Category: Dans les coulisses

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Dans les coulisses

Cole Caufield scores at a historic rate for a player his age

When the Habs drafted Cole Caufield in 2019, they did so for one simple reason: they hoped to see the diminutive forward fill the opposing net to overflowing. Wherever he went, Caufield scored goals at an elite rate, and they hoped to see him do the same once he made it to the NHL.

And while he’s had a bit of a rougher time at the start of the 2021-22 season, it’s hard to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations so far. In 123 NHL games since the start of his career, the youngster has already scored no fewer than 53 goals.

He’s averaging 0.43 goals per game since the start of his career. That’s quite something.

But it becomes even more impressive when you compare him to other players his age. Looking back to 2005-06 (when the NHL’s salary cap was introduced), only four players surpass Ti-Cole in career goals per game at the same age (22).

And when the four players in question are Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Rick Nash and Evgeni Malkin, it’s easy to see why.

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Of course, he still has a long way to go to have a career on a par with the other four players, but clearly, the early career of the CH’s young maverick suggests that he’s not that far off the scoring talents of his four counterparts.

We’ll have to see if he’s in the right frame of mind to continue scoring for the rest of his career, but when you consider that the Tricolore is counting on a fine crop of prospects and that Caufield has connected with Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach (two guys who are likely to be in town for a long time), you’d think he’d be well surrounded.

As long as his shoulder doesn’t become an issue, there’s reason for optimism, but the good news is that it seems to be getting better.

That’s a pretty glowing comparison for the Tricolore forward, then, and it really shows that he’s possibly the elite goal scorer the CH can count on for the next eight seasons.

And if he continues to score like this, the fact that he’ll be making less than $8 million a year for the next eight seasons will quickly become very, very pleasant for the Habs.

Breaking news

– Historic moment in MLB.

– After her magnificent victory earlier in the evening, the Quebecer is now focused on tomorrow’s game.

– News from the Blackhawks.

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Dans les coulisses

Patrice Bergeron: no more field hockey, it’s time for music

Field hockey is over for Patrice Bergeron. Well, almost. The Quebecer will be playing in the Gagné-Bergeron Pro-Am at Quebec City’s Centre Vidéotron this weekend. After that, he’ll be as free as a bird and able to enjoy his retirement.

Bergeron spoke to Le Soleil ‘s Mikaël Lalancette about what he plans to do in his well-deserved retirement.

It may surprise you, but Bergeron loves to play music! That’s what he told Lalancette.

He used to play piano when he was younger, but stopped taking lessons because of his field hockey career, which was starting to take up more space in his life. Now that field hockey is out of the picture, he’ll have all the time in the world to practice.

In fact, Bergeron doesn’t yet know whether he’ll concentrate on piano or guitar. We’d love to hear him play one day!

The Bruins legend regrets having given up music when he was growing up. Even though his field hockey career was phenomenal, he would have loved to continue playing an instrument. His parents even warned him that he would have been happy to have continued playing music. They were right!

They say field hockey’s over, but it’s only over for now.

Bergeron wants to spend time with his family and children. Retirement will give him plenty of free time to look after the people he loves without having to travel from city to city for games.

He’d even like to take some business courses to pursue some of the many dreams on his bucket list.

But for now, business won’t have anything to do with sport. Number 37 doesn’t feel ready to get back into the business, at least not for the next few years anyway.

In bursts

– Simply magnificent.

– Well-deserved.

– We expected it!

– He received a solid blow on the coconut.

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Dans les coulisses

Réjean Tremblay resigns from his position at the Journal de Montréal

After 12 years of loyal service to Le Journal de Montréal, Réjean Tremblay finally handed in his resignation earlier this week, as reported by La Presse.

The experienced columnist spoke to La Presse’s Guillaume Lefrançois by telephone.

At 78, his career is far from over.

Tremblay explains that he is now going to do something else. He is said to be preparing other projects. He has reportedly been in contact with TVA with a view to producing a TV series called Le Septième, about managing a field hockey team.

And let’s not forget that he’s been a fixture on BPM Sports radio for several years, where he could be taking on a different role in the coming months.

Réjean Tremblay was offered to write only “one or two pages” on Saturdays in the Journal de Montréal. He turned down the offer, however, because he says he prefers to work in the heat of the moment. He gives a perfect example, saying that if Guy Lafleur had died on a Tuesday, he wouldn’t have felt like waiting until Saturday to write about it.

Tremblay really enjoyed his last year on the job, especially when he was covering the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. He told Guillaume Lefrançois that he even had the opportunity to drive to a game in a Rolls-Royce and watch the game in the owner’s old dressing room. That’s something!

He predicted a Stanley Cup victory for the Canadiens in 2027 in his latest column. Fingers crossed it happens!

