HABS ARE HEATING UP! 4 Straight Wins!

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The Montreal Canadiens stay red hot with a dominant 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators, extending their winning streak to four games.

Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico are LIVE at 10AM to break down a statement performance from the Habs as their young core continues to deliver. Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, and Alex Newhook each had a goal and an assist, while Cole Caufield stays on fire with his 45th goal of the season.

We dive into:

The impact of Montreal’s second line taking over the game
Caufield’s push toward elite goal-scoring territory
Jacob Fowler’s strong performance in goal
What this win means for the Canadiens’ playoff positioning
The Habs’ growing confidence heading into a crucial stretch

With momentum building and contributions across the lineup, are the Canadiens starting to look like a legitimate threat down the stretch?

#montrealcanadiens #nhl #hockey

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The Star and D'Amico show is brought to you by Cheapest T-Shirts.ca. If you're looking for quality gear without overpaying, shop cheapest shirts.ca. Huge selection for men, women, and kids. Tees, hoodies, headwear, bags, and more. Proud Montreal business. Order today, ship today, delivery tomorrow. That's cheapest t-shirts.ca. Local, fast, and affordable. Brought to you by Instacustoms.com. Do you need custom gear from a local Montreal business? Instacustoms.com has you covered. Custom shirts, hoodies, hats, and more. Made your way. Fast turnaround, great quality, and proudly Montreal-based. Check out Instacustoms.com. Brought to you by Cablatel. For trusted alarm systems in Quebec and eastern Ontario, choose Cablatel. Over 20 years of expert installation and top-tier protection for homes and businesses. Check out Cablotel.com, email them infocablatel.com. It's Cablitel. Peace of mind you can count on. Brought to you by Little Bear. Give your pet the best with Little Bear Pet Supply. It's a proudly family-owned business here in Montreal for over 30 years. Chuck Eve and their all-star staff have you taken care of with all the top brands at the best prices, and they really care for your pets. Shop online at LittleBearOnline.com or visit them on St. Catharine across from Westmount Square. It's Little Bear Pet Supply. Brought to you by McLean's Pub. Head over to McLean's Pub, 1210 Peel Street in the heart of downtown Montreal. Great food, cold drinks, and big games on all the screens. McLean's Pub, good times and great company. Happy Sunday morning, everybody. And uh welcome to another live presentation in the aftermath of the hottest team in the National Hockey League. Granted, the St. Louis Blues have won four in a row, but we're not here to talk about them. The Montreal Canadians roll to their fourth straight win on a light night. We call that light work in the business. 4-1 winners over the Nashville Predators. Marco D'Amico is here. What is good? Happy Sunday, brother.

SPEAKER_04 1:58

Happy Sunday, everybody. Um, again, four in a row for the Montreal Canadian, Sean. I think it's I you know comes in pretty clutch considering the the mood around uh Habsland, I would say about uh 10 days ago. Um so to see the way that the team has responded and let's let's call a spade a spade here, you know, shored up the defensive side of the puck. I I you know honestly, I think that this team is gearing up very well uh to be ready for the playoffs at this point.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

I think that's a great point. Um, you know, we've been talking for the better part of a week, Marco, about the team togetherness, whether it's uh Caden Gooley jumping in after Matt Barzell drops the gloves, uh, going after Miles Wood, a couple of different Canadians when he ran uh Lane Hudson along the boards there. He got a couple of his teammates jumping to his rescue. And I guess to that point, right, brother, uh Luke Evangelista was a little bit of a target after he went into Jacob Fowler, which again I think emphasizes the point you made about the Canadians take notes, the Canadians are preparing. And I guess that that beat is set and the tempo is set by the coach when we go back to him kind of establishing that playoff mentality, whether it's mind games with lineups or or goaltender speaking, not speaking, so on and so forth. But uh, don't you love the way they're kind of getting ready with at the time with 12 or 13 games to go before game number 82 in the season wraps up, that they're sharpening their pencils ready because now they're at just over 97% to make the playoffs?

SPEAKER_04 3:28

Yeah, they have 10, uh they have 10 games left, yeah, tonight included, obviously. Um, you know, so it'll be very interesting. Uh, I know there's gonna be a lot of hockey watching today because it's not just the Montreal Canadians, and I know this question's already been brought up. Michigan lost any news on Michael Hage injury. Uh, Michigan did not lose. Michigan state lost. Correct. That's Porter Martone, that's Charlie Stramel, that's Caden Lindstrom, that's not Michigan. Michigan is is blue and all greens. Michigan State is is green and white. Um, so um it in regards to I just want to point this out right now. There is no information on Michael Hage's injury. I have messaged his agent, I have messaged his team, I have messaged his coach. No comments all around. We will not be told a damn thing until they give you the stat sheet when the game is about to start. The game is at 4:30 central, so 5:30 uh eastern today. Yeah, we'll know closer to four o'clock. So during our live today at McClain's, we'll have a little bit more on uh we'll have a little bit more on Michael Hage at that point.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Yeah, I'm very much looking forward to our uh live show at the real deal on Peel. That's McClain's Pub, 1210 Peel Street. Marco and I will be live at starting at four o'clock. Love to see so many of the uh Star and Domico community uh up in the house. Uh drinks, the vibe, the game. You've got the Habs game against Carolina tonight, as uh Marco just alluded to, uh, the Michigan Wolverines. Will he or won't he talking about Michael Hage? And as we talk about this, uh let's let's give a quick shout out to one of our fans, uh Austin Shraggy, uh, who's a big time supporter, viewer, listener of the Star and Domico show. We say good morning to Austin, um, fine young man who's a passionate hockey fan. So love hearing from all our fans across social media. So shout out to Austin Shraggy. Hope you have a good Sunday and looking forward again to seeing everybody later this afternoon live from McLean's pub. Marco, lots to get to. Uh, we talked about it in the intro here. Light work over the Nashville Predators, where we this Nashville team, man, they had an impossible time. Speed is a weapon, and that was a big weapon for the Canadians. Let's get into some of the finer details here. In particular, for the second game in a row, the Canadians scored the first goal, and 93 was dangerous again. Just when we thought, oh, him and Kapanin, they're hitting a wall. Boy, did they bust through it in the last week.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

Yeah, I mean, first of all, Demiro of yesterday, like, man, the details in his game. The the the stick checking, the for-checking, um, the way that he's able to fight off of checks, play through traffic, um, the way that he is now able to make quicker plays. He's just such a different beast than he was at the beginning of the season. He plays such a stronger two-way game, and we're seeing a lot of his plays comes from compartmentalized strong individual efforts from himself. And I think, you know, when you when you see the way that he continues to play, like his goal when Suzuki springs him, his he was well positioned, you know, right at the blue, in case anything would happen on one end, but not too far compromised that he wouldn't be able to back check the other way. Uh, the way that he is effective in his puck pursuit, especially when it pertains to defensive zone coverage, has improved greatly. Again, what you're seeing right now, if he continues to build up these details on a day-to-day basis, you are looking at a potential superstar because I've rarely seen a player of that skill and one-on-one ability develop those details as quickly as Ivan Demidov has. Just really interesting to see.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Uh, the second line gets a hat-trick. Everybody on the line gets a goal. Uh, Kapanin's on 22 goals. Uh, Demidov, you know, we spoke about it last late last week, right? About uh playing through contact. Love to see him rush the puck and also you know bowl a guy over. Love to see that that early semblance of a of a power forward move. And Cole Caulfield, ringy dinghy off the post, uh buries his 45th of the season. Um and Nick Suzuki coming off. I think it was only what the 17th game of the season where the captain left the game without a point to speak to 14's consistency this season as the leader off the ice and on the ice, Marco. I mean, Cole Caulfield, how you feeling? How you feeling about a 50-goal campaign? Um the odds with the Canadians again making the playoffs are 97. I wouldn't put Caulfield at 50 at 97, but boy, he's getting close.

