHL’s best centers, with 86 and 81-point seasons in the last two seasons.

In short, it’s all well and good to dream and believe, but it would be very surprising if Thomas were to become available, and if he ever is, it would be VERY expensive to get him out of St. Louis.

Let’s say there’s a better chance of Jordan Kyrou landing in Montreal than Robert Thomas.

Overtime

– Nice initiative/idea with the STM strike.

– It’s a shame.

– Wow.

– A must-read for those interested.

– An all-Canadian duel won by Mboko.

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Top-3: Wings defeat puts Habs back on top of the Atlantic

It was a very quiet evening last night in the National Hockey League, as the Halloween party took center stage.

Only six teams were in action, but there were still plenty of highlights.

Here are the highlights.

1. Leo Carlsson takes care of the Red Wings

Goaltender John Gibson, who spent 12 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, was back in Anaheim for the first time since being traded to the Detroit Red Wings.

Unfortunately for Gibson, aside from a warm welcome, his return to Anaheim didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, as the Red Wings lost 5-2.

20-year-old Leo Carlsson had fun with four points, which now makes 15 points in ten games so far this season.

For the Red Wings, it’s a first loss in five games, after being on a four-game winning streak.

With this defeat, the Red Wings lost their place at the top of the Atlantic Division, while the Canadiens moved back in front.

(Credit: NHL.com)

The Habs will have the chance to confirm their return to the top of the Atlantic Division tonight, when they take on the Ottawa Senators at 7pm at the Bell Centre.

2. Three points for Martin Necas in his first game since his huge contract

Two days ago, the Colorado Avalanche put a big deal on the table for forward Martin Necas.

The Avalanche re-signed the Czech forward to a long-term contract worth $11.5 million per year for the next eight seasons, starting in 2026-2027.

Necas is in Colorado to stay, and he has 92 million good reasons to perform up to expectations.

Last night, as Necas played his first game since signing this monster contract, the Czech forward scored three points, including a goal.

He also had a superb assist on Brent Burns’ first goal for the Avalanche.

In the end, Colorado won 4-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

3. Two superb saves in Islanders victory

In a tight game between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, Logan Thompson and Ilya Sorokin made two fine saves.

In the end, the Islanders won the duel 3-1.

Here’s Ilya Sorokin’s save.

And here’s Logan Thompson’s.

After the game, Sorokin took the time to say hello to Alex Ovechkin’s son.

Also of note, Emil Heineman picked up an assist in the Islanders’ win, and now has seven points, including five goals, in 11 games.

Overtime

– Here are yesterday’s three results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: 13 games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
(Credit: Google/NHL)
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Blow to Ivan Demidov: Nick Cousins won’t be able to walk away tomorrow

During practice camp, the Senators played two games in Quebec City. One of them was against the Canadiens.

We remember that, in some respects, it got out of hand. Nick Cousins, who doesn’t have an excellent reputation throughout the National League, had given Ivan Demidov a stick for… no reason. It sent Montrealers into a tizzy.

Here it is again.

The Sens player couldn’t really be challenged by a Canadiens player afterwards, as he was punished and yelled at the officials to get himself kicked out of the game.

He didn’t want to continue playing and have to answer for his actions.

But tomorrow night, for the first time in the regular season, the Senators and the Canadiens will cross swords at the Bell Centre in an eagerly awaited match-up.

And BPM Sports’ X account reminds us that the Habs will be out for revenge.

Will a player jump on Nick Cousins during the game? If so, will it be a player who isn’t Arber Xhekaj, considering Cousins is less than 6’0?

Good question. But whichever guy the Habs choose for an arm job, I can’t see Cousins bailing out. Unless he doesn’t play, of course.

That being said, whatever happens, the guys won’t have to be too unfocused. The goal will still be to get the two points and play well in front of Samuel Montembeault.

Stay tuned tonight.

overtime

– Read more.

– Tonight, the Blue Jays could be crowned world champions.

– What do you think?

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David Reinbacher ends his comeback night at minus-2

Tonight, the Rocket hosted the Rochester Americans.

It was Laval’s chance to avenge last Friday’s 4-0 loss in Rochester.

It was also the return to action of David Reinbacher, who hadn’t played a single regular-season game yet this year due to a fractured hand.

For the occasion, he played on the first pair of defenders with Adam Engström.

It appeared that the young back was still a little rusty as he finished the game with a minus-2 record, just like his partner on the blue line.

Reinbacher had had a fairly quiet game for the first 49 minutes of the match (which is usually a good sign for a defenseman), but he was on the ice for the Americans’ first goal at 9:38 minutes into the third period to tie the score 1-1 when the two clubs were playing 4-on-4.

