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World Cup in 2028: the NHL “hopes” that Russia will be part of the tournament

This evening, the 4 Nations Showdown kicks off at the Bell Centre. Canada will take the stage as they face Sweden.

Let’s remember that Jordan Binnington and Filip Gustavsson will be the starting goaltenders.

Before the match begins, however, Gary Bettman addressed the media to discuss a few topics… and he confirmed what had been in the air: the World Cup will return in 2028.

Basically, the plan is simple: NHL players will participate in the Olympics in 2026, then we will have the World Cup in 2028 and the Games in 2030.

We want the best players in the world to compete on the international stage every two years, in short.

The big question in all of this is what the tournament will look like. And on that note, we also got some details.

During this tournament, there will be “at least” eight teams… and there won’t be a Team Europe as was the case in the last edition of the tournament. Each “team” will be a country this time.

Obviously, the four countries participating in the 4 Nations Showdown (Canada, United States, Sweden, and Finland) should fill four of the eight spots. One might think that Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, for example, are other good candidates…

And we have to wonder if Russia will be included.

Marty Walsh, who heads the NHL Players’ Association, was asked about this, and he stated that the league “hopes” Russian players will be involved. That said, it will all depend on “political factors.”

We will see how everything evolves in the coming years, but the good news is that after nearly a decade-long pause, we can expect to see the best players in the world competing on the international stage regularly in the coming years.

And that’s good news for everyone.

Overtime

It should also be noted that the World Cup will take place in February. This is something that some criticize about the 4 Nations Showdown since it falls right in the middle of the season… but we will move forward with this time window.

It should also be noted that during his press conference, Gary Bettman mentioned that he has not determined where the World Cup will take place. He has asked cities to submit their bids… and he noted that he is open to both North American and European cities.

Could Montreal, which is hosting the 4 Nations Showdown, gain some points in the coming days to host the World Cup in 2028? To be continued.

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Evans and the negotiations with CH: The problem is the duration of the contract… but also the salary

Jake Evans is one of the players who could leave the Canadiens by March 7. His contract ends at the end of the current season, and it is known that he is not close to reaching an agreement with the Canadiens for the terms of a new deal.

His comments after the Canadiens’ game on Sunday even suggest that he is in his final days in Montreal…

Brian Wilde (Sick Podcast) is convinced that Evans knows he’s leaving:

Pierre LeBrun, in the recent episode of Radar, shared new information regarding the discussions between Evans and the Canadiens.

The issue is not just the length of the next contract… But also the salary.

The insider emphasized that both sides are (really) far from a deal at the moment:

Jake Evans will turn 29 in June.

It is therefore normal for him to consider testing the free-agent market, as this is likely his last chance to sign a big contract in the NHL.

At 33-34-35 years old, he likely won’t have the opportunity to sign a multi-year contract at a really attractive salary.

That said, Pierre LeBrun explains well: if Evans wants to stay in Montreal… He will have to be willing to accept less money (and fewer years), even though he could potentially get more in the free-agent market.

The Canadiens cannot offer him the moon because there are other guys in the coming years who will sign big contracts. #LaneHutsonAndIvanDemidov

Ultimately, at this point, it’s up to him to make a decision.

Either he decides to sign a more familiar contract to play in Montreal… Or he chooses to trust his skills to see where that could lead him on July 1.

And if it’s the latter path he chooses, it would make sense for the Canadiens to send him elsewhere in order not to risk losing him for nothing this summer.

In Brief

– Big game tonight for the Rocket.

– My heart wants to go with Canada. My head, on the other hand, really likes the United States…

– Are you going to watch Canada’s game tonight?

– That’s such a nice idea!

– Oh really?

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Mathieu Olivier gives love to Arber Xhekaj

Upon his arrival in the NHL, Arber Xhekaj sent a message to the rest of the players in the league.

You want to fight me? Alright… But you need to know that I can defend myself too.

The Canadiens’ defender is now seen as one of the good fighters in the NHL, and his reputation is well-established.

Xhekaj is a tough guy, and the other tough men in the league can recognize that.

Among them? Mathieu Olivier… Who showed him some love during his stint on the Cam & Strick podcast.

“He’s a tough kid,” said the Blue Jackets player when discussing the Canadiens player:

In Mathieu Olivier’s eyes, Arber Xhekaj is among the best tough guys in the NHL.

And coming from the Blue Jackets player, that’s quite significant because he’s not afraid of anything either.

Let’s remember that the two guys have already fought together:

It’s cool to see that the guys respect each other this way.

