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Right now, Patrik Laine is THE target of Habs fans.
Media and fans alike are talking about his flagrant lack of effort in Game #2. And Martin St-Louis must have noticed, too, because when the driver cut his bench on Wednesday, Laine was given the boot.
Just this morning, TVA Sports shared an article about Laine. It shows Michel Therrien, who coached in the NHL for many years, saying that Laine is a bad teammate on the ice.
Here’s what Michel Therrien would do to revive the CHhttps://t.co/tlqAUrfk8Q
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 25, 2025
Is Laine injured? It could be. But the CH hasn’t announced anything… and everyone’s a bit injured at this point… and Laine no longer has the benefit of the doubt because of his past as a guy who doesn’t always give his all.
That’s why Laine is being criticized right now.
And that’s what brings us to guys like David Savard and Mike Matheson. Even though they’ve played better in the past than they have in the last two games, they don’t get criticized as much. And they’re not losing playing time.
Are these guys less criticized by the French-language media becausethey‘re Québécois d’ici who speak French, as we sometimes read on Twitter?
Habs French media:
Let’s attack Patrik Laine all day long so that nobody talks about Savard and Matheson. pic.twitter.com/wD0NOk0I4G
– talk_canadiens (@talk_canadiens_) April 24, 2025
The answer is no.
What you have to understand is that these guys force themselves. They give what they have to give by playing a role that Patrik Laine would never want to play, even if he is the highest-paid skater on the team.
In my eyes, there’s a big difference.
Martin St-Louis has continued to put Matheson and Savard on the ice in situations where they have to play, because they’re pushing themselves and because it would be bad for the club to give them a hard time . St-Louis did things differently with Laine (six against five at the end of game #2) because he doesn’t force himself.
Bringing language into this is bad faith. But I’m not surprised it’s happening.
After all, yesterday there was a CH-related language debate(the famous “Go Habs Go” on the buses) and it always brings out the worst in everyone, these debates.
No Habs No: Quebec orders STM to drop ‘Go’ from bus messages because it’s an English word https://t.co/p1mc8G2eVb pic.twitter.com/cC82iJNOdp
– Montreal Gazette (@mtlgazette) April 24, 2025
And that’s even if, in this case, even the Francos find the situation mostly thick.
If the Habs weren’t losing their series 2-0, maybe the mood in town would be different. But right now, it looks like a lot of people are forgetting the wise words of Loco Locass in the song Le But.
When it comes to field hockey, we don’t mess around, okay?
It’s more than a sport
It’s a metaphor for our fate
It’s what we’re all about
That’s what brings us together
Anglo, franco whatever your skin color
Regardless of skin color or language, CH fans must want players who sweat and bleed for the Montreal Canadiens’ tricolour jersey. Because it’s more than a sport: it’s a metaphor for our fate.
Laine doesn’t do that. If a player doesn’t force himself, his language doesn’t matter. And CH fans have proven it in the past: everyone is liable to get booed.
And that’s why, instead of talking about the first playoff game since 2017 in a full Bell Centre, this morning we’re talking more about the passengers in the club, whose face Laine has become by necessity.
All the people with tickets for tonight’s game want is for the guys on the ice to give it their all so they can give themselves a chance to win and shout… Allez Montréal!
24 hours#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/a3h08ybfj0
– x – Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) April 24, 2025
in a row
– Ah well.
The #CFMTL players broke bread at the Palma earlier this week.
I guess someone told them that teams who come to play the Habs and dine there the night before a game at the Bell Centre almost always win their game
https://t.co/kCus Ijs4qw
– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) April 25, 2025
– Big duel, this.
Could be the duel of the year. https://t.co/eWpu4KgRnz
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) April 25, 2025
– A woman as Islanders GM? [JdeM]
– We suspected it, but Tony Marinaro reminds us that there will be another season of the CH series on Crave.