However, Tremblay is worried about the world of communications. Sure, it’s scary to see Meta closing its doors to the major news media, but real journalism has always been able to modernize and adapt to new challenges.

In Brief

– A real bombshell in Canadian university soccer.

– A big loss for the Alouettes.

– In any case, their first power-play wave will be monstrous.

– Wow.

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Dans les coulisses

Rumor mill: In Vegas, we could be shopping for Jonathan Marchessault

Jonathan Marchessault was, without question, one of the most dominant players in the recent NHL playoffs.

He did so well that he won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the playoff MVP. It’s a good indication of just how good he’s been.

The Quebecer and the Golden Knights will be looking to repeat the feat in 2023-2024, and the task won’t be easy. That said, the line-up at the start of the season will look a lot like the one that lifted the Stanley Cup last June, and that should help.

On the other hand, anything can happen in the NHL. There’s a world out there where the club doesn’t live up to the high expectations placed on it next season…

And if that happens, the idea of Marchessault being traded at the deadline is gaining ground. Why would that be?

Because the Quebecer will be as free as a bird in the summer of 2024, and the Golden Knights won’t want to lose him for nothing. Add to that the fact that his value is skyrocketing right now, just after he won the Conn Smythe Trophy:

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It would be ironic to see such a scenario unfold, because it’s reminiscent of the Marc-André Fleury story. The Golden Knights traded him to Chicago, just after seeing him win his first career Vézina Trophy.

But it’s true that, on paper, the idea makes sense. Marchessault could bring a lot of good things back to the Golden Knights, and God knows, Vegas has sacrificed a lot of tools to build a club with Stanley Cup aspirations in a hurry.

The club’s leaders have won their bet, by the way.

All this, of course, is in the context of the club no longer being in the playoff hunt at the next NHL trade deadline. After all, the Golden Knights won’t trade the man who led them to the big time for any other reason if they still have a good chance of making the spring tournament.

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Tomas Tatar in Pittsburgh?

The Penguins made a big splash on the trade market by picking up Erik Karlsson in San Jose… And sending Jeff Petry to Montreal.

But Pittsburgh still has room to add one or two players for next season… And according to Elliotte Friedman, Kyle Dubas isn’t done shopping yet.

Right now, there’s a lot of talk about the possibility of Tomas Tatar ending up in the Steel City, as he is still without a contract for the 2023-2024 season.

It’s an idea I really like because we know Tatar well in Montreal and we all know he can help a team on one of the first two lines.

The Penguins are looking to add some offensive punch to their line-up and that’s exactly what the Slovakian can provide. He may not be as fast or as electrifying as he was in his younger days in Detroit, but he could be an effective solution for Sidney Crosby’s team.

For the time being, these are two files to follow with interest.

Breaking news

– All the same.

– It’s amazing how times change.

– Oh, no.

– No surprise there.

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Dans les coulisses

Best Slovak U20 player: Dalibor Dvorsky beats Juraj Slafkovsky

Dalibor Dvorsky’s name was being discussed in Montreal towards the end of June. Why was this?

Because there was some speculation as to whether the Canadiens would select him with the fifth overall pick of the last draft. In the end, the club turned to David Reinbacher.

But I’m telling you about Dvorsky today because he’s received a great honour. He was voted Slovakia’s best U20 player, ahead of Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec.

The latter both played in North America during the 2022-2023 season. Slaf played a total of 39 games with the CH before seeing his season cut short by injury…

As for Nemec, he had a superb year with the New Jersey Devils training club. He tallied 34 points in 65 games, a formidable output for a 19-year-old defenseman making his small-ice debut.

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It’s rare to see a youngster win this kind of honor when other players his age are playing in better professional leagues.

But all in all, Dvorksy didn’t steal anything. He had a great season in Sweden, was drafted 10th overall in the last draft (St. Louis) and completely dominated the World Under-18 Championship with 13 points (eight goals) in just seven games.

Well-deserved, then.

We can agree that it would have been surprising to see Slafkovsky get his hands on “the prize” because he wasn’t able to play the whole of last season in Montreal. That said, Nemec was also a logical candidate for the title of Slovakia’s best U20 player, for the reasons given at the start of this article.

Oh well.

Slowly but surely, Slovakia will begin to be well represented in the NHL. Slaf, Nemec and Dvorsky have all been selected in the top-10 in the last two drafts, and if the trend continues, the country will have good players playing in the best field hockey league on earth.

It’s great to see… And it shows, once again, that the sport is growing in every corner of the globe.

Highlights

– Oops. Canada loses its first World Cup game in basketball.

– It’s reasonable.

– Whoa.

– Two files to keep an eye on soon.

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Dans les coulisses

Signing of Martin Jones: forget the Leafs in the Allen / DeSmith case

The Leafs have often had problems in front of the net. That’s nothing new… And it shouldn’t be a cause for change next season.