That said, it has to be admitted that it would be special to see Mathieu Olivier and Arber Xhekaj on the same team in Montreal… Even if the latest news suggests that the chances of that happening seem pretty slim.

Everything indicates that the Blue Jackets will do everything in their power to keep their forward in Columbus because he helps the team in his own way and because he is a really beloved player there, both in the locker room and outside of it.

The fans of the club appreciate him a lot too.

In Brief

– A return to BU for Lane Hutson.

– They have what it takes to cause an upset.

– Wow!

– Poor guy.

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Dobson is changing agents, and the moment is particularly significant as he is at the center of several rumors

The name Noah Dobson is popular right now in New York.

It seems there is a possibility of seeing the Islanders trade their star defenseman, and the issue has been buzzing because Dobson is one of the good players in the National Hockey League.

The fact that he is in the last year of his contract also plays a role in the rumors about him.

But while his name has been popping up in some discussions lately, we just learned that the main interested party has changed agents.

He was previously represented by Andrew Maloney:

Dobson is now represented by Judd Moldaver and Olivier Fortier from Wasserman.

If the name Olivier Fortier rings a bell, that’s normal: we’re talking about the same guy who represents Joshua Roy and who made headlines for the wrong reasons back in November.

Let’s remember that Roy never showed up for a signing session and that the agent did not respond to the organizers either.

That caused quite a stir in Montreal:

When a player changes agents while at the center of certain rumors, it’s often because he wants to move things forward in his situation.

Indeed, Elliotte Friedman discussed this during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 THE FAN… However, the insider believes that Dobson’s decision does not indicate that he wants to leave the Islanders.

My first impression is this: I don’t think Noah Dobson is going to leave the Islanders. – Elliotte Friedman

Friedman suggests that the change may have been made simply for the negotiation of his next contract with the Isles:

It must be understood that Noah Dobson is not automatically going to leave the Islanders.

It would have been logical to think that this change (especially at this timing) might indicate a departure for him from New York, but that’s not necessarily the case according to the renowned Elliotte Friedman.

I have the impression that Lou Lamoriello is listening (and will listen) to offers for his defenseman, but that it will take a lot, a lot for him to be allowed to leave.

After all, the Islanders are not in a position where they can afford to miss this opportunity.

Dobson is probably the player with the highest value along with Mathew Barzal, and if the Islanders trade the defenseman, they must seek a quality return given that they do not have the largest prospect pool in the NHL.

In brief

– He will attempt to secure an 11th win in as many games.

– Lane Hutson impresses Adam Fox.

– Interesting!

– What do you think?

– To be continued.

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Dale Weise on Patrik Laine: “You wonder why he gets people against him everywhere.”

Right now, Patrik Laine is really getting talked about. And not for good reasons. #PubliclyThrowingHisCoachUnderTheBus

As I mentioned earlier today, he holds his destiny in his hands. If he starts producing like he has (or roughly), he will manage to get public favor back on his side.

If he pushes himself, he will help himself.

All this to say that the case is making waves. Even people who are not concretely in Montreal (but who follow the Canadiens’ activities from afar) are realizing it.

Out of the crowd? Dale Weise.

The former Canadiens player, who has never really stopped following the team since he left, recently wrote on Instagram that he liked Laine and thought he was a great addition, but…

But he started to wonder, with comments like that, why he has quickly made many people dislike him everywhere he has gone during his career.

Of course, criticizing Martin St-Louis (or throwing him under the bus, if you prefer) does not really help. After all, Laine is not playing like a guy who deserves more ice time.

On the contrary.

I know not everyone shares my opinion (and that’s okay, given that he has taken some responsibility for his performances), but Laine will certainly have things to apologize for regarding what he said.

If you want your guys to be accountable, you have no choice.

in quick succession

– Not to be missed.

– Yeah.

– So be it.

– The captain is playing tonight.

– To watch.

– What to do?

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Patrik Laine has only one option to redeem himself in the eyes of Canadiens fans

Patrik Laine said what he said.

I know that several minutes later, he said that he had to look at himself in the mirror in order to produce more adequately with the Canadiens… but he still threw his coach under the bus. He still criticized the ice time he received in Montreal.

And even though he took part of the blame… he still criticized Martin St-Louis in all of this.

Laine is an authentic guy in front of the media – for better and for worse. He criticized the Jets, he criticized the Blue Jackets, and he’ll criticize the Canadiens. He’s like that.