SPEAKER_04 8:07

He's got to score five goals in the next 10 games.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

It's doable. It's doable. I'll say he does it. He's buzzing, man. He's but every game I think every game.

SPEAKER_04 8:16

I think he's more likely to score 50 goals than co than Nick Suzuki is to get 100 at this point.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

I don't disagree with that. I don't disagree.

SPEAKER_04 8:24

You know, if he if he were uh even a smidgen more lucky, we'd be talking about 46 goals tonight, uh, today because of course he had to hit that post. He had so many close calls, you know. And again, it doesn't matter what a season he's having. Like, for all intents and purposes, he's going to finish either first or second in goal scoring in the NHL. When is the last time the Canadians had someone even close to that? Yeah, Stefan Richet, but Stefan Richet is you know 36 years ago. Damn, yeah. So just just just gonna slide that in. Um, but one thing I will say, you know, we're talking about Demitov. You want to talk about Kapanin? Alex Newhook. Oh, the last three games has really upped it, right? Like Oliver Kapanin's goal, again, we talk about this consistently. Kapanin is a well-placed individual, knows where to go on the ice. Um, you know, that aspect of his game, untouchable. But that goal does not happen at all without Alex Newhook. Alex Newhook yesterday just made things happen. He was open in the ice, he was shooting, he was dangerous, he was quick, he was supportive, he was creative. And when he's engaged, this remember Alex Newhook before his injury, right? He was all over the place for the Canadians, one of the like silent MVPs of the the the really the season when it started prior to his injury, and I think you know these are the kinds of players like I talk about in New Hook, elite third line players, right? Like obviously now he's playing on a second line, it works, yes. But when the Canadians are going to be a competitive Stanley Cup perennial contender, Sean, I having a guy like Newhook three left wing, I mean it's gravy, and it's and you know, again, he signed for next yeah to next year as well at 2.9 million. So I love the way that they're slowly building out their depth because basically what's gonna end up happening is a lot of what's on their second and third line is gonna move down a rung, right? Once you have the Michael Hage's the uh the the the Alexander Zherofskys of this world that are gonna come in, a lot of some of these guys are gonna get bumped down. Like, for example, I think eventually Hage bumps Kapanin down to 3C. We've been talking about this. Everyone wants to put Kapanin as the 2C. I think it's a huge luxury to have a guy like Kapanin as your 3C, and I don't think it's problematic to say that. So the more that this depth continues to develop, well, they're gonna develop at the same time as you have the Canadians' top line becoming the five-on-five line in hockey right now. And I think you're seeing things kind of happen at once, and that is why the Canadians are really kind of seeing a significant uptick in play. And you know, I I did want to bring this up because I don't want to be a Capan, I don't want to be seen as a Kapanin hater. I do very much appreciate his game. I was one of the first people before he even came to North America that said, watch out for this player. Uh, and I remember Oli Joken and his coach in Sweden, uh, you know, being one of the guys that said, this is a guy that's gonna steal a spot in camp, and that's exactly what he did. Kapanen again yesterday, brilliant in terms of positioning, defensive play on the PK. He was money neutral zone, he knows exactly where to be in the offensive zone. The guy is just so slick. It's like he was born on that ice. He's so slick at being able to find that open ice. But yeah, I have to agree with this question. It's not like he ever sets up Demidov or or New Hook for like grade A chances, it's generally a strong defensive play that allows for you know offensive chance generation. And I think that's totally okay. It speaks to his skill set and how good he is at what he does. Kapanin is a details guy, he's not a skill guy, he's a details-oriented individual, and you need those details when you want to be a championship contending team. So kudos to the Montreal Canadians, they've done a brilliant job in developing him so far this season.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Um, and again, you know, the future is is so bright. Like the future is kind of here, but not at its peak yet. Look at the stars of the game last night. Ivan Demidov with two points, a goal and an assist. Jacob Fowler, he was on a path to a shutout, if not for Kevin Lerux uh lucky bound city goal that broke the shutout bid in the 4-1 win. And Yuri Slavkowski, all of 21 years of age. Um, the future has arrived, and the future is only getting brighter and brighter as the Montreal Canadians now put some distance. They're on 92 points. That was uh such an impressive win on multiple levels last night. You take a look at the scoreboard, um, nobody really did the Canadians a lot of solids in terms of um what's going on, but the cushions is nevertheless still there. Their 41st win of the season. The Bruins are on 90 points, the Habs have a game in hand. Columbus, the second wildcard team, 73 games and 87 points. Both Ottawa and the Detroit Red Wings, a full six points back, the Montreal Canadians in the Atlantic Division on a game day. It's Montreal and Carolina. Uh the Hurricanes were big winners at home over New Jersey in a 5-2 final last night. Uh, Pock Drop from Carolina coming up at uh five o'clock. Marco and I again from McClain's on Peel 12-10 coming up at four o'clock. You know, when we talk about the Canadians run, you know, one of the best teams in the National Hockey League since early March. Uh they've scored a ton of goals. But also, Marco, one area of concern all season long goal preventions. The the the topic of systems and systems and who's playing where and who's doing what. Uh, the fact, Marco, since March 7th, that's a stretch of six games. The Canadians have allowed two goals against per game on average. And you know, it's something that another theme we've talked about, and I'm curious to get your take on, is Martin St. Louis wanting more offensive zone time from the lines other than the Suzuki line. I I can't help but notice on a consistent basis, Joe Voleno plays his role in the few minutes he gets, Jake Evans, Phil Deneau, and more importantly, again, let's get back to that second line. Consistent pressure in the offensive zone, less playing on defense, more pressure on the offensive line uh on the offensive side. Marco, I have to believe that definitely helps in terms of goal prevention. 12 goals against in their last six games.