The club has placed Matt Murray on the long-term injury list, and should rely on Ilya Samsonov as their number-one goaltender. Next, the organization will have to assess whether Joseph Woll has enough experience to officially make the jump to the NHL…

And if not, at least the Leafs can count on Martin Jones as an insurance policy.

Jones has agreed to a one-season contract that will pay him $875,000. But the addition of Jones also means that the Leafs can forget about the Jake Allen / Casey DeSmith deal.

The idea of the Leafs dipping into the CH’s backyard at the goaltender position has been gaining ground in recent days, especially since the acquisition of the former Penguins :

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One of the two goaltenders currently owned by the Montreal Canadiens could leave if he starts to get some goal traffic in Montreal.

Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen, Casey DeSmith, Cayden Primeau… It’s getting crowded at Mass.

We can practically remove Primeau’s name from the discussion because we all know he won’t make the club and is eligible for the ballot.

It’s the other three who are the talk of the town. It would be particularly surprising for the CH to start the year with three goalies, and that’s exactly why we’re expecting to see Allen or DeSmith traded, given that Monty seems to have cemented his place as number one for the time being.

Is there a world in which Kent Hughes sacrifices the Quebecer? Perhaps. But I still believe that Montembeault isn’t going anywhere until we’ve fully seen what he’s capable of in a first-choice role.

I get the impression that we want to give him a chance to prove himself before making such a decision.

But back to the Leafs.

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The offensively gifted team will try once and for all to silence its detractors by lifting a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967.

Everyone knows the Leafs have the tools to be the NHL’s most dominant club, but then again, maybe it’s the situation in front of the net that’s the problem.

After all, it’s hard to believe that the club will lift the precious trophy with Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Woll or Martin Jones as their number-one goaltender. The club’s defense would have to be more than excellent for us to witness such a story, and that, too, is perhaps a slight downside.

Right now, the Leafs are over the $13,256,450 salary cap. That’s no mean feat, and even with Matt Murray and Jake Muzzin’s contracts on the LTIR, Brad Treliving will have his work cut out for him in order to “fit” everyone on his payroll.

It won’t be an easy task… But it seems that in Toronto, it’s all the time.

Breaking news

– Looking forward to it.

– I love it.

– Go Milos!

– News from the National Bank Open :

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If Jeff Petry finds himself in Montreal today, it’s partly his fault.

I find it hard to believe that Jeff Petry and his family were overjoyed to hear the news that he’d been traded to the Montreal Canadiens.

You know why I say that. But at the same time, it’s kind of his fault too. Let me explain.

Petry found himself, as we know, at the heart of several trade rumours, notably those involving Erik Karlsson. He submitted a list of 15 teams he didn’t want to be traded to in Pittsburgh, and the Penguins tried to build a package around him to send him to the Sharks…

But Eric Engels, who was on Tony Marinaro’s podcast, reports that the defenseman decided not to exercise his no-trade clause in order to move to California.

In other words, Petry said no to the Sharks… And now he’s back in Montreal (for now).

I invite you to “skipper” to the 52nd minute of the following video to hear the Sportsnet reporter’s comments on this subject:

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Eric Engels explains it perfectly.

The Habs weren’t on Petry’s list because he never thought he’d be back in the Habs organization.

He refused to be traded to the Sharks and Kyle Dubas had to find another solution to bring Erik Karlsson to town. In the end, the Penguins’ (new) GM did what he needed to do.

There’s been a lot of talk about it since Sunday, but the chances of Petry starting the season in Montreal are very real. They may not be huge… but the scenario still exists.

Whispers are spreading that Kent Hughes is actively trying to trade him to another club, and last night there was talk of the defenseman being traded to the Dallas Stars.

Where will he continue his career, if not in Montreal? That’s the question on everyone’s lips right now, in Montreal and elsewhere in the NHL.

That said, Eric Engels has been in contact with the Petry family, who should be arriving in Montreal shortly. The family’s plan is to make the most of it, whatever the next scenario.

They’re coming to Montreal with an open mind. If Jeff is in uniform for the first game of the season, that’ll be that. And if Jeff is traded elsewhere between now and October 11, when the CH begins its campaign in Toronto, that will be that too.

Breaking news

– Minor transaction in the NHL.

– Sometimes, that’s what it takes to make things happen.

– Activities begin soon in the U18 AAA league.

– Well done.

– A name to remember!

– PSG are still keen to retain the services of the star player.

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Dans les coulisses

Logan Cooley is better than Connor Bedard, according to the Coyotes

Speak well of it, speak ill of it, but speak well of it. It’s a motto that attention-seekers use to put themselves in the spotlight and deflect media attention.

Among them? The Coyotes.