Then, the visitors scored the winning goal with less than four minutes left in the game to run away with the 2-1 victory.

Disappointing for Kaapo Kähkönen, who had a great game, turning aside 34 of 36 pucks.

By the way, both Rocket goalies have been playing great hockey in recent games.

Unfortunately, the home team only managed to deny Devon Levi once on 34 shots in a night dominated by good goaltending.

Jared Davidson scored the Rocket goal. It was the forward’s fifth point in three games.

Reinbacher and the Rocket will have a chance to get back on track tomorrow when they meet Rochester at 3 p.m.

Overtime

– Everyone benefits.

– Find out more.

– The Jays open the scoring.

-His first goal in his first game.

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Rumour Corner: Avalanche hopes to pay Cale Makar less than $17 million

The Colorado Avalanche have just settled a big deal, signing Martin Necas for the next eight years for $92 million, an average annual salary of $11.5 million.

The next priority for the Avalanche is to sign Cale Makar on a long-term basis, when he will be eligible for an extension on July 1, 2026.

And it could cost a lot of money to keep the NHL’s best defenseman in Denver.

In fact, according to Elliotte Friedman, if the Avalanche manage to sign Makar for a penny less than Kirill Kaprizov, it would be a big win for the organization.

We’re still talking about a salary of $17 million per year in Kaprizov’s case.

Even at $16 million, without being exaggerated for a player of Makar’s stature, it’s still a lot of money, but in the context of a rising cap, we should expect to see more and more of this kind of contract.

Panarin wants to offer his services to the highest bidder.

Speaking of big money, we don’t yet know if Artemi Panarin will finish the season in New York, but we do know that he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the forward is looking for the best possible price for his next contract.

At 34, Panarin is still capable of playing good hockey even if he has started to slow down, but he’ll have to expect a substantial pay cut even if he wants to go with the highest bidder for the man who earned $11,642,857 on average this past year.

Flyers and Mammoth interested in Devon Levi

The Sabres have a surplus of goaltenders with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, Colten Ellis, Alexandar Georgiev and Devon Levi in the organization.

However, Levi doesn’t like the current situation in Buffalo and has reportedly asked his club to trade him to a team that can give him more playing time in the AHL.

Marco D’Amico reports that, according to Jimmy Murphy, the Flyers and Mammoth have shown interest in the goaltender.

Both clubs, and the Flyers in particular, are reportedly looking for reinforcements between the posts, and a promising young goaltender like Levi could be an interesting addition for them.

In short, a story to follow in the coming weeks.

Overtime

– His first of the season.

– What a save!

– Ouch!

– No pressure despite his contract.

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Face-offs: Alexander Zharovsky wins more than he loses this season

Alexander Zharovsky played another good game today with Ufa’s Salavat Yulayev in a 5-0 victory.

The Russian had two assists in 14:19 minutes of ice time, the fifth-highest total for a forward, including 4:56 minutes on the powerplay.

What’s more, he’s perfect in the face-off circle with a four-in-four performance, while his coach Viktor Kozlov seems to be trusting him more and more to play center.

Zharovsky’s situation is very different from Ivan Demidov’s with the St Petersburg Ska last year, when Demidov’s playing time was more limited to five-on-five and almost non-existent on the power play.

This is a very good thing, as Zharovsky is currently off to an excellent start with fourteen points, including five goals, in thirteen games.

That’s more than a point a game, and if he continues to produce at this rate, he could well break the record for most points for a rookie held by Demidov, who had 49 points in 65 games.

What’s more, the forward has a plus-3 rating and has won 56% of his face-offs (14 in 25) so far this season.

So Zharovsky isn’t just producing, he’s involved in many facets of the game.

If the Russian prospect continues to play well, it’s motivating for him to know that his coach won’t be shy about using him, including on the powerplay, unlike what we often see in the KHL with prospects belonging to NHL clubs.

It’s even better if he can start developing at center at the same time. It’s not easy for a winger to move to center, but you’ve got more chances on your side if you do it early in the player’s development.

Zharovsky, who was a second-round pick, 34th overall, could well become one of the biggest steals of the last draft if he continues to perform like this.

Overtime

– He’s back.

– Boom!

– Can he avoid surgery?

– He’s still playing!

– What a save!

– He could break the bank.

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“The Canadiens are not against the idea of getting a second band-aid center”

The famous second center is a topic of much discussion in Montreal. We’ve known for months that it’s the main need in town… except that it’s also a need elsewhere in the league.

It’s not for nothing that the Canucks are interested in a Steven Stamkos who’s (really) slowing down.