SPEAKER_04 15:07

Yep. Um, there's a couple of things that I would say have led to really good goal prevention. One, they're playing much better in the defensive zone to begin with. I don't think Jacob, like the most dangerous thing in the Canadians' defensive zone last night were the boards. Yeah. So I don't think you can defend the boards. But other than that, I think when it looks like uh uh you know, when when when you when you look at the way that they defended yesterday, they were quicker in their own end, they were more aggressive on the puck hair. Things that we've been talking about on this show, you know. Um they were they were uh the wingers, for example, were more involved at the top of the zone. So it made it very difficult for zone for passes along the boards back to the point that they would then be able to utilize to stretch the Canadians D. Uh-uh. And again, Caden Gooley, another excellent defensive game yesterday. Just physical, pushing guys out of the way, no nonsense. And what about that goon, Lane Hudson? Yeah not uh not try to mix it up. And I know you know a lot of people, and I I know the comments are gonna come now, and I'm just gonna tell you I don't care. But it looking at that team toughness, it is imperative to me that that defense start playing with a little bit more wherewithal. Jaden Struble was physical yesterday, Lane Hudson was physical yesterday, Mike Matheson, Catan Gooley was physical yesterday, Mike Matheson throwing open ice hits. Yeah, like it's a team identity thing. They're all capable of doing it. It's now time to step it up a notch, and that's exactly what they've done over the last couple of days.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Uh, from Tristan, Tristan went to Public House. Marco and I have done a couple of shows from uh Public House, the the the sister establishment of McLean's Pub. But Marco, no, we're gonna be at the regular McClain's 1210 Beatle Street, uh starting at four o'clock today. So, Tristan, why not? I mean, if you you can double dip, it's Sunday, brother. It's all good. Um, mid to late afternoon. Hope to see Tristan and many others at our live show at McClain's Pub starting at four o'clock today. Uh Jacob Fowler, uh, once again, so calm, so technically sound. One, you know, one regular bounce off the boards instead of the unlucky one he got. And we're probably talking about a shutout bid. Pretty impressive, right? I know everyone was talking pregame about his new helmet. The Florida license plate is off. The Quebec Juma Souviens license plate with his name on the plate is in the back of his helmet now. Classy move by Jacob Fowler. And the fact that Marco, he's probably gonna play one game a week. That was his game last night. Probably gonna get another game, depending on what happens with Yakub Delbech, but no reason to doubt that.

SPEAKER_04 17:41

I think he plays Florida. I think he plays Florida. My two cents. Play him at home. You know what I'm saying? It's home homeboy. He's gonna be at home. I'm gonna be very emotive. Plus, it's the Florida Panthers, you know, they're going through it right now. Give Dobesh Tampa, and then you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

But they they play, yeah, they play Florida the week after they played the Florida on the 7th of April, right? They got 10, they got Tampa, Rangers, Devils twice.

SPEAKER_04 18:05

Oh, Rangers, right? Okay, so yeah, I think he I think Fowler gets the Rangers. There it is.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Yeah, but still, nevertheless, I mean, one game, one game a week, maybe. Um, but just it's his calmness, isn't it? You think he's gonna get two?

SPEAKER_04 18:17

I think you may get two this week simply just because if the Canadians continue to play the way they do, yeah, there is a chance that they're going to get to a level of cushion that is very interesting. And then what are gonna be the most important games? Tampa.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Tampa's because yeah, number one.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Montreal wins those two games against Tampa. There's a serious reality that they get home ice in the Atlantic, correct?

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_04 18:41

So there's something you need to you need to consider in terms of how that's going to work. And you know, to me, you have to be strategic on that. You know, you want to make sure that your goaltenders are arrested. You don't want to make the same mistake that the Canadians did last year with Montembo, where they rode him um just incredibly hard and you know come playoff time absolutely gassed. You don't want to do that. You want to also make sure that Jacob Fowler is getting games once a week is fine, but I think three games every two weeks probably more ideal of a metric. That'd be nice. As the Canadian, yeah. Well, I mean, plus you have to factor in that there's back to backs Saturday, Sunday. There's a back to back this weekend, there's a back-to-back next weekend, there's a back-to-back the week after that. So you're gonna have no choice but to balance it out a little bit, and I think that's exactly what you need uh at this point. So, goaltending wise, I'm not necessarily worried. This is probably the first week where I got all the goaltending starts right, so I'm not gonna pretend to be Nash Shadame's Martin St. Louis and Marco Marciano are gonna are gonna do what they got to do, and there is absolutely no way that I'm going to ask Martin St. Louis about the lineup because I like my head on my shoulders.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Yeah, yeah, good move, good move. Uh, the mild controversy that has been Martin St. Louis um and his line and the questions he's asked about his lineup. So, game one of a five-game road trip gets off with a bang, 4-1 win Nashville at Carolina at five. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday is the week that's in store. All seven o'clock games, Lightning Rangers, and then a home and home with the New Jersey Devils wrapping up on Sunday night at the Bell Center. I want to get this question up here because I'm not so sure I see the same thing. Longtime viewer, longtime contributor, Violet says the other teams aren't afraid to do it uh when talking about crashing the goaltender, uh, suggesting that it's uh a little soft that the Canadians aren't playing physically enough. In the past few games, we've had people crashing into our goalie. That is soft. I kind of see it a different way. I'm I'm curious about your perspective. I mean, no matter who's in the lineup, who's dressed for the Canadians, if if that's the tactic, if these pain in the butt type players uh the you know, the gritty players of the opposition, they're gonna get in the Canadians crease. To me, it's the consistent response. Luke Evangelista was a consistent target from almost everybody on the Canadians. They took his number. Yeah, exactly, and went after him all night, including Mike. I love the way Mike Matheson handled that. I have no problem. I wouldn't call what the Canadians Marco have been doing um soft, no disrespect to Violet's opinion. That's kind of her perspective, but I'm it's just not how I see it, I guess, is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

Having something done to you doesn't make you soft, how you respond to it makes you soft.

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Nailed it.

SPEAKER_04 21:23

That's the way I've always seen it. And oh my god, okay. Lane Hudson was one of the guys. Do you guys remember Lane Hudson at the World Juniors when he had a six foot six defenseman and he was just absolutely giving him the business in the finals? Lane Hudson doesn't give a hoot how small he is, he's gonna take it to you, and that's what I love about Lane Hudson. Anyone who ever couldn't like came up with the idea that Lane Hudson didn't have 10 on 10, if not 11 on 10 compete, is an absolute lunatic.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:52

So I'm just gonna drop that there. When you have Lane Hudson playing the way he is, if he's the first one because he's the closest, that's gonna Jump on the player that just ran over your goalie, that's fine. Who was the second player that jumped on uh was it Evangelista that ran over uh correct? Who's the second player to run to go after Evangelista? Nick Suzuki. Why? Because they were the two closest players there. What what kind of a response would it have been if they would have been there twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the bigger players to come in and jump in? Yeah, like there's a counter-argument to be had. This is a team, they don't give a hoot. And I'm really holding down my yeah, yeah, I'm really holding down my swear words here because like my my kids in the other room, and there is there are children listening to this, but like who cares who jumps into the pile? You're sending a message. You know what else? You know, you send a message initially, and then you send a message every other shift that player is on the ice. And if you looked at evangelista, I can guarantee you because I had friends in Nashville, Evangelista did not finish that game happy. He was not feeling it. He was getting slashed, he was getting hit, he was getting cross-checked, he was targeted the whole game. And I just like this is the point I'm trying to make is like team toughness is a thing. One player does not make the difference, it never has agreed in hockey, especially when they play less than 15 minutes a game. The fact that Josh Anderson was sick, you know, I don't think Josh Anderson would have been on the ice at that point because his line was never matched up against evangelistas anyway. So I get the idea, but I would rather see overall team toughness than the over-reliance on one player to be your tough guy.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

I agree. I team to team toughness, that that what do they call it, that pack mentality, right? Uh Jaden Strubble, by the way, gets the.