He doesn’t have the benefit of the doubt right now because of his past. And I’m not saying this because DLC has “an agenda against Laine” or anything: the guy said what he said and he is who he is.

But you know what? The best thing about all this is that even if some talk about contract buyouts or sending him elsewhere, Laine still has a way to get out of this.

How? He has to produce on the ice. It’s that simple.

Before Laine played his first regular season game with the Canadiens, he was applauded to the rafters. And when he would often score on the power play and help the team win, his flaws were hidden.

So there exists a world where Laine becomes that player again for the Canadiens. And if that happens, he will be loved again.

Is it because of seeing him regain confidence at the Four Nations tournament with his Finnish friends? Possibly, yes. Seeing him score at the Bell Centre this week would make the fans happy.

It’s up to him to work hard to put himself in positions to succeed. He hasn’t done that often in his career, but if he does in the coming months, he can calm the public outcry.

in brief

– Filip Gustavsson will face Canada tonight. And the Swedes will have a good power play advantage.

– Tough blow.

– Um…

– Ouch.

– To be continued.

– Good question.

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EXCLUSIVE! Altercation in a bar involving Sidney Crosby

The Confrontation of the 4 Nations will kick off tonight at the Bell Centre, with a Canada – Sweden match (8:00 PM).

Tickets for this match can still be found on resale sites… tickets over $200 each in the pit up top. For a ticket in the Reds, it starts at $342 per ticket (as of 11:00 AM this morning).

You have to shell out the cash to have the chance to watch a power play featuring McDavid, Crosby, MacKinnon, Makar, and Reinhart.

But Sidney Crosby is not just making headlines for his captaincy and presence on Canada’s first power play this morning. No!

I was told a story involving Sidney Crosby, a bar in Florida, two Quebecers, and a scuffle last weekend.

I did my research, as the saying goes, and was able to share it with the listeners in recent hours. The clip is already embedded if you click on the link below:

On January 3rd, the Penguins lost 3-2 to the Panthers in Florida.

The day before, on the 2nd, Sidney Crosby and several of his teammates went out to a bar in Miami.

“What? They went out the night before a game? Impossible…”

In a future episode of Stanley25, Jean might tell you about the time when his buddy ran into some players from the Canadiens while they were knocking back shots the night before one of their nice victories during their December/January run.

Whatever.

The story about Crosby goes like this: at some point during the night, the two Quebecers felt that the Penguins players were taking up too much space in the bar, and one of them allegedly pushed Sidney Crosby, who ended up on the floor. It’s very likely that he knew exactly who Crosby was and what he was doing by pushing him…

Before long, Penguins players stepped in to stop the two Quebecers, and then security quickly escorted them out of the bar instantly. It’s said that they had to pay their running tab even though they were no longer in the place…

Moral of the story: think twice before confronting NHL guys if you run into them in a public establishment.

You won’t come out on top.

Overtime

No, this “fight” has nothing to do with Sidney Crosby’s current arm injury.

This injury won’t prevent Crosby from facing Sweden later.

Crosby even scored the day after his “altercation,” spending more than 22 minutes on the ice.

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Canadian: two of the 13 top prospects in the NHL in front of the net

For just under two years, Jacob Fowler’s name has been everywhere when discussing the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects. And with good reason.

What you need to know is that he is well-regarded not just in Montreal. Scott Wheeler, who ranks prospects for The Athletic, clearly hopes to see Fowler develop well.

Why? Because in his ranking of the top 20 drafted goalie prospects, Fowler is placed second.

Only Yaroslav Askarov (Sharks) ranks ahead of him. And even better: they are the only two goalies who fall into the “category 1” of the expert’s prospect ranking.

Let’s remember that among skaters, Ivan Demidov is ranked first in Wheeler’s list.

Fowler is having an excellent season, and it would not be surprising to see him make the jump to the pros once his season with Boston College is over.

From there, we’ll see what he’s made of.

As for the rest of the ranking (of 20 players), I have two other observations. The first is that among the 20 prospects, there are only four Canadian goalies… including one from Quebec.

Where is the next generation?

  • Sebastian Cossa (3)
  • Devon Levi (5)
  • Carter George (10)
  • Evan Gardner (19)

Of the group, three have been developed in the Canadian Hockey League (two in the West and Carter George in Ontario) while the Quebecer has gone to the NCAA to further his development.

It’s not an ideal situation… especially considering that Canadian goalies are not exactly plentiful in the NHL.

