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The CH did not receive the expected price for its players by the deadline (according to Darren Dreger)

Before seeing Jake Evans sign a contract extension with the Canadiens, he was part of a group of four players who had a chance to leave the Canadiens on the trade deadline last Friday.

Among them? Evans, of course… along with Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, and David Savard.

Today, at the time of writing, these guys are still part of the Montreal organization.

We know that the Canadiens turned down a second-round pick for Joel Armia. Eric Engels reported this information on Friday evening, after the trade deadline had passed.

But if we exclude Armia from the discussion, what about Savard and Dvorak?

It’s simple: according to Darren Dreger (TSN 690), if these players are still in town today, it’s mainly because the Canadiens didn’t receive what they wanted in the offers.

They (Hughes and Gorton) didn’t get anything significant in return for the pieces we discussed before the deadline, apart from maybe a fourth-round pick. – Darren Dreger

At that price, Kent Hughes did well to keep them:

A fourth-round pick for Savard or Dvorak, it’s not very useful.

These guys are more useful in Montreal under the current circumstances because the Canadiens are fighting for a playoff spot.

And it’s certain that Kent Hughes thought of that too.

What’s the point of giving up quality support players like Dvorak and Savard for peanuts… when the players didn’t stop sharing their desire to see the team stay intact.

It would have really sent the wrong message in the locker room, after all.

And it would have also hurt the Canadiens in their playoff run.

Ultimately, it’s certain that there was (and still is) a risk of seeing them leave for free this summer via free agency.

Dvorak, Savard – and even Armia – will be free agents as of July 1st… But if Hughes chose to keep them, perhaps he believes in his chances of being able to keep them too.

In any case, Kent Hughes made his players happy because they deserved it, and he made the right decision.

The Canadiens are still two small points away from the playoffs at the moment…

In a nutshell

– Machine.

– It’s coming.

– I like it. Do you?

– Okay…

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Jake Evans at $2.85M per season: overpaid in the eyes of Simon Boisvert

Kent Hughes didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, after all.
He kept everyone… And he was even able to extend Jake Evans’ contract.
That was the big news on deadline day in Montreal.
Evans signed a four-year extension worth $2.85 million per season.
A good deal under the circumstances, since the player could probably have earned more money on the free agent market.
But in the eyes of the Snake (Process), $2.85 million for a fourth-line player like Evans is too much.
Simon Boisvert is aware that the salary cap of NHL teams will skyrocket in the coming years, but still:

Even if it’s not the end of the world, Evans, in my opinion, won’t be worth $2.85 million. – Simon Boisvert

In fact, the Snake – who would have liked to see Armia, Evans, Dvorak, and Savard traded – has a point that can be defended.

The Canadiens will want to compete for the top honors soon, and they can’t necessarily afford to have a “negative” contract on their books for that to happen.

In 2022, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup with supporting players like:

  • Andrew Cogliano (cap hit of $1 million)
  • Logan O’Connor (cap hit of $725,000)
  • Nico Sturm (cap hit of $725,000)

In 2023, the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup with supporting players like:

  • Paul Cotter (cap hit of $760,000)
  • Michael Amadio (cap hit of $762,500)
  • William Carrier (cap hit of $1.4 million)
  • Keegan Kolesar (cap hit of $1.4 million)

In 2024, the Panthers won the Stanley Cup with supporting players like:

  • Ryan Lomberg (cap hit of $800,000)
  • Kevin Stenlund (cap hit of $1 million)
  • Nick Cousins (cap hit of $1.1 million)
  • Steven Lorentz (cap hit of $1.05 million)

These guys all contributed to their team’s success by playing in the bottom-6, mostly on the fourth line (Evans’ chair)… and earning a very respectable salary.

But we also have to look at the other side of the coin.

Evans is a fourth-line player (maybe a third-line player at best), but he’s also the defensive pillar in situations of numerical disadvantage. He’s the one used on the first wave of the penalty kill because he’s excellent at what he does.

We know his usefulness in Montreal, he’s in the best years of his career, and that’s probably why Kent Hughes decided to give him such a “big” contract.

And even then, the percentage of Evans’ salary in the cap will be minimal when the salary cap rises to $113.5 million in 2027-2028.

In a flash

– Attention all interested parties:

– I love it!

– Good point.

– To be continued.

– The Rams have released Cooper Kupp.