SPEAKER_04 23:36

I mean, I I haven't seen an official term, but he can't Mike Matheson had five hits last night.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Dude, he was all over the place. I loved his game. And you know, as we spoke about last week, I just I'm a huge fan of intensity. It's what I mentioned to Marco last week. I'm a huge fan of the intensity. I love the approach. I love the way the coaches kind of getting this team mentally prepared, and you see them answer in terms of the physical preparedness. And yeah, going back to that Wolfpack mentality that you've seen consistently now over several games, as the Canadians have run their winning streak to four. The drive for five starts tonight at Carolina at five o'clock. I want to dig in on the hurricanes for a second. Um, but Jaden Strubbel got the Wolf's hat for, I guess, the the team MVP in the locker room after the 4-1 win yesterday. I mean, the stability, Marco, that that's hat. I mean, it's not a coincidence. I mean, we're talking, I mean, I don't want to give it all on him in terms of the toughness and everything else, but it's just balanced everything out, right? I mean, it just it's just another game in the books where you know, 12 goals in six games. I mean, the balance is it's undeniable, and how how much better everybody looks in their own role now.

SPEAKER_04 24:43

Yeah, I uh look, I'm I'm still not a hundred percent sold. I think the sample size is still small, uh, but I'm still not a hundred percent sold on the Hudson uh Strubbel pairing, but it is the best pairing that you could have without breaking up the two other ones, which are working quite well. Struble is playing to his strengths. I'm never like I think oh there you go. Giovanni's on it. Yeah, um, but I believe when it comes to when it comes to playing that style, I think Jaden Struble being overly physical and aggressive has definitely helped the Canadians in being a little stronger in exerting pressure, uh separation, you know, puck separation in the defensive zone. That's a hundred percent been an improvement, and Jaden Strubel's hopped a great deal. But I talked about this a little bit last week. Notice how Martin St. Louis started allowing putting Lane Hudson and Jaden Strubel out there with the top line. Before it was strictly just Phil Deneaux line, Jake Evans' line. But now they've started with the last change, they have no choice now, right? But even at home, you started seeing it, they started shifting a little bit. Dobson and and and Matheson play more with the third, the second and third line is additional offense than when you've seen, you know, when Lane Hudson's there. So what I enjoyed from yesterday is that Lane Hudson didn't overdo it. He played within his means and he focused on the details. And if that pairing can continue to do that, the Canadians have three efficient defensive pairings for the time being. And again, you play a team like Nashville, that is an experienced team. Yeah, they're slow. I'm gonna give you that. Yeah, they're slow, and I think that's where Montreal's relentless speed for check style really clashes against them and makes them look bad. It's gonna be interesting tonight against Carolina to see how that matches up again.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Yeah, exactly. And what Carolina's answering.

SPEAKER_04 26:39

We'll talk, we'll talk about that in a few hours.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

Yeah, and if they, you know, kind of take the same approach as we saw when the Canadians were able to, you know, kind of answer that bell and ward off the always shooting Carolina hurricanes. Uh, but you mentioned his name earlier. Uh Josh Anderson left the game with an illness. He's sick, um, left and never returned to the game. Uh, the Canadians are on the road, Marco. That was the first of a five-game road trip. Um, curious what you think the most viable option is starting today in Carolina. Assuming Anderson isn't healthy enough to suit up tonight. That uh that yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

So Anderson left last night's game sick, not injured.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:14

So the Canadians have a couple of options. Option number one, they dress Arbor Jacky, they go 11-7, which, judging by the way they played last night, I don't think is gonna be a problem if they do that simply just because they're probably just gonna double shift Suzuki Slavkovsky and Coke Hawfield on separate lines or Demidoff, depending on what happens. Yeah, um, and sick sick, like this isn't a ploy by the Canadians. He's he was actually yeah, like he was sick, he was not feeling well. I don't I don't even get where the conspiracy comes in there, but uh well, I mean, first of all, listen, I don't blame fans with the secrecy when it comes to player health and and lineup decisions. What is the truth at this point? And then you factor in the next question, which is what about Patrick Line? Yeah, well, to for Patrick Line to play, can't he just take him off injury reserve? That's not a Martin St. Louis call. So we'll see what's happening there. The other option, because this is a thing, Lane Hudson uh Lane Hudson, Patrick Line being on the injured reserve, and if uh Josh Anderson cannot go, the Canadians only have 11 healthy forwards because Texas, from all intents and purposes, is not ready yet. So, what does that mean? That means that the Canadians would have an emergency situation on their hands where they would be able to make an emergency call up to Laval without using any of their four recalls left. An emergency recall does not count as a regular recall, and they would be able to call up a forward from Laval. I just don't know if they would do that, considering that Laval just finished playing Friday and Saturday um in Bridgeport and uh Wilkesbury Scratton. So, I mean, they're not far. Carolina to Pennsylvania is what an hour flight at most? It's nothing. You could even drive there in like six hours if you want it overnight. Like my dad does it all the time. So, you know, if if I had to pick someone from Laval coming up on an emergency, it'd probably be Sammy Blais or Owen Beck at this stage. I think that those would be the two right now that kind of fit. I don't think they want to just I don't think they want Florian to be removed from a game, but if you want to bring up a veteran, it's probably gonna be Blais, to be completely honest with you.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Right.

SPEAKER_04 29:30

Um, that being said, we'll see what happens. Uh, I haven't been given any indication, though I'm probably gonna tell you that I haven't been on my phone much. I've been bottle feeding for most of the day, so I don't have any inside knowledge on the on this. Yeah, but those are the options available to the Montreal Canadians, and we'll see what goes from there. Um, I believe it's more likely that Anderson plays, or more likely they go 11-7 than if they were to take uh take a guy from Laval in emergency conditions, but again, no inside knowledge because uh none of this is being communicated anymore.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

I mean, I mean yeah, um I'd be surprised if it if it was anyone from Laval um currently, but I mean I don't even know if Alex Texia is one of those one of those options in terms of you know LBI date that said he was day-to-day with a lower body injury. Um yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_04 30:22

I see I I see what uh Violet is answering. It's it's this this comment here, so no more Sammy Blais. Uh um what? Why not? Yeah, Sammy Blah has been a fantastic player for the Laval Rocket. Ask anybody in Laval, he's been amazing. Can Mr.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Consistency for them, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:39

Yeah, absolutely. And he's you know, in the injury to to they they have a couple of injuries right now. I believe uh Dauphin is out long term. Blah has been like the fire starter on that top line. Uh, although of late they've kind of hit a wall offensively. But that guy, physical, like people want to see guys that hit more. Sammy Blais, ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, there you go. Gets into it, is effective in the games that he's played, he's been very strong. I really like the way I see the the the I very much agree with Violet. I very, very much agree with Violet on this point. I think he plays a very honest, you know, meat and potatoes kind of game. And if you just want someone to insert on a fourth line to bring a little bit of jump energy and then goes to the net, Sammy Blev for a game is not gonna hurt anybody at all.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

I no kidding, no kidding.

SPEAKER_04 31:30

I think yeah, he was really good before the Canadians sent him down. The only reason they sent him down was because Alex Newhook was coming back from injury and they wanted to try and send him down on waivers before people teams noticed because there was that trade like the the the trade freeze right before the Olympics. So look, I think it is what it is. We'll see what happens with Patrick Line. I like I said, I'm at the point where you guys can ask me what's going on with Line. I just don't want to touch that subject because quite frankly, there's more there's more negatives that can come from positives of being able to talk about it. So we'll just let the Canadians talk about what's going on with Patrick Liney either tonight if they remove him off IR or at the end of the season when we have a post uh postseason locker clean out.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Well, and let's be honest, he's on IR. It's not like he's a healthy scratch and hasn't been playing as someone that isn't on. He's on IR until he gets off IR and is air quote available to play. Once Kent Hughes conversation, you know, once Kent Hughes allows him to play, that'll be that.