Right now, the club isn’t getting much press. Why is that? Because news that the club wants to move to Mesa, a city even farther from Phoenix than Tempe, has surfaced.

I don’t think that’s a good idea.

But hey. You know as well as I do that the club doesn’t exactly have the choice to be creative in finding ways to keep the club in Arizona since the right options haven’t been on the table for a long time.

Quebec City, is that a suburb of Phoenix? I’m asking for a friend.

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To deflect attention, the Coyotes decided to issue a press release about the news. But what they did was make sure that the Mesa bit wasn’t what people remembered.

Well done. Really well done.

How did they do it? In writing their press release, the Coyotes were careful to make sure that the bit that stood out the most was the one in which Logan Cooley was described as “the best prospect in the world”.

The club touted its summer by mentioning certain additions, including Logan “best prospect in the world” Cooley, who recently signed his NHL entry-level contract. In doing so, he gave up the chance to play in the NCAA… in favor of another college arena.

Obviously, everyone in the comments had the same reaction. It was to point out that the Coyotes had “forgotten” that Connor Bedard belongs to the Hawks.

It’s not an oversight, of course.

I’d say it puts more pressure on the youngster, but in Arizona, he’ll be forgotten more than anything else. And in his eyes, seeing his club praise him like this will be good for morale.

Bravo, Coyotes.

Burst

– Nice photo.

– Obviously.

– Oh boy.

– Nothing less.

– Jayden Struble is integrating well.

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Dans les coulisses

The Coyotes’ new magic plan: get (further) away from Phoenix

The Arizona Coyotes really tried to establish themselves in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix. Their plan didn’t work, as we’ve learned over the past few months.

It wasn’t ideal, considering that being in the suburbs is detrimental in the NHL. #Ottawa #Kanata

So the club had to find a solution. And right now, the plan being evaluated by the franchise is to move even further away from Phoenix, to the city of Mesa.

That’s what came out of Arizona in the last few hours.

On Google Maps, looking at the distance between Phoenix and Mesa (not taking into account a specific location, but simply the two cities), we note that a good 26 minutes is needed, by car, to go from one city to the other.

And that’s without traffic.

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That’s where Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo submitted a letter of intent to purchase 41 acres of land to build the club’s next arena.

The arena would be built with private funds only. With what money? Who knows.

It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the only place the Coyotes are looking. Scottsdale and Phoenix are also on the radar of the Coyotes, who want to have several options on the table should several options no longer work.

Options falling through in Arizona? We’ve seen that before.

But the fact remains that, right now, the main plan is to move to Mesa. I know the city because the Chicago Cubs hold their training camp there… but otherwise? Many people don’t.

And now the plan is to bring an NHL club there, to keep a bad franchise in Arizona as long as possible. Meanwhile, in Quebec City – ah pis laissez faire.

The club’s plan is to have an answer by early 2024. From there, work could begin so the Coyotes can move there for the 2026-2027 season.

That’s three years away.

Remember that next year, the Coyotes will play their second year at Mullett Arena. They have a three-year agreement with an option year, leading up to the summer of 2026.

André Tourigny will continue to live with uncertainty. After all, if the Mesa plan doesn’t work out, what’s next?

Breaking news

– An important anniversary in the NHL.

– Small world.

– With good reason.

– Hlinka-Gretzky: not easy for Canada. [TSLH]

– The rivalry is intense.

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La Poche Bleue sold for up to $8.8 million

Over the past few years, La Poche Bleue has expanded. Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse’s project, which was launched during the pandemic, has become larger than life.

In addition to the basic podcast, a number of media partnerships (TVA Sports, 98.5 FM) were signed, and other aspects (notably alcohol) were developed from there. Several other podcasts were added.

And now the project has been sold by the two men. A company called Playmaker Capital Inc. bought 100% of La Poche Bleue.

The base price of the sale is $2.25 million, but the deal could go as high as $8.8 million. So it’s a very big deal between the guys at La Poche Bleue and Playmaker Capital Inc.

It’s ironic that a project designed to promote Quebec should be sold to Ontario interests, but that’s not the main point. The key point is that the people behind the project (Latendresse, Lapierre and general manager Louis-Philippe Dorais) will remain in place.

It will still be the same (there will be small changes in the product offered to customers, but as is the case every year), but with different owners.

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I imagine a lot of people will weep since making money in Quebec is a bit of a taboo, but that’s the point of businesses: to make money from the core project.

And often, that means selling.

If the guys stick to the basic formula and stay in the picture for a long time, the product will remain what it is, and the pandemic project will have taken on enormous proportions.

All the signs point to this becoming an excellent business decision.

Extension

La Poche Bleue will not be returning to lunchtime with Stéphane Gonzalez. Gonzalez is taking over at BPM Sports, and the show will no longer be on the air.

This is not a disaster for LPB – quite the contrary.