Of course, getting a guy who’d be around for the long haul (like Tage Thompson, for example) would be ideal. But in reality, that’s not necessarily realistic… so the club may be forced to opt for a short-term solution.

And according to Mario Marco D’Amico, who spoke on BPM Sports, it’s not an idea to be ruled out:

The Canadiens are not against the idea of getting a second band-aid center. – Marco D’Amico

The plan would be clear: go out and get a guy who could, temporarily, fill that position until a guy like Michael Hage comes along. It’s impossible to know for sure whether Hage will become a second center, but he’s the club’s best prospect to get there.

All of which means that options like Pavel Zacha, Nazem Kadri and Phillip Danault are possibly really on the table in town. We can imagine that there are others, but we shouldn’t assume that the club will only target guys who can help in the long term.

And that’s even if they’re not of Sidney Crosby’s calibre… who would also be, to a certain extent (due to his age), a band-aid.

We’ll be keeping an eye on all this over the next few months, but there seems to be a real possibility that the Habs will pick up a center who, in reality, won’t be coming to town for the very long term.

That says a lot about how much the club values Hage.

Overtime

– We’ll have to keep an eye on him tonight.

– Obviously.

– A first goal for Vinzenz Rohrer this season.

– I don’t see this happening in the short term.

– Classic.

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Nick Cousins’ dirty trick: Arber Xhekaj “will probably think about it” tomorrow

This morning, colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois reminded us that tomorrow night, Nick Cousins will face the Canadiens again. And since he took a swing at Ivan Demidov last time out, there’s a good chance it’ll be a rough one tomorrow.

Remember that in that game, Cousins was ejected… for what he said to the referees. So he didn’t have to answer for his actions.

And it’s not just on the outside that this is attracting attention: in the dressing room, the guys are ready. And after today’s practice, Arber Xhekaj talked about it.

The man who clearly doesn’t have the Senators in his heart, as you can read in this article by Jean-François Chaumont(NHL.com), admitted it: everyone in the dressing room remembers this gesture, him first:

Yes, I’ll probably think about it [tomorrow]. – Arber Xhekaj

You have to wonder if it’s Xhekaj, who’s in a fairly higher weight class than Cousins, who’ll go and give him a message. It would be pretty uneven, we agree… but we suspect the Sheriff won’t pass up an opportunity to do so if the opportunity presents itself.

Jayden Struble, who’s already a little more in the same weight class as Cousins, was a little more nuanced, saying that the club was going to have to focus on its game… but that it was going to manage to get its message across if the opportunity arose.

Without falling into indiscipline, that said.

Clearly, we’re in for a bumpy ride tomorrow. We know that the two don’t like each other, and some of the guys in the dressing room seem ready to throw elbows to avenge Demidov if the opportunity arises.

All this at the Bell Centre on a Saturday night: it’s bound to be something.

Overtime

– I love it.

– Great read on Alex Newhook.

– Good listening.

– Interesting.

– Imagine how this will galvanize the club.

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Ivan Demidov: Lane Hutson tries to get him to shoot more

Ivan Demidov has shown great promise since the start of the current campaign. The young Russian already has nine points after 11 games, including seven assists.

His puck possession skills are already elite-caliber, but we’re also seeing all his playmaking talent.

That said, we don’t see him scoring a ton of goals. He’s only scored two goals so far this season, but more importantly, he’s barely taken any shots. On average, he gets less than one shot per game, and he attempts less than three per encounter.

But obviously, there’s one guy who wants that to change: according to Arpon Basu(The Basu & Godin Notebook), Lane Hutson is trying to get Demidov to take more shots on net.

Because clearly, Hutson knows that Demidov is capable of scoring.

Basu explains that Hutson, who experienced the same phenomenon last year, is trying to encourage Demidov not to always look for the passing option if he has an opportunity to score. The defender notes that Demidov has the mentality that he should only shoot when he’s convinced it’s going in, and Hutson wants to help him break that.

Even if, in reality, Hutson could shoot more too. But in his case, you can feel the confidence coming more and more… and it should eventually come for Demidov too.

Basu also explains that on the road, the two guys are roommates, so they’re constantly talking hockey and finding ways to improve. We know that the two guys have been very close since Demidov arrived in Montreal last year (the two guys used to travel together), so Hutson is in a good position to try and get Demidov to shoot a little more.

Let’s see if Demidov will listen to his teammate now.

Overtime

– Worth noting. Adjust accordingly if you’re going to see sports in town tomorrow.

– Hehe.

– Interesting.

– Love it.

– That would be something.