SPEAKER_04 32:31

As for the consistent requests to see Arbor Jackey play forward.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

I can't believe why are you talking? Why are you talking about this?

SPEAKER_04 32:38

I'm just gonna say don't don't even bother. Martin St. Louis isn't gonna do it with this fast team, with this fast they're going they're going to double shift Nick Suzuki and Cole Caulfield into the ground before they try Arbor Jackey at forward in my opinion. But but we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

Yeah, let's be serious. I mean, come on now.

SPEAKER_04 32:58

I did see a I did see a good question, and I do want to address it.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Um I also want to remind people uh when you find it here, um, we're over a thousand live viewers here, 33 minutes into our Sunday live show. Thank you, everybody. Um, as always, you know, the the growth has been off the charts, and I encourage you please hit that like button today. Uh, it just creates more awareness, you know. I I don't want to get into the weeds on the YouTube algorithm, but it just continues to promote the video, more eyeballs, more people. The community continues to grow. And uh, we're I think 22 people away from hitting 14 and a half thousand subscribers. Whoa, really? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So you guys have you guys are awesome. Uh thank you so much. And of course, if you're gonna be at our McClain show today, if you're coming to 1210 Peel at four o'clock to watch Marco and I do this live, it's gonna be on YouTube if you're watching from around the world because I learned my lesson last week. This is a global community of Haves fans viewers, Mr. Worldwide. Um, if you're gonna be at the establishment establishment at McClain's, uh, we've got some prizes for you. So don't be shy. Come over, say hello, Marco and I would be um it'd be a pleasure to meet as many of you as as possible. Uh Marco, would you want to yeah?

SPEAKER_04 34:05

Uh I was just gonna say, like, and also after the show, we'll be there for the actual game. So you can come and hang out as well and and talk to us. There's gonna be a couple of us, uh good, a good a good amount from what I've already seen from the comments. So if if anybody wants to make any late uh last minute decisions, by all means come and join. It's supposed to be a really nice day. Uh, and it's uh you know an afternoon game. I always love those. Uh, there's a chance that it might not be pitch black by the end of the game. Those are my favorite kinds. When spring starts to hit, so sweet Canadians, the Canadians are in a playoff run. It's all it's always the best. Um, so here's the question I wanted to get from Simo. Um, Cornouaya eliminated on Friday. Um, that's Cornell. Uh, same for Sawyer, that's Providence. Um, Emmet Croteau, his season is also done um at Dartmouth. Uh, so I'm being asked, like, what's going on with these guys? The answer is they're all going back to the NCAA, from what I understand. I spoke to people the expectation around uh Logan Sawyer's group is that he's gonna go back to the NCAA. Um, they're not gonna try to sign him to an ATO. There's already enough bodies. Uh, and then the Canadians have signed two NCAA free agents, um, uh Quinlan, uh uh Bentley Quinlan and um oh my god. Ella Ella Fia, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Ella though, Marco, Ella, let's go.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

T later. So you factor you you factor the the guys that they've signed. So Josh Nadeau, uh they signed uh Quinlan Bentley as well. I don't think that they're gonna bring in Logan Sawyer. Cornway doesn't make sense. They have two, if not three, goalies available to them for the AHL. And if and when, if mostly, but when the Canadians season comes to an end, I'm pretty sure Jacob Fowler is gonna go back down to Laval for the playoff run as well. So I don't see a need to sign Cornway either. Um, defense, they it was Luke Middlestadt or bust, so Luke Middlestadt signed, scored a pretty goal on Friday. Um, so looking good. And ironically enough, the Laval Rocket using Adam Engstrom on the right the last couple of games. Something to keep an eye on. No, this doesn't mean anything for David Rheinbacher because David Ryanbacher is getting a ton of minutes regardless, but they're trying to spread the wealth because Engstrom and Reinbacker really playing some strong defense of late.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

Let me ask you though, brother. During the second intermission, uh Elliot Friedman on his on his notes during the hockey night in Canada broadcast talked about Porter Martin. Porter Martone, uh the Philadelphia Flyers, uh sixth overall pick. Uh he said it's gonna move fast. I mean, he's signing today. He's signing today.

SPEAKER_04 36:55

Okay, and I would not be surprised. Like I spoke to Porter three months ago, yeah, right after the world juniors, and you know, without saying the Philadelphia Flyers are itching to sign him. And if you look, the Philadelphia Flyers did the Canadians a solid yesterday, beating the Detroit Red Wings in regulation, and they themselves are now three points out of a playoff spot. So you bring in a guy like Porter Martone to help them play, who knows? Maybe Philly squeaks in and is able to pass above the Islanders, you know. I think Porter Martone to me, I've always liked him. I liked him in the OHL, he's an excellent power forward in the making. Good friend of Michael Hage and Zayn Parrick and all those GTA guys that have come through the ranks. He is going to be a really interesting piece for them. The only thing, the my only problem with the Philadelphia Flyers, they have excellent winger depth. Kenechni, Michkov. Um, you know, you have Porter Martin now. Get me some you got to get some centers in there, my guys. You got to get some elite centers in there because Jet Luchenko and Jack Nesbitt are not it.

SPEAKER_00 38:09

Yeah, who's there? I mean, Trevor Ziegris, right? Uh, on the 60-point breakfast.

SPEAKER_04 38:13

Zegris, another, another winger, of course. Yep, he's not a center. Christian Dvorak, number one center on that team.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

Number one, nice to see him score a big goal for the Flyers, but more just very quickly, you know, you Philadelphia went into Detroit and took it to them. The Red Wings scored three kind of three goals in the third period. They're already down by the time the last period. But boy, the Red Wings have I mean, how surprised are you? I mean, oh, Stevie Y, we talked about this on the deadline on our live deadline show. I mean, he's on he's under the pressure test, and they made moves. They made moves thinking that that was gonna put them over the top, but it's it had the exact opposite reaction.

SPEAKER_04 38:46

If they miss the playoffs, remember their first round pick is unprotected. Uh well, sorry, no, it's top 10 protected, but it would be a lottery pick, it would be in the top 16 of this draft. Imagine St. Louis Blues picking top three and then picking like 13th or 14th, like that would be phenomenal value for a guy, a solid defenseman with a year left on his contract, but clearly, you know, at the uh at 34, 35 years old, it was time to move on, right? So the Canadians got a whole lot of help from the out-of-town scoreboard yesterday. Uh, the you know, the Tampa Bay Lightning winning, not ideal because they were chasing Tampa, but they also beat the Senators in regulation, which extends to pushing for the Montreal Canadians.

SPEAKER_00 39:32

The Islanders, how much are they paying Linus Allmark again to not start pivotal games for them? My I mean the Sen Sen's Nation was angry with James Reimer getting the start and the Sens getting the loss. Allmark, Travis Green said, was just not available. I guess he didn't have it yesterday, so he did not play. Sens fans not happy at all.