Tony Marinaro confirmed tonight on @thesickpodcasts that the MTL Canadiens have been filming The Rebuild: Part 2 this year, a behind-the-scenes look at the Habs season. pic.twitter.com/BDIZd8WFwY
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 25, 2025
More must-reads:
- Canadiens handle important piece of business with Mike Matheson's long-term extension
- Connor McDavid made an egregious mistake with Oilers
- The 'Five game-winning-drives in a season' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Grading Brad Treliving’s major moves as Toronto Maple Leafs GM
After Kyle Dubas was fired, the Toronto Maple Leafs wasted no time hiring Brad Treliving to be their next GM. Coming from Calgary, Treliving had a very mediocre past, but that didn’t stop MLSE from bringing him on board. His seat is now getting warmer with every loss, as his Leafs sit second last in the division with a record of 10–11–3. Things are not going well in hockey’s top market, and while the coach might be the first one fired, it feels like Treliving’s days are also numbered. But is this his fault? To find out, let’s grade every major move of Treliving’s tenure in Toronto so far. Leafs receive Joel Edmundson for a 3rd and 5th round pick – Grade: C Treliving’s first trade deadline was pretty boring. It felt like he didn’t have the full reins yet, and his moves around the edges, especially on defence, didn’t do much to help Toronto whatsoever. Edmundson had a decent playoff, but the Leafs were once again finished in Game 7 of the first round. A 3rd and a 5th don’t seem like much, but for a depth defenceman, it’s a bit of a steep price and the type of trade teams really try to avoid. Signing Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi to one-year deals – Grade: A Treliving made it very clear in his first offseason that his direction would be different from Kyle Dubas’. By signing Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi to one-year deals, he shifted the team structure from speed and finesse to more rough-and-tumble. It took a while for both Domi and Bertuzzi to get it going, but by the playoffs, both were fantastic. They formed a great first line with Auston Matthews and were not to blame for the Leafs early exit. Now, re-signing Domi and letting Bertuzzi walk was a mistake, but the initial deals were both awesome. Re-signing Max Domi to four years, $15M – Grade: D Brad chose the wrong guy to bring back, and two years into Domi’s four-year deal, it’s looking rough. Domi just isn’t very good, especially with a coach like Craig Berube. He doesn’t play defence, needs to play with Auston Matthews to look anywhere close to decent, and doesn’t generate offence as he should. The only reason this isn’t an F is because Domi was really good against the Ottawa Senators last postseason. Other than that, this is a bit of a disaster. He has 11 goals in 97 games since his extension kicked in. Signing Anthony Stolarz to a two-year, $5M deal – Grade: A Bringing in Anthony Stolarz was a godsend last season, as Stolarz led the NHL with a .926 save percentage in 34 games. He was Toronto’s playoff starter until getting hurt, and is still genuinely one of the best goalies in the league. The problem is injury, and it’s clear now why Stolarz has never become a full-time starter: he gets hurt a lot. His second season has been a disaster, playing in 13 games with an .884 before going down with an unknown injury. Either way, for the first season alone, this signing gets an A. Treliving knew Joseph Woll needed a partner, and Stolarz was nothing short of a miracle last season. Leafs receive Scott Laughton for a 2027 1st-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin – Grade: D Last year’s deadline is turning out to be an abomination, and this trade is half of it. Scott Laughton has four points in 26 games since coming to Toronto. Yes, you read that right, four points in 26 games. For a first-round pick. And a top-five prospect. Now, to be fair to Laughton, he looks fine. He isn’t getting a chance in the top-six, which he should, and he’s one of Toronto’s better bottom-six guys. But that’s not saying much, and you just don’t trade a first-rounder and a top-five prospect in your system for a Scott Laughton type. This was Brad’s first giant trade, and it’s just terrible. I’ll give Laughton a bit more time before giving this an F, but there’s an argument it already should be. Nikita Grebenkin is outscoring him this season! Leafs receive Brandon Carlo for a 2026 1st-round pick and Fraser Minten – Grade: F- This trade will be the one we look back on in 10 years. Thinking they needed another RD, the Leafs sent their second-best prospect, Fraser Minten, and this year’s first-round pick to Boston for Brandon Carlo. Where do we even begin? Carlo has been downright horrible. He’s 6’5 but plays like he’s 5’6, doesn’t hit, doesn’t score, doesn’t move the puck, doesn’t do anything. He’s been awful, and now he’s hurt, which might actually help the Leafs defence corps. The Leafs suck, which means we’re probably gifting Boston the seventh overall pick in a stacked draft class. I don’t understand ever sending first-rounders to Boston; it never ends well. And to top it all off, Fraser Minten looks fantastic. He’s the Bruins’ every-night third line centre (something the Leafs desperately need, by the way) and has eight points with a +2 rating so far. He’s going to be a stud third-line centre at worst, and should have been too high a price to pay for Carlo alone. When Treliving gets fired, this is going to be the move people point to as to why. Just awful Verdict: Fire this man Brad Treliving is not a good GM. He never has been. His hiring was based on his relationships on the MLSE board and had nothing to do with his actual work. If the Leafs want to hit a soft retool and try to keep their window open, he’s not the guy to do it. If they want to full on tank, he’s not the guy to do it. If they want to make some moves to improve, he’s not the guy to do it. Hire someone who knows what it takes to win in the NHL, not someone like Brad.
Details emerge on Francisco Lindor's alleged incident with Mets teammate
Mr. Smile apparently wasn’t smiling too much about one of his teammates last season. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had a "heated confrontation" with teammate Jeff McNeil last June, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported on Friday. Puma writes that Lindor began verbally attacking McNeil on June 20 over a defensive lapse that McNeil had during that day’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The confrontation, which was only verbal and never got physical, came in the midst of a seven-game losing streak by the Mets at the time. Puma also reports that the flashy Lindor clashed personalities during the year with the business-like Juan Soto during the season as well. Interestingly enough, the five-time All-Star Lindor also had a confrontation with McNeil in the dugout during a game in the 2021 MLB season. That confrontation did turn physical, and Lindor later offered an extremely unconvincing excuse for the incident. Meanwhile, the incident last June underscored the Mets’ struggles to get on the same page with one another during the 2025 campaign. Despite having a mammoth $342 million payroll, the Mets completely collapsed in the final weeks of the season and missed the playoffs altogether. Now there are rumors that the Mets could make some big changes this offseason, including a potential trade of McNeil. After another apparent confrontation between the veteran utilityman and the four-time Silver Slugger Award winner Lindor, it is clear that something is not quite working right now in that clubhouse.
