Kent Hughes is extremely pleased with what he's seeing from Ivan Demidov. The Montreal Canadiens general manager spoke glowingly about the young Russian forward's performance during his first season in North America, highlighting how impressive his success has been given the circumstances.
Tonight, the Canadiens take on the Calgary Flames. So there was a practice this morning (during which we understood that Jacob Fowler would get the start and the rest of the lineup would be unchanged) and press briefings.
The Canadiens will play four games in six days at the Bell Centre, starting tonight when the Flames come to town. Along with the Canucks and Jets, the Flames are one of the NHL’s three worst teams in the overall standings.
On Tuesday, during his mid-season press conference, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes was asked in French whether the Habs can proceed with Oliver Kapanen as their second-line centre for the long term.
With the Canadiens’ success and the just-concluded World Junior Championship, the Laval Rocket hasn’t been getting much love lately. So, how is our Rocket doing?
NHL head coaches have to hire good assistants. They have to set an overarching philosophy, juggle lineup configurations, and do the kind of “man management” that is impossible to track statistically.
Special teams often tell a deeper story than five-on-five play, especially for a young team still learning how to win consistently in the NHL. This season, the Montreal Canadiens have experienced a complete reversal in that department.
In the past, Marc Bergevin has made it clear that it’s difficult to find good center players in the NHL. It hasn’t always been easy for the former GM of the Canadiens.
Earlier today, Kent Hughes gave an update on his club’s first half of the season. And listening to the GM, it became clear that the club, at the moment, is ahead of the game in terms of management.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage finished this year’s World Juniors as the tournament’s leading scorer with 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 7 games.
Nick Suzuki is having another great season in Montreal. The Habs captain, who will be representing Canada at the next Olympics, already has 46 points on his tally after 42 games.
Earlier today, Kent Hughes held his mid-season review. The GM was generally very positive about many aspects of his club, which is indeed having a great season.
Although I may be a game late, as the Montreal Canadiens have played 42 games so far this season, I thought it would be fitting to put together my mid-season awards for the Habs on an off night.
The Montreal Canadiens hope to bring their winning ways home when they play host to the once-again struggling Calgary Flames on Wednesday. The Canadiens ended a run of seven consecutive road games with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Samuel Montembeault hasn’t had a great season so far. The goaltender struggled for months at the start of the season, to the point where he spent some time in Laval as part of a conditioning program.
Martin St-Louis was a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy at the end of last season. He took his club to the playoffs when it wasn’t really expected, and his work was lauded even if he didn’t go home with the trophy awarded to the NHL’s best coach of the year.
Looking at the Canadiens’ current forward line-up, there aren’t too many major holes in the lineup. Admittedly, adding a quality center could help… but hey.
Kent Hughes has improved his team in recent weeks. He acquired Phillip Danault from Los Angeles because there was a (significant) hole at center in Martin St-Louis’ lineup.
Is the Canadiens a perfect team? No. But are the Canadiens an exciting team that continues to progress and learn more and more about how to win hockey games?
Currently, the second line is led by Oliver Kapanen. Let’s face it, no one (except Grant McCagg) had anticipated such a scenario this summer. The guy really gets the job done with Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky at his side.
France unveiled its roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, and the team will lean heavily on Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier as its lone representative from the NHL.
With the World Junior Championship coming to an end, it’s a good time to look back at how the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects performed on one of hockey’s biggest stages.
Questions don’t necessarily “plague” the Montreal Canadiens, who, at 23-13-6, sit impressively in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points out of first place.
The Montreal Canadiens left Dallas with a 4–3 overtime win Sunday night, and it was the kind of game coaches love to rewatch on a long flight. Second night of a back-to-back.
The 2024 first-round pick (21st overall) is showing good progress in his second year in the NCAA at Michigan, with 10 goals and 28 points after 20 games.
Every Calder conversation eventually comes to the same question. Do you reward a rookie’s impact, or do you reward his circumstance? What about his ice time, usage, and opportunity?