SPEAKER_04 39:53

Sens were winning 2-0. Yeah, so just gotta play better defense. Um, when it but again, you look at Ottawa. This is where Ottawa tends to run out of steam, right? They're missing five of their starting defensemen, you know, and kudos to uh Jordan Spence, yeah, who is playing really good for them on defense. He's been really, really good.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

So look who they lost, you know, Shabbat, Sanderson, uh Lassie Thompson. I mean, they've lost some names, some important players.

SPEAKER_04 40:20

You can't expect you can't expect well, I mean, Lassie Thompson was playing with Belleville most of the the season, but uh you know, losing Sanderson and Shabbat right off the bat is like yeah, it would be like much, it would be like Montreal losing Dobson and Hudson. Like, what do you do? So kudos to them for fighting back. But then outside of the Bruins winning, you had Pittsburgh lose, which I know they're not directly chasing, but this comes into a topic of conversation. I want to get into big injuries there. Blue jackets. The blue jackets lost in regulation with a minute and a half to go. That was a backbreaker, yeah. Um, and then after that, obviously, you saw Detroit lose. Uh, Buffalo finally found a win. They uh they haven't been playing a hundred percent of late. Uh, I found they've they've seen a little bit of a dip. Now, what does that mean for the Canadians? The Canadians have 92 points. My prediction is the you're gonna need a hundred points to make the playoffs this year. My prediction. It could be less. It could be less. The Canadians are four wins off in 10 games from I believe locking up a playoff spot. And after that, it becomes a chase for home ice advantage, this and that. So yeah, we'll see. But now look at this very interesting situation on our hands, Sean. Detroit and Ottawa have 86 points with 73 games played. Columbus 87 points, 73 games played. Last wild card, a last wild card spot. Boston, right on the Canadian's heels, though, an extra game they played 73 to Montreal 72. They have 90 points, Montreal's 92 points.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 41:56

There is a world where if Columbus loses another game and Ottawa wins, or Detroit wins, it may very well be top three in the Metropolitan or completely out of the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

That's a fact.

SPEAKER_04 42:13

And that is a significant benefit to the playoff odds of the three teams that are tops in the Atlantic, because it generally would indicate that you're gonna probably get five Atlantic teams. And now you're starting to notice Pittsburgh is slowly starting to dip because they didn't have Malkin or Crosby last night. Eric Carlson has been playing out of his mind, but that's not enough. So this opens up the door for the Montreal Canadians in a significant way. If they are aggressive and they are able, we talked about it this week, right, Sean? Minimum six points out of eight. That's right. Already got it done. Successful week.

SPEAKER_03 42:52

Correct.

SPEAKER_04 42:52

Now, if they can get at least one, if not get the win, fantastic. Gravy. But I think that with the way that they've played this week, they've put themselves in a situation where I would be shocked if they missed the playoffs. I would be shocked.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

And heads up on Boston, you look at their schedule, they play Columbus twice, they've got Dallas, they play the Lightning twice with nine games left to go. So they they it is going to be you know double seat belt situation uh for the Boston Bruins and their fans. As uh Jodian says, this is the only Habs podcast that think other teams are afraid of Hudson's physicality. Not so sure that was ever said here.

SPEAKER_04 43:33

I think we were talking about Hudson playing a fearless talking about shaking their boots. Come on. Why are you giving the trolls airtime? Just remove it.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

I love it. I love it. Like it's like talking about Arbor Jacke. I can't help, I just can't help myself.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

Oh, here we go. Look, I don't like when it comes when it comes to Lane Hudson being physical, I don't think anybody cares. I don't think anybody cares. All that care, all that matters. Is the response. You could have a bunch of guys that are 6'2, 6'3, like Matthew Nyes, and uh Morgan Riley, and like 6'1, uh Willie Neilander, and they all just watch their captain get borderline decapitated from from Goudas, and not a thing happens.

SPEAKER_00 44:19

Like, who they did the next game. It's the response.

SPEAKER_04 44:21

Yeah, and who and who went after who went after um was it Zodorov the next game? Who went after him? Five foot ten Easton Cowan. Yeah, yeah. Five foot eleven, because we always add an inch to player heights and whatever. All I'm saying is one of the smallest guys on the leafs was the one to go and drop the gloves. Good London Knights boy. Yeah. So it doesn't matter who does it, it's how it happens, it's what it does to the room, and it's what ends up happening. I don't really care that it's Lane Hudson. Lane Hudson was the closest guy there, and you try telling Lane Hudson not to be intense. Not a fight I want to get into.

SPEAKER_00 44:55

Oh, that's yeah, exactly. Um, can't wait. Um, again, I'll repeat myself here. The Canadians 97% likeliness after last night uh to make the NHL playoffs. They're close to 41%. I don't know how that I don't know how they do that. I guess they handicap Marco based on who the potential matchup is. But I saw moneypuck.com has the Canadians at about 41% to get to the second round of the playoffs.

SPEAKER_04 45:17

Let's just get let's just shock that. Let's just see, let's just see this team get into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

I agree, I agree, but I'm just surprised at the number being that big.

SPEAKER_04 45:26

Look, I'm not gonna say that I don't believe that the Montreal Canadians are playing a way right now where they could potentially win a round. I'm not I'm not gonna not say that. I think that they are playing excellent hockey, detail-oriented hockey of later. Correct.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:40

But without starting a uh a suit, uh a lawsuit against myself, there are many things, many, many things that I care about more than a money puck line about who makes the playoffs and who could win around and who can who cares? Who cares? The president's trophy always has the most amount of chances to get to the Stanley Cup final, and they never win. So I don't care. Yeah, all I would say is it is very positive the way that they're going. The details are there, and I believe that if they are to play the way they played against Nashville and Carolina this week, they will I think they could very much win a round depending on the opponent. Absolutely, you know. And I'll go one step further. You know, I think the Canadians are getting hot at the perfect moment.

SPEAKER_00 46:31

Agreed.

SPEAKER_04 46:31

You know, they may lose a game here or there, but if they maintain a 75% win rate between last week and the end of the season, they're going in hot. And I think that's going to be a fantastic outcome. And look, I think one of the main reasons they're coming in hot, they have the best five-on-five line in hockey right now. Their depth is slowly starting to find its wheels, and their their eventual superstar in Ivan Demidov is really getting into that next level of his play. And you know, to to me, it it ends up being such a difference maker when you have guys elevate, and that's exactly what you're seeing right now. He it's elevating little by little, every step of the way. And I felt like every single young player that went through it this season is slowly starting to turn the corner at the most perfect moment.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

100%. And also, like it's important to point out the difference between last year and this year, the Canadians are the team being chased. And look how they've answered. You know, Marco talks about the details, right? To me, all of those little things add up to big results, and you're getting the big results, whether it's balance on defense, and it shouldn't be lost on Habs Nation. That the Canadians are winning. And look at one area that's been heavily scrutinized all year goaltending, defensive systems, the deployment of certain players. That in the in the here and now has balanced out. And look at the results. We talked about it in their last six games. The Canadians have allowed a total of 12 goals. Do the math. It's pretty simple, right? Not a coincidence that those details are being paid attention to, they're being applied, and the results are being generated. And you're also getting more balance, more detail-oriented work from your lines one through four. And it's interesting. Like for me, I saw a lot of people when they were talking about Joe Voleno and the value that he brings. I like Joe Voleno. I like the role that he fulfills for Martin St. Louis forward group. But if it comes to a Voleno versus a healthy uh Alex Texier, give me Alex Texie over Joe Villeno just because I think he can play a similar role, Marco, but he can score. He has the ability to score more than Joe Voleno. No disrespect to Voleno, but Texier's got that edge.