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Oysters, shooters, a (former) player of the Canadiens and a transaction that had to wait

No, I’m not doing humor.

And no, I will never be as funny as Louis-José Houde or Martin Matte.

But a few excerpts from our passage on the podcast Deux Princes – which will be released on YouTube in the coming days – have been published on Thomas Levac’s Instagram account. I found myself funny.

Add to that the fact that yesterday, I may have dropped my best joke of my life during the recording of the Stanley25 podcast this week:

“Patrik Laine is probably the guy wearing a ‘long day’ toque who has had the flu the most this year!”

I think I’m going to add a new tab to my description on LinkedIn: Maxime Truman, part-time humorist on YouTube.

Laugh aside, the new episode of Stanley25 is now available to the public. Good listening!

This week’s episode is probably the most disjointed of the season.

We talked about the mysterious virus and Patrik Laine’s future, crazy parents in amateur sports, a foosball table that I bought from the leader of the Bloc Québécois and Éric Lapointe, a broken tibia during an event I was participating in, public transportation in Terrebonne, a love triangle at the Canadiens (a few years ago), a case of measles at the Centre Bell announced eight days after the game, Joshua Roy’s last chance, the chances of seeing Jonathan Toews end up in Montreal, a Rocket defender’s favorite bar, an anecdote involving Nathan Beaulieu, oysters, shooters and the Canadiens, the job of a QMJHL recruiter, and the bad contract that binds – and could soon be broken – the MLS to Apple TV.

To hear the anecdotes involving Nathan Beaulieu and Christian Thomas:

To hear those about Éric Lapointe:

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Big hit to foresee: the Canadian will be among the most aggressive teams this summer

About a year ago, during his end-of-season press conference, Kent Hughes reminded that summer 2025 would be a pivotal moment for the Montreal Canadiens.

Why? Because the salary situation (increase in the cap, contracts of the CH) and the progression of the club are factors that dictate the line of thought of the management.

And don’t think that this has changed: the Canadiens will show up to the plate with the intention of hitting a home run in the market this summer.

This is a theme that often comes back for the Flannel, which has tried to improve its team on the trade deadline. It wasn’t done because it’s hard to make big trades during the season. Especially for a team that doesn’t aim for the Cup.

It was really a sellers’ market.

But as Marco D’Amico (RG media) reminds us in a recent article on the subject, this summer, the Canadiens will be aggressive. Whether on the free agent market or the trade market, it’s going to be busy.

The team should really be among the most aggressive teams in the market this summer, in fact.

Obviously, we should expect the club to look for help at center, since the wings are going well. Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov will be in the top 6 next season.

And Eric Engels wouldn’t be surprised if Kirby Dach was on the wing of the second trio, with Demidov, in 2025-2026. Hey, hey…

The Canadiens, who shouldn’t give up on Dach in 2025, would therefore have Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook (if the club manages to find a top-6 center) on a bottom-6? With Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Emil Heineman, and Jake Evans, for example?

That’s if these guys stay. Nothing is certain.

So it puts things into perspective again: more than ever, it’s the second center position that the CH needs to improve. Nick Suzuki is a good first center, but he needs help.

And if the CH finds it, they can move on to the next level.

In rafale

– Note.

– Note.

– It’s good.

– Shane Wright: is he better than Slaf? [JdeM]

– Ouch.

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Folie in Slovakia: Juraj Slafkovsky says “only in Montreal, people mind their own business”

Is Juraj Slafkovsky overthinking things?

This is a question that comes to mind, considering the highs and lows of his season. Yesterday’s game (three points) was a good one, but everyone knows he’s having a rollercoaster season.

I’m asking this because his contract may be affecting him, even if it’s not yet in effect. The player sets big goals for himself and surely wants the CH to get their money’s worth, up to a certain point.

Why am I saying this?

Because in an interview with Jonathan Bernier, Slaf said he doesn’t like anything about his season and that to be satisfied, he would need 35 more points (including 15 goals).

He said this before scoring and collecting two assists against Vancouver. This means that at the 3/4 mark of the season, Slaf would have liked to have 70 points… and currently, he has 38 points, including 12 goals.

No one on the Montreal team has 70 points right now.

It was ambitious for Slaf, who refused to reveal his personal goals at the start of the season. The fact that he’s not close to his individual goal must clearly be on his mind right now.

But that’s not the only thing that must be affecting him, since Slafkovsky seems to really have it in for the attention he receives in Slovakia. He’s already talked about it earlier this season… and recently, again with Jonathan Bernier, he brought it up.