Jerry Jones claims Jets turned down absurd trade offer involving Micah Parsons, Quinnen Williams
Hal Steinbrenner’s comments on Yankees’ profits point to a larger issue
Over Thanksgiving week, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provided fans with plenty of news to digest. Among notable items that are circulating, four things stand out: his resolve to lower the payroll below $300 million, the insinuation that the Yankees are not a profitable ballclub, the assumption that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ astronomical payroll played no part in their dominance and his purported support for a salary cap. When seen together, these four items seem to suggest a severe reluctance to spend. Steinbrenner made it clear he wants to come in under the luxury tax threshold. Interestingly, he called the correlation between spending and championships weak, alluding to his Yankees as well as the New York Mets as examples of teams with high payrolls and limited success. However, this opens up a discussion about how said money was spent. The Mets notably dumped a record sum on signing Juan Soto, but did little elsewhere. But what about the Yankees? When asked if it was fair to say the Yankees turned a profit after engrossing over $700 million in revenue, Steinbrenner had this to say, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch: “That’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement. Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the City of New York that we have to pay every February 1, including the COVID year. So, it all starts to add up in a hurry. “Nobody spends more money, I don’t believe, on player development, scouting, performance science. These all start to add up.” Altogether, the Yankees spent slightly under $305 million on players’ salaries in 2025. For a breakeven season, the Yankees would have needed to spend over $395 million elsewhere. Where did it all go? Steinbrenner mentioned the $100 million expense to New York City. As for the bulk of their expenses, the Yankees owner pointed towards player development, scouting and performance science. This raises a more serious question about mismanagement. The Yankees are overspending on failing analytics If most of the money was spent on development, scouting and performance science, one could easily argue that the cost has outweighed the benefits. Despite having spent so much, these efforts have produced very little. Over the years, the Yankees have seen more failures than success stories when developing major league talent. Promising players and top prospects like Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Deivi Garcia, Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Oswald Peraza and Estevan Florial, among many others, never panned out. The team also gave up on Carlos Narvaez and Agustin Ramirez in favor of Austin Wells, who underperformed the pair of rookie backstops this past season. Another catching prospect, Yankees 2018 first-round draft pick Anthony Seigler, who struggled during his time in the Yankees’ farm system as recently as last year, excelled with the Milwaukee Brewers in Triple-A this year. Anthony Volpe, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Jasson Dominguez are four current works in progress. It might also be fair to say the torpedo bat craze the Yankees started has officially ended. Of their recent triumphs, the Yankees boast Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Going further back, one might add Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge to the list; however, Judge’s swing was actually developed by famed hitting coach Richard Schenck, not the Yankees. Spending on these efforts is by no means a waste; nonetheless, it’s clear the Yankees are grossly overspending for something that isn't even working. Whether it means an organizational shakeup or reallocation of funds to target proven major league talent, Steinbrenner’s approach needs to change.
Frank Ragnow update fits troubling 2025 Lions pattern
The Detroit Lions can't catch a break. On Saturday, the Lions announced that center Frank Ragnow, who earlier this week came out of retirement to rejoin the team for the stretch run, failed a physical and won't be returning this season after all. Per Detroit's social media account, Ragnow's medical check-up revealed a Grade 3 hamstring strain, eliminating the possibility of the four-time Pro Bowler playing this season. Ragnow, 29, left the game with seemingly plenty left in the tank, and his injury setback is another brutal blow for a Lions team that is starting to look cursed. Frank Ragnow's hamstring injury halts comeback before it even begins Detroit has been dealing with several injuries up front along the offensive line, and Ragnow's potential return would have provided stability to a unit that that's become the team's weak link. In Thursday's 31-24 home loss to the Green Bay Packers (8-3-1), Lions quarterback Jared Goff was pressured on 36.7 percent of his drop-backs and sacked three times, via Pro Football Focus. Graham Glasgow, who replaced Ragnow at center this offseason, missed the game with a knee injury. The Lions are also without left guard Christian Mahogany (leg), further depleting the team's depth. Without Ragnow, Detroit must get more creative in figuring out a way to mask its weakness up front if it's to reach the playoffs in a third consecutive season for just the second time in the Super Bowl era. At 7-5, the Lions are a game behind the San Francisco 49ers (8-4) for the NFC's final wild-card spot. On Thursday, they host the Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) in a potential elimination game for the loser. Ragnow's return would have provided a huge boost at the perfect time, fortifying Detroit in the interior of the line of scrimmage. It was the perfect solution to a growing problem. But as has often been the case this season, when it comes to the Lions, it's never that easy.
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