Bye-bye MacKinnon and McDavid, hello Dvorak and Struble

Dose
Crédit:

What a game. And who else but Connor McDavid to come and seal the deal of the match… and the tournament. A tournament that was said to be “irrelevant” just two weeks ago…

Yes, Canada is still a sovereign country and yes, it remains the “hockey country”. Put that in your pipe, Donald.

There are so many things to say about what happened over the last few hours and days that I will try to go about it in a structured way. Sorry in advance if I seem disorganized; I haven’t had enough sleep…

1. Mitch Marner getting a primary assist on the equalizing goal, then another primary assist on the winning goal in overtime… while Auston Matthews forgot to cover his man (McDavid) in the slot because he was attracted to the puck, it’s just unbelievable. #MapleLeafs

Crosby with the gold and Matthews with the silver: things just don’t change.

2. Can someone ask P.K. Subban if he’s okay?

I can believe he’s employed by an American station, but his X account is just a collection of posts that are pro-American and pro-Trump for the past few hours. Has he forgotten he’s Canadian?

3. Can someone ask Wayne Gretzky if he’s okay?

Why not wear a red jacket before the game, Wayne?

Why give thumbs up to the other team, Wayne?

You know you’ll never be the Governor of the 51st American state, even if you’ve become buddies with the President, Wayne?

4. Sidney Crosby has won as many international titles as almost all the players he faced combined. I’m not exaggerating much.

Yesterday, he passed the torch to Nathan MacKinnon (MVP) and Connor McDavid (player of the game), but he remains the mentor and the soul of this Canadian team. I’m already looking forward to the Winter Olympics next year…

From Ontario to Nova Scotia: Canadian pride was alive and well last night.
(Credit: Getty Images)

5. What can be said about Jordan Binnington? Without him, Canada would have won silver, not gold. He played his best game in months at the best possible time. #Winner

6. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk didn’t win gold last night, even if Brady had a strong game. And they’re both injured.

I don’t think we’ll see Brady face the Canadiens tomorrow in Ottawa…

7. The fans who chanted “Johnny Hockey” during the game last night, it was something.

8. Brad Marchand was the player used the least by Jon Cooper. It’s obvious he won’t be with the Canadian team in a year. But he’s had a good run this year…

We can probably say the same about Mark Stone…

9. With everything that’s been happening on the political level since Donald Trump’s inauguration, it’s got to be said that it was enjoyable to see Canada beat the Americans in Boston to win the gold. It was more than just a hockey game last night. #Politics

Forget about the 51st state and the annexation of Canada: last night, people from coast to coast said “no” to the United States. Except maybe those who have been campaigning for a Team Quebec for the past few hours…

What a success this Four Nations tournament was!

10. The Americans didn’t need to boo the Canadian national anthem: we scrapped it ourselves. Chantal Kreviazuk, from Winnipeg, changed the rhythm and notes of a few passages of the famous O Canada!, trying to make it her own. Except you don’t change that, a national anthem. You interpret it in a sober and traditional way.

And you don’t change a few lyrics to convey a political message either.

Luckily, the crowd at the TD Garden started singing the Canadian anthem on their own, then applauded loudly. #Class

11. Don’t tell me Nick Suzuki wouldn’t have done a better job than Anthony Cirelli on the fourth line.

But oh well, the Canadian team’s coach is also Cirelli’s coach in the regular season… and he won yesterday.

And Martin St-Louis is not part of Hockey Canada’s staff.

12. The players were really happy to win… but let’s be real: they didn’t care that much about the trophy that doesn’t mean anything. There were some awkward moments seeing them lift the trophy for just a few seconds each, without much emotion.

13. Unfortunately, there were no Quebecers in uniform yesterday to represent Canada. We’ll need to make some changes to our minor hockey, and fast.

14. Let’s hope that spending time with champions for a few days will inspire Samuel Montembeault. The Canadiens will need him.

15. Damn it, Sam Bennett is useful on a hockey team. Exactly the kind of player the Canadiens need to reach another level in our rebuild…

16. Adam Fox didn’t have a great tournament; no points in four games and a minus-2 last night.

17. Now it’s time to focus on the Canadiens’ return tomorrow night in Ottawa. After “cheering” for Crosby, MacKinnon, and McDavid, we’ll have to “cheer” for Christian Dvorak, David Savard, and Jayden Struble…

At least the trade deadline is in two weeks. There will be action all around the NHL…

Extension

CF Montreal will start their season tomorrow night in Atlanta. I think I’ll watch that instead of the Canadiens…

We had the chance to talk to the president, the coach, and the captain this morning.

Let’s just say the president and the coach gave us some good information about Giacomo Vrioni, Caden Clark, Hennadii Synchuk, Jalen Neal, and more.