I feel like in Montreal, people mind their own business.

I won’t come across as nice to the Slovaks, but I feel like people in Montreal are more polite. – Juraj Slafkovsky

A few months ago, Slaf had also lashed out at people in his country, and it had made headlines. This time, Slaf hasn’t learned from his mistakes and has spoken out against the Slovaks again.

Because, in my opinion, it’s a mistake. He has the right to say what he wants (and it’s a nice compliment for the Quebecers), but it doesn’t serve any purpose to speak out against the people of his country.

Especially since it wasn’t to ask them to be patient, for example: it was just to complain.

Of course, his words will make waves in Slovakia, he’ll hear about it, and he won’t be able to do anything but think about it. If he wants 35 more points, having a lot on his mind won’t help him, between you and me…

in rafale

– News from CF Montréal.

– Jonathan Quick: one more year in New York.

– Not everything is rosy in New York.

– 18 games with at least two points before the age of 21: Juraj Slafkovsky joins Henri Richard.

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Injury to the lower body: David Reinbacher will not play tonight

Bad news in Laval.

David Reinbacher will not be able to play tonight. And it’s not something that was planned since when it is, the Rocket says it clearly. Bravo for the transparency, by the way.

Tonight, it’s really a lower-body injury that will prevent him from playing.

The defenseman is evaluated on a daily basis… and the first question we ask ourselves is whether it’s the Austrian’s knee that’s at issue right now.

Because if so, it’s bad news.

Details to come…

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“There, it’s certain that Patrik Laine will return tonight”

For a few days, Patrik Laine’s flu has been a topic of discussion. Does he really have the flu? We wonder.

Laine played the first game of the Western trip, but missed the last two, officially due to the flu. And we wonder if it’s not hiding something more.

An injury? Surely not: the CH would say so, simply.

Was Laine left out by his coach and the CH hid the truth? Is there something bigger (something related to mental health, for example?) and the CH doesn’t want to or can’t say it?

For now, these are questions that arise. The uncertainty opens the door to speculation about the one who skated solo yesterday. #CommeUnExtra

But on this subject, on the airwaves of BPM Sports this morning, Renaud Lavoie slipped some information at the end of his segment. Quite candidly, he claimed that tonight, it’s “sure” that Patrik Laine will play.

The journalist said it while mentioning that he was looking forward to seeing how it would affect the trios for tonight’s game against Seattle.

The two obvious candidates to take a turn, if Laine plays, are Joshua Roy and Michael Pezzetta. Roy is a better player, but if Laine can play, his emergency recall would likely become a regular recall – unless there’s a reversal of the situation.

In the context where the CH is in a playoff race, it shouldn’t be the predominant factor. But it’s worth considering since there are only two regular recalls left for the CH this season.

And that brings us to Michael Pezzetta, who was preferred to Laine if the latter is a healthy scratch.

Yesterday, El Pezz played his second game in a row. And without great surprise, he was the least used attacker by Martin St-Louis, playing less than eight minutes against Vancouver.

Said that, 7:48 of playing time, it’s a personal best since… October 27 in Philly.

Logically, it’s surely him that St-Louis will want to remove from the lineup. After all, he doesn’t bring anything on the ice right now, having lost his identity on the ice. With so little playing time (less than 20 minutes since the beginning of February), it’s not abnormal, however.

(Credit: ESPN)

Pezzetta has no points this season in 16 games and it’s too bad for him, but he shouldn’t be a factor for the club in the midst of a playoff race for the Canadiens.

We’ll see what the coach, who will speak to the media around 2:45 p.m., Quebec time, will say about all this. Note that there is no practice scheduled for the club today. #Logique

In passing

– How to become a distraction 101.

– Yes, it was a mistake.

– To read.

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The Canadian climbs in the rankings: thank you to the first trio

Last night, the Canadian climbed the rankings.

On the sidelines of their 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, the Flannel passed the New York Rangers, who had two more points in the standings. But since the CH has a game in hand…

Result? Martin St-Louis’ men currently only have one club to overtake to be among the top eight teams in the East. We’re talking here about the Blue Jackets, who have a two-point lead over the CH.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Even if the CH wins tonight, it won’t be able to overtake the Blue Jackets in the rankings within 24 hours. But that’s not crucial either: the season doesn’t end tomorrow morning.