SPEAKER_04 48:47

Yeah, I I don't think anybody would argue with you that they they don't think that Texier is a better player than Voleno overall. That being said, I'm gonna give my I'm gonna give Voleno his flowers. For a guy that was out of the lineup for so long, the the physicality, the speed, you know, I thought was excellent from him. Excellent, excellent, excellent. And that's all you want from a 14 forward, really, right? Is a guy that's able to come in and still have an impact. And I think he was impactful on the penalty kill.

SPEAKER_03 49:16

Uh, true.

SPEAKER_04 49:16

There's a good two-on-ones.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

That was great.

SPEAKER_04 49:18

I think I think he was great in terms of being able to be strong along the boards. His speed is such a uh uh a positive to that veteran line because they're obviously not the fastest or the most physical. So when you have a Jake Evans that's more cerebral than physical and not exactly the biggest speedster, although for a guy that you know had cement boots for skates when he was drafted, that's an area of his game that he's significantly improved. So I'll tip my cap there. All I'm willing to say is that a guy like Voleno has value in the fact that he could be in the stands for 10 games, come in and have an impact. And that's all you want from your extras. And I think a guy like Texier showed that he could do exactly that as well, but on a more consistent basis. And like you said, with an offensive flair, he's a guy that can use his size to bring pucks to the net. You know, I think he's a guy that's able to complete lines, he reads the the plays well. And to me, that has you know significant value in a top nine. Um, you know, it's unfortunate that he's not healthy, but it's fortunate that the Canadians had enough depth at forward to be able to stomach that kind of a loss and insert Joe Voleno.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

Um, welcome to the Star and Domingo show live on this Sunday, 15 minutes in, close to 1200 live viewers. Uh, thank you so much for being a part of uh sharing your Sunday with Marco and I. Looking forward to meeting a whole bunch of you at McLean's 1210 peel at four o'clock this afternoon. The drive for five wins in a row uh goes into Carolina tonight. Uh lots of super chats. Thank you as uh for your generosity. As uh Mr. Niles says, Demidoff setting up that new hook goal made me literally laugh out loud in both disbelief and shock and awe unreal as that second line drops a hat trick last night. Everybody getting a goal. Oprah Winfrey Stone. You get a goal.

SPEAKER_04 51:10

Yeah, I I think one of the funniest, one of the it made me think of the uh, I don't know if you all remember this. Uh I think it was against the LA Kings where um Shea Weber took a shot from the point, it bounced off a defenseman, came right back to a stick, and the moment he it hit the ice, he slapped it in and scored. Kind of the the the new hook goal where Demidov takes a shot off the post, gets his own rebound, makes the fake forehand, backhand, and sauces it over to newhook. Kind of reminded me of that a little bit. You know, it was it's kind of hilarious to me. But I I too am, I mean, I you're you're taking notes and you're looking at the plays, right? The details, you know, on a play like that in the past, Demidov would push off from that from that moment, right? He wouldn't attack that open ice like he did before. I think that's exactly that the that detail in his game is completely different where he'll attack the puck, he'll make a play in tight, and that's where you were able to find a guy like Alex Newark who is consistently ready for that one T. He's got a phenomenal shot. Um, you know, it's just a question of uh him being a little bit more uh accurate with it, but he's been again, he's been fantastic as a death player.

SPEAKER_00 52:22

Uh Montreal made 88. Um, wondering about Sam. Everybody wondering about Sam Montebow's future is uh wondering whether whether or not he's uh played his last game with the Montreal Canadians. TBD, TBD. Um, some people coming in on uh the Arbor Jackey stuff. I'm not gonna put that up on the screen. Um, what's up, Stefan Brossard? Uh this Stefan Brossard, man, one of the OG of OGs, might be number one. I love seeing Steph in the chat on a Sunday. Uh, when's Patrick Line playing? Or is he gonna retire at the end of the season and go play maybe overseas? I don't he still has NHL hockey in him, huh?

SPEAKER_04 52:57

No comment. I'm sorry, guys. I can't. I can't. I can't talk, I can't talk about Line because I don't want to get fined.

SPEAKER_00 53:08

Marshawn Lynch style?

SPEAKER_04 53:09

Yep, yep. I'm just here so I don't get fined. I'm here to smile and say I cannot, I I don't know what to say anymore when it comes to Patrick Line.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

I just haven't seen him in so long.

SPEAKER_04 53:18

Like, I don't want to I don't want to lie to fans. So I'll let the Canadians handle that one.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

I just, you know, you haven't seen him in so long. I I just you know, in the times that you have seen him, I still believe he's gonna get a contract in the National Hockey League. I don't think obviously it's not with the Montreal Canadians, but when healthy, I still think he can play in this league.

SPEAKER_04 53:40

I do the thing is with Patrick Lineing is he can get because he was on IR for more than a hundred days, yeah. He can sign uh like a bonus contract, a little bit like we saw uh Anthony Manta sign one for Pittsburgh this year, where you can effectively sign like league minimum salary, like a million dollars. I think it's gonna be a million two this year. Uh, or sorry, no, a million this year. So you can sign league minimum salary and then add you know, bonuses for like, for example, like games played or goals scored. Like, I'll give you an example. I think Anthony Manta, it's 250,000 every 10 games that he plays right um on his deal, so that it started off, I think, at like one million and then it caps off at like four or five, that kind of deal. So it's specifically constructed for players that are either over the age of 35 or veteran players that have played 400 games in the NHL, but that spent a hundred day a hundred games on IR. So for those that are those that have followed, um, Sean Monahan was a player that was eligible for that same kind of contract, and that's what he signed with Montreal before they traded him to Winnipeg. So I, you know, on a bonus situation like that, I wonder teams were interested in Patrick Laney. There were teams that were willing to take him on. I'm not gonna rehash the story because people are gonna say, I need to stop talking about Patrick Laney, and I think they're right, but teams were interested in Patrick Laney. So do I think that do I think that there is a what do I say? Uh chance that he could play in the NHL again next year? Yes. Do I know? No. No.

SPEAKER_00 55:22

So I'll say it. Well, that's it. That's it. I see some people ask about Michael Hage. Um, Marco at length went over that. You can go back to uh, you know, towards the beginning of today's live video uh with Michael Hage and the and the Michigan Wolverines, um, you know, in the NCAA true on uh in the NCAA tournament after they won on Friday without Michael Hage. No details on the injury, but obviously didn't play on Friday night.

SPEAKER_04 55:47

It's a lower body injury, but we have no details on the severity of it.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

That's it.

