logo
ENFRع
#

Latest news with #MontrealCanadiens'

Canadiens' Christian Dvorak: Will He Stay Or Will He Go?
Canadiens' Christian Dvorak: Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

Yahoo

time01-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Canadiens' Christian Dvorak: Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

While Kent Hughes was able to make a big splash on draft day by landing Noah Dobson in a trade with the New York Islanders, the hunt to bolster the Montreal Canadiens' top six continues. It's no secret that the Tricolore would have liked to find that ever elusive second-line center. Still, pivots of that pedigree are few and far between on the market, and many teams are looking for that kind of gem, which has prompted the GM to widen his search to include top-six wingers that fit a specific profile. Does that mean the Canadiens should try to keep hold of Christian Dvorak? Marc Bergevin acquired the pending UFA after they had lost Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet and Philip Danault to the Los Angeles Kings in free agency. It wasn't so much that Dvorak was what the Canadiens needed, but rather, he was one of the rare centers available on the market. Advertisement Canadiens: Alexis Cournoyer's Childhood Dream Comes True Canadiens: Patrik Laine Celebrated His Big Day Canadiens: Trade Rumblings On Kyrou And Matheson Four years down the line, the 6-foot-1 and 190-pound left-shot center only managed to play a complete season once in Montreal, and during that campaign, he only put up 33 points. After nine years and 534 NHL games in which he gathered 249 points, it's evident that the offensive upside he showed in junior hockey was brought on by linemates Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk. Dvorak is not the man who could center the Habs' second line. Should Hughes bring him back to keep centering a veteran line with Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson? After all, they were an efficient line for the Sainte-Flanelle last season. We have to look back at the GM's season post-mortem to find a clue to answer that question. While he wouldn't speak about specific players, Hughes did say that he needed to be wary of blocking the development of his young players by signing free agents. Hughes is trying to build a perennial contender and wants to favour organic development. This past season, the Canadiens had two rookies who stuck around all season long: Lane Hutson and Emil Heineman. Both players had a more than satisfactory season and were well surrounded by veterans. Next season, it seems evident that Ivan Demidov will be one of the rookies, but there could be another spot up front up for grabs, which Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck should be contending for. Advertisement Bringing back Dvorak could make them wonder why a veteran has just filled a spot they have in their crosshairs. If Hughes signs a veteran center, it must be an impact player with top-six upside, not one for the bottom six. Jake Evans is already penciled in down there, and you've got to keep a spot which the kids can contend for. Sure, Dvorak was experienced and could play on the penalty kill, but Kapanen did that in the Swedish league and even played on the man-advantage as well. The whole point of sending him back to Europe was to allow him to gain experience in areas he wouldn't have the opportunity to work on in the NHL. Now, with Dvorak gone, he does have that opportunity. If it turns out he cannot do it, Captain Nick Suzuki can always go back to playing on the penalty killing unit, although that would be less than ideal with his already heavy workload, but the option is there if needed. In other words, signing Dvorak to a new contract would send the wrong message to the youngsters; it would tell them that the organization does not believe they are ready to take the next step, and it could have a profoundly negative impact on their motivation. Of course, going with youth will bring its share of growing pains; there will be times when the team may miss the veteran, but that's a regular part of the process. It was the same with Hutson last season; as the calendar progressed, the turnovers and hazardous decisions decreased. That's just normal - young players need to learn and grow in an NHL setting. Gaining experience in the AHL is all well and good, but it remains a lower league, and what works there may not work at the highest level. They need to be allowed to find that out for themselves. Advertisement Could it backfire? Not really, the worst thing that can happen is that there are more growing pains than the Habs thought there would be, between that and being stuck with a veteran who has become surplus to requirements and is almost impossible to trade because of a contract that is either too long or too generous. This doesn't strike me like a trap Hughes is likely to fall into. Dvorak performed well for the Canadiens in a bottom-six role last season, but room must be made for youth, and that means there's no room for him anymore. Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @ and Threads @karinehains. Advertisement Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

Canadiens: A Quebecer Players Mount Rushmore
Canadiens: A Quebecer Players Mount Rushmore

Yahoo

time25-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Canadiens: A Quebecer Players Mount Rushmore