We knew that the victory over Vancouver was important and clearly, the guys understood. With 66 points, the CH would not be on the verge of the playoffs this Wednesday morning.

And when I say the guys understood, by the way, I’m mainly talking about the first trio, who got seven points and propelled the Canadian to victory via a very strong performance on the ice.

Nick Suzuki’s goal, wow…

NO SENSE, WHAT IS IT

DIRTY FREAKING DANGLE

#GoHabsGo

[image or embed]

— Canadiens Montréal (bot) (@canadiens-mtl.bsky.social) March 11, 2025, at 10:42 PM

The captain, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky (who is happy to have played like that, which he hasn’t always done this season) all scored and got at least one assist. Slaf got two.

Without these guys, the Canadian couldn’t have won their game.

And it’s also the only three forwards on the team who got at least one point last night. Mike Matheson, in an empty net and without help, scored the insurance goal at the end of the game.

So yes, the best players were the best in the game against the Canucks. And it will take that until the end of the season to stay #InTheMix and to hope to make the playoffs.

But that’s not the only thing to note about the day’s win.

What else do I take away from the game against Vancouver, which is the first of two in a row at impossible hours for hockey fans who just want to sleep at night?

1. Joshua Roy didn’t look bad last night. The more the game went on, the more he seemed at ease. But he didn’t look completely at ease either in his first game back in the NHL after a while.

It was a good first step, that said.

2. Samuel Montembeault is another reason for the Canadian’s win. He gave up two goals, one of which came from a numerical advantage for the Canucks that should never have happened.

And the first one wasn’t exactly a save he absolutely had to make either, given the circumstances. In front of Carey Price’s eyes, it wasn’t a bad performance, quite the contrary.

 

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3. As Guillaume Villemaire points out, in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the Canadian’s first two full seasons under Martin St-Louis, the team won 31 and 30 games in 82 games, respectively.

And this season, in 64 games, they already have 31 wins.

Note that in 2021-2022, the CH had 22 wins. The previous seasons? 24 wins in 56 games (2021) and 31 wins in 71 games (2019-2020) in the seasons shortened by the pandemic.

You have to go back to 2018-2019 (44 wins) to see a season with more than 31 wins. And the CH is only one win away from changing that.

4. I wonder how Josh Anderson feels. After all, he no longer systematically misses all practices and we talk less about his injuries during games.

He must still be in a lot of pain… and he must think that #92, when he plays, can give more. Right?

overtime

The Canadian took the road to Seattle because tonight, at 10:30 PM (Quebec time), the Kraken will be on the menu for the Flannel.

It would be too easy to cut games in the West to have more Boston and Toronto on the menu, right?

We should see Jakub Dobes in goal and we’ll keep an eye on Patrik Laine’s situation. We’ll also keep an eye on whether Martin St-Louis will still think he’s in a show by Nickelback at some point during tonight’s game.

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Top-5 : Instead of scoring, Ovi passed to Protas for his hat-trick

There was a lot, a lot of action in the NHL on Tuesday night.

Eleven games were presented in all corners of the league!

The Canadian won against the Canucks, but let’s see what happened elsewhere:

1: What a beautiful gesture from Ovi

How did the game between the Capitals and the Ducks go?

In short, to summarize it all… We need to remember two things: Alex Ovechkin’s performance and that of Aliaksei Protas.

For those who are wondering, no, Ovi did not score in the game.

But Protas did score a hat trick. Here’s one of his goals:

We also remember this magnificent goal from Anthony Beauvillier in the game.

His first goal with the Caps is all that:

At the end of the game, Ovechkin had the opportunity to score to get closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record.

The Ducks no longer had a goalkeeper… But the Capitals captain chose to pass the puck to Protas, who was able to complete his hat trick in an empty net.

Beautiful gesture from Ovi:

In the end, the Capitals won 7-4.

Ovechkin didn’t score… But he finished the game with three assists.

2: Dylan Cozens is having fun in Ottawa

Things are going well for the Sens lately.

The Ottawa team was trying to win a fourth game in a row and was visiting Philadelphia on the occasion.

That’s what happened!

The Sens can thank Matthew Highmore… Who came to save his goalkeeper when the score was 3-2 in the third period.

A sequence that deserves to be seen and seen again:

From that angle, it’s even more impressive:

The Senators ultimately won the game 5-2… and in the victory, Dylan Cozens continued to have fun with his new team.