And finally, we note that Jakub Dobes is ranked 13th. This means that Montreal has two of the 13 most promising drafted gems who are not yet fully established in the NHL, according to Wheeler.

Not too shabby.

In Brief

– Artemi Panarin would have liked to play in the Four Nations tournament.

– The Rocket in action.

– To read.

– Brock Nelson wants to stay in New York.

– Interesting.

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If it were to be done again, Samuel Montembeault would not be with Team Canada

If it were to be done again, Samuel Montembeault would not be with Team Canada.

Why do I say that? Because Montembeault, who is clearly Canada’s #3 goalie at the moment, would not have been Team Canada’s choice if the club had had an extra month to make its decision.

Pierre LeBrun, for TSN, said that Adin Hill and Jordan Binnington (the starter tonight) were the top two choices, but he feels that Hockey Canada would have liked to have more time to finalize its roster in terms of goalies, which is the club’s weak point.

What LeBrun is saying is that seeing Mackenzie Blackwood dominate upon his arrival in Colorado may have changed the game. He was traded from the Sharks to the Avalanche in December and he dominated upon his arrival in Denver.

So clearly, it feels like Montembeault was the “default” choice at the beginning of December.

Looking at the Quebecer’s stats in December (if he had been given an extra month to prove himself, that would have been taken into account), we see that he had his best month of the season. He played like a goalie worthy of the Four Nations.

And despite that, Hockey Canada would not have chosen him? This means he was really a default choice two and a half months ago.

(Credit: ESPN)

Yes, he will have a great experience despite everything in the coming days. But it feels like if Mackenzie Blackwood had been traded to Colorado earlier or if Logan Thompson was not on Team Canada’s naughty list, Monty might not be with the club.

But right now, he is there. And he is the only Quebecer in the competition.

in brief

– Speaking of the wolf.

– Three years of Martin St-Louis: what is the assessment? [BPM Sports]

– Did Kristopher Letang want to break into Team Canada’s lineup?

– Oh really?

– I hope so.

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«Kirby Dach is no longer untouchable; he is no longer part of the core»

In recent years, people have been wondering what led to Kirby Dach being traded by the Blackhawks. But in the last few months, it seems we’ve been getting more and more answers.

Yes, Dach is coming back from an injury. But in his second full season with the Canadiens, the results just aren’t there.

As we can see, his 22 points in 56 games confirm what the eye test tells us: he’s not meeting expectations. His lack of effort is glaring on certain nights on the ice, which explains a lot.

(Credit: Getty Images)

But now an anecdote allows us to see that the problem may run deeper.

According to what Maxime Truman said on the latest episode of the Stanley25 podcast, there was an incident in recent weeks that may have caused the center to not exactly win points in the eyes of management and coaching staff.

During a mid-season meeting with players who needed to step up, Dach was reportedly called in by the leaders and coaches to discuss his season. He wouldn’t be the only one (Juraj Slafkovsky was also called in) in this situation, obviously.

But during the meeting with Kirby Dach, the Canadiens reportedly did not like how he reacted to what was said to him.

According to colleague Truman, during the meeting, there was talk of the fact that the CH believes in him and that he was acquired to take a center position in the top-6… but for that, he needs to give more. He also needs to help his wingers produce.

The problem?

When you have this kind of meeting, you look at the other person’s reaction. And what I’ve been told is that Kirby Dach’s reaction was not great. – Maxime Truman

This would therefore confirm certain things within the Canadiens. Dach would not be considered untouchable or part of the core of the team… and we notice that the team’s promotions do not revolve around him.

Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine haven’t played together recently, but both seem to be part of the problem right now. It’s no coincidence that the second line hasn’t been rolling for a while. #Attitude

The CH would therefore be evaluating its options. And even though this doesn’t mean he will definitely be traded, it’s clear that the door is open for a transaction involving the former Hawk.

I also note that Kent Hughes is not afraid to correct his mistakes if he feels it’s the right thing to do. #AlexandreCarrierForJustinBarron

It’s also important to note that in recent weeks, Dach has not played any better than he was before. So clearly, the meeting with his bosses did not have the effect of whipping him into shape.

To be continued, then.

overtime

Recently, the Canadiens played a game in California in front of no less than 19 scouts. And basically, that’s twice as many as usual for a hockey game.

What changed that night? Logan Mailloux was in uniform.

This is what Maxime Truman said (around the 22nd minute of the Stanley25 podcast)… and Jean Trudel certainly didn’t look surprised. He added that if the Canadiens had the chance to trade him, they would.

Mailloux was therefore in the showcase.