On Tuesday, Quebecers celebrated their national holiday, Saint-Jean-Baptiste. A day that has been eventful in Montreal Canadiens' history, from the blockbuster in 2017 that was meant to solve the first center conundrum when Jonathan Drouin arrived in Montreal in return for Mikael Sergachev to Artturi Lehkonen's Cup Final trip-clinching goal. On that special day for the province, it felt like a good idea to list who would be featured on my Mount Rushmore of Quebec hockey players. Of course, the list cannot only include Tricolore players, but they do dominate. Without further ado and in no particular order, here we go. Advertisement The Canadiens Had Moved On From Zegras Canadiens: Potential First-Round Pick – Jack Nesbitt Could The Canadiens Swing A Big Trade With The Golden Knights? Maurice Richard Any Mount Rushmore of Quebec-born players has got to include the Rocket. The original Richard was so much more than a hockey player; he was the idol of a people and the leader the province needed to undergo social and political changes. He empowered the people of Quebec to shine and excel in their fields. The first player to score 50 goals in 50 games, the Rocket now has a trophy named after him, which is awarded annually to the league's top goal scorer. When he left the game, Richard was leading all players in career points with his 966 points in 978 games. Mario Lemieux It's impossible not to put the Magnifique on this list. Lemieux is arguably the best player in history, and it's impossible to know what heights he could have reached had he not had to deal with chronic back pain and cancer. When he hung up his skates for good, he had played 915 games and picked up 1723 points for a 1.88 point-per-game average, not far behind Wayne Gretzky's 1.92 PPG average. In addition to being a fantastic player, Lemieux saved the franchise that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Penguins, twice. Once as a player and once as an owner, when you think of hockey in Pittsburgh, you think of Super Mario, even though it is now the home of Sid the Kid. Patrick Roy I may catch some flak for this one since Roy doesn't lead the NHL in goalie wins, but I believe he was an absolute force on the ice, not just because of how well he played, but also because of his mental strength. There should be a picture of Roy next to the word 'clutch' in the dictionary. To this day, Roy remains the only player in history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP for two different teams and to win it three times in four Stanley Cup wins, which demonstrates the significant contribution he made to those victories. Brodeur might have won three Cups, but he never was the playoffs' MVP. In his 1,029-game career, Roy has a 551-315-131 record. Furthermore, he led the Canadiens to their last two Stanley Cups; without his elite goaltending, Montreal would still be stuck on 22 Cups. Guy Lafleur I was torn here between Flower and Le Gros Bill, but Lafleur is the last absolute offensive superstar who wore the Sainte-Flanelle and was part of that Canadiens' dynasty in the 1970s. When Beliveau skated into the sunset, Flower took over the torch, and although it took him a couple of years, he eventually held it high for all to see. In 1,126 games, Lafleur put up 1,353 points while Beliveau, in just one less game, put up 1,219 points. Perhaps I'm showing my age here, and I went with Lafleur because I was lucky enough to see him play; that's a possibility, but just like Richard, Lafleur was the people's idol. Unlike many players, he was always frank and ready to give his opinion, which is another reason why people loved him. Quebecer's reaction to his death in April 2022 said it all… Advertisement Photo credit: Eric Bolte - Imagn Images Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @ and Threads @karinehains. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

Canadiens: Hutson Named To All-Rookie Team
Canadiens: Hutson Named To All-Rookie Team

Yahoo

time13-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Canadiens: Hutson Named To All-Rookie Team

While it was a given after he had won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie for the 2024-25 season, Montreal Canadiens' blueliner Lane Hutson was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team on Thursday night. One hundred eighty-seven members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association were asked to vote for the All-Rookie team, and three of the selections were unanimous: Hutson and his fellow Calder finalists, the Calgary Flames' goaltender Dustin Wolf, and the San Jose Sharks' forward Macklin Celebrini. Advertisement Philadelphia Flyers Russian wonder Matvei Michkov was a near-unanimous selection, receiving 186 votes, while the final forward, Anaheim Ducks' Cutter Gauthier, received just 79 votes. As for the second defenseman, the honour was given to the Columbus Blue Jackets' Denton Mateychuk, who received 95 votes. The last time a Canadiens player was named to the All-Rookie Team was in the 2019-20 season, when Nick Suzuki was honoured alongside Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Elvis Merzlikins, Victor Olofsson, and Dominik Kubalik. Before then, it was alternate captain Brendan Gallagher, back in 2012-13, on a team that also featured Jonathan Huberdeau, Brandon Saad, Jonas Brodin, Justin Schultz, and former Hab goaltender Jake Allen. The last Canadiens blueliner to be named to the All-Rookie Team was P.K. Subban in 2010-11, who was joined by Logan Couture, Corey Crawford, John Carlson, Jeff Skinner, and Michael Grabner. The NHL began naming an All-Rookie Team in 1982-83, and since then, 14 Canadiens players have received the honour. In three seasons, two players from the Habs made the team. In 1982-83, Mats Naslund and Dan Daoust; in 1984-85, Chris Chelios and Steve Penney; and in 1985-86, Patrik Roy and Kjell Dahlin. Advertisement Of the 14 Canadiens players named, only three were blueliners, including Hutson. There were also only three goaltenders (Carey Price being the third), and the remaining eight players were forwards (Gallagher, Suzuki, Dhalin, Daoust, Naslund, Oleg Petrov, Michael Ryder and Gilbert Dionne). Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @ and Threads @karinehains. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store