He scored his 2nd goal in a Sens uniform… and also picked up a third point (in as many games).

A great acquisition so far for the Senators:

3: The Bruins and Panthers really don’t like each other

The Panthers visited the Bruins for the first time since the Brad Marchand trade.

The former captain of Boston was not in uniform (he trained this morning with the Panthers)… But there were still fans of his new team to cheer him on:

But Brad Marchand didn’t need to be there for things to get heated between the Panthers and the Bruins.

In the final minutes of the game, the two teams did what they usually do when they face each other.

They bickered:

The Bruins won this game 3-2.

It’s funny, but the Boston team has now beaten the Panthers AND the Lightning since Marchand left…

4: Is Igor okay?

We know that goalies have a… special character.

Last night, we saw Igor Shesterkin act like that.

The Rangers goalkeeper stole Brandon Tanev’s stick, tried to make a save… And then decided to catapult his opponent’s stick into the board.

The sequence is quite funny:

Maybe the Rangers goalkeeper was upset about his team’s performance, too.

Because in fact, the Blue Shirts were only able to score once against Connor Hellebuyck, who had another big night.

The Jets goalkeeper stopped 21 of the 22 shots directed at him to sign his 38th win (!) of the season.

It was Gabriel Vilardi (with his 27th goal of the season) who scored the winning goal in the game.

The Jets won 2-1:

5: Sid is on fire

Sunday night, the Penguins faced the Wild.

Sidney Crosby scored two goals in the game.

Well… The Penguins captain continued his streak today by scoring two more goals against the Golden Knights.

He now has 23 goals and 70 points in 65 games:

Overtime was necessary in the game to determine a winner between the two teams… And it was finally Erik Karlsson who stood up at the right time.

The Pens defenseman scored to give his team the win (3-2):

It’s a second consecutive win for the Penguins… who are no longer really in the running for a playoff spot.

We want to finish the season on a high note in Pittsburgh, apparently.

Overtime

— Classic.

— Snipe.

— Wow!

— Big night for Jesper Bratt and Juraj Slafkovský.

(Credit: Capture d’écran/NHL.com)

— Four games on Wednesday in the NHL:

(Credit: LNH.com)
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Three points for Juraj Slafkovsky: Tricolore gets back to winning ways in Vancouver

Tonight, the Canadian made a stop in Vancouver for the third game of their Western trip against the Canucks.

The Tricolore had to win this game after two losses to stay in the race for the series, trailing by four points behind the Blue Jackets and the last place of the drafted teams.

Recalled on Monday, Joshua Roy played his first game with the CH on December 1st, while Patrik Laine missed a second game in a row.

Here are the lineups for the two teams:

The Canadian didn’t waste time getting on the board when Nick Suzuki escaped to score the first goal with just 66 seconds into the game. Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky got an assist on the play.

The visitors doubled their lead when Slafkovsky beat goalie Kevin Lankinen with a beautiful wrist shot.

The Canucks thought they had opened the scoring, but the referees ruled that the puck had not crossed the goal line.

The CH was leading 2-0 after 20 minutes of play.

Samuel Montembeault had to make a quick save early in the second period on a shot by Nils Hoglander.

The Tricolore got the first advantage of the game when Marcus Pettersson gave a stick to Suzuki. However, far from taking advantage of it, the Canadian rather took a penalty during their power play.

The Canadian held on during this disadvantage and increased their lead when Caufield scored on a nice pass from Suzuki. Slafkovsky also got an assist on the play, his third point of the game.

3-0 for the visitors after two periods.

The Canucks increased the pressure at the start of the third period and they finally scored their first goal when Filip Hronek beat Montembault to reduce the deficit to two goals after a little over four minutes of play.

Although there may have been obstruction, Martin St-Louis chose not to dispute the goal after taking a timeout and consulting his goalie.

Halfway through the third, David Savard took a very questionable penalty for a stick and Elias Pettersson scored the second goal for the locals on a power play on passes from Hronek and Conor Garland.

However, the CH held on to their lead and ensured their victory when Mike Matheson scored into an empty net.

Final score 4-2 for the Canadian. Montembault made 29 saves in the win.

The next game for the CH will be tonight at 10:30 PM against the Kraken in Seattle.

In brief

– Fourth consecutive win for the Senators.

– Bruins come back.

– 45th win for the Jets.

– Five wins in a row for the Hurricanes.

– Far from an agreement?