SPEAKER_04 55:51

Um, in regards to TJ Hughes, this one really ticks me off. There is no rumor about the Montreal Canadians in TJ Hughes. That came from my article that other people twisted. So basically, what happened is I interviewed TJ Hughes. TJ Hughes is from Hamilton, Ontario. For those of you that have been Habs fans long enough, you know who you know why Hamilton, Ontario is uh significant to Canadians fans. A lot of Habs fans in Hamilton, the Jack Eye brothers being some of them. But the Canadians farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, were there for well over a decade. Call their winners. Yeah, exactly. Calder cup winners. And so um he had mentioned that he had grew grown up a Habs fan. In fact, his favorite player is currently his assistant coach at Michigan, Max Paccheretti. And people took that article to mean that because he's a fan of Montreal, the Canadians have are front runners and being able to sign him. That's not what was said at all. In fact, I would go as so far as say, if I were him, why would I sign in Montreal? Where is the opportunity? Right? You're more than likely going to see a guy like that sign with a team that is either competitive with a zero prospect pool, ergo Edmonton Oilers, or a team that is in the dumps about to start a rebuild where he could get immediate NHL time. That doesn't sound like the Montreal Canadians, right? So I don't, I'm not gonna pretend that I think that the Canadians aren't interested, but I wouldn't I would never venture to think that the Montreal Canadians are front runners on TJ Hughes at this time. Things can change, absolutely, but I just want to set the record straight that there is no TJ Hughes rumor that came from me and my reporting.

SPEAKER_00 57:39

Listen, like um, I know Marco would back me up here. Uh I I know as well as anybody, you know, when you do Canadians content, you know, it has a magnetic pull. Hab's nation is is widespread across the country, across the world. But it has to be Marco, it has to be one of the, I'm gonna say the most infuriating part of reporting on prospects, on the team, on breaking stories. I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook, but when I am on that app and the amount of BS IC posted from these various Canadian, um, these Canadian content aggregators that put stuff out, man, it is it is wild. It is absolutely like so extremely unfounded. And what's up there and how how many times a season are you here talking with me? And you're like, Well, they pulled this from my article, completely twisted it, and put it in in it, pointed it in the direction it was never intended to be pointed into, but they do it because of clicks and and engagement, so on and so forth, and you have to answer to it.

SPEAKER_04 58:35

Yeah, look, I mean, meta is meta. I'm just gonna leave it at that.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Uh like it's Facebook. It's freaking brutal.

SPEAKER_04 58:41

Facebook is Facebook is misinformation land, so I'll just leave it at that. Um, in terms of uh, there were a couple of good questions uh and comments that were made here, so I just want to address uh this. Uh, come on, Marco, everyone wants to come to Montreal. I don't think it's uh him wanting to come to Montreal issue. It's very much is the opportunity there. And do the Montreal Canadians because the thing is, you look at TJ Hughes, TJ Hughes, it's an entry-level contract. He is the top free agent in college hockey. So I don't know that the Canadians are gonna do that because he's not gonna get any playing time. We're talking we're spending time on this podcast trying to figure out where Michael Hage is gonna get playing time. You think about TJ Hughes, uh, you know, and we just finished talking about the Canadians depth at center. Suzuki, Hage, uh Kapanin, Danoa's signed for next year, Evans is signed for another three years. Where is TJ gonna play? Like, that's that's the reason. So a little bit like if if those of you remember Colin Graf, he was a really well-respected uh free agent out of the NCAA, chose to go to the San Jose Sharks as they were really starting to tank. Yeah, and he's had a phenomenal development curve because he's gotten a lot of opportunity in San Jose. That's what I believe. I don't think it's a question of people wanting to come to Montreal or not, it's simply a question of opportunity, and that is something you have to take into consideration because they're gonna get multiple offers. What is the best opportunity for the client to develop to be able to get a second contract after? Because you have to factor in, he's 24 years old. TJ Hughes signs an entry-level contract now and burns that year, it's a one-year contract because he's 24. That means as of July, he can sign another contract.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:26

So there's oh, like what about all the guys in Laval? We talk about Florian Jacques. Joshua DeWa is probably gonna went out of town. Owen Beck's future. I mean, how much longer is he gonna stay in the National Hockey League in the American Hockey League?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:39

I mean, again, there's they that the Canadians have decisions to make in terms of their depth, they have younger players coming in as well. We know I believe Logan Sawyer will probably sign with the Canadians at the end of next season. Uh Hayden Papanikis is there, Tyler Thorpe needs more minutes. Like you have guys in that periphery range. Now it's just simply a question of being able to fill it out. I don't think that you, you know, I'm not closing the door on TJ Hughes signing with the Montreal Canadians. I'm just saying that's not what I've heard.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:10

And what about the reporting around Alexander Zarovsky? Was it again Elliot Friedman and one of his 32 thoughts that everyone around the National Hockey League looking at the Canadians saying what they pulled off of grand larceny when they got Alexander Zorofsky? The smoke continues to build around this prospect, eh?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:25

And listen, you know, with due course, absolutely. But I there are two things that you absolutely need to take into consideration. Number one, there are two extremes to this. A, and this is where I really want to bring it the way that Zorofsky has played this season, he looks like a steal, he looks like a top 10 talent in this draft after his first year. But don't run away with the plot yet. We've seen many players in the KHL pop off draft plus one year, and then the can't follow it up the second year. Like Zerofsky did not have a very good final 10 games in the KHL. Yes, he got a power play assist in his first KHL playoff game because he's finally back on the power play. But if you remove Zhurofsky from the power play, his offense just dips. And if you're gonna be successful in the NHL, he's not getting first power play wave time. He's gonna get second power play wave time. So he better become a better five-on-five player. And so this is where I bring my analysis. Alexander Zherofsky looks like a top 10 talent in this draft, arguably top 15 if you want to be critical about his five-on-five game. Getting that at the 34th overall pick is grand larceny. Grand Larseny. And kudos to Martin LePointe and Nick Bobrov for being aggressive on that, because I know that there were a couple of teams that were eyeing him right after that pick at 35 and 36. But where I had a lot of pushback were fans that said, especially early on in the season, that he was a comparable prospect to to Ivan Demidov. And that's where I pumped the brakes.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:02

Right.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:02

If Ivan Demidov had the playing time that Alexander Zherofsky had, he would have been a point per game player, more than a point per game player in the NA in the KHL. And you know, uh Fufa Fo Fum, man, that's all the tongue poster.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:21

YouTube is great, eh?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:22

Is Zhurofsky a better prospect than Michael Hage? Well, the Canadian A though, consider what he did at the World Juniors. Oh my god, F I hate when people say that. I hate when tournaments, tournament success is used. Well, it's what he did.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:42

He was the best player at the tournament. What do you what are you supposed to say?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:44

Who is Canada? Who is before Connor Badard? Who is Canada's leading goals uh leading scorer at the uh at the world juniors?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:50

I I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:52

Like Braden Shen.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:54

Well, like I told you before Jordan Everly Kyle Chaptura was the captain for Team Canada. I was like, oh my god, it's amazing, you know. He was Kyle Chemtura.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:02

He was captain, you know, it's like having Jet Luchenko on your fourth line, he's just there. All I'm saying is Michael Hage is an excellent player. I believe that Jurofsky would have also torn up that tournament if Russia were able to play in it. So I'll leave that evaluation there. Do I think that Jirofsky is a better prospect than Michael Hage? I'm gonna have to go with no. I don't. I think Michael Hage is a better five-on-five player. That being said, that being said, I give the nod to Michael Hage because there is a uh a smidgen of a chance. Well, smidgen, there's a good chance that he could play center at the NHL. I know that a lot of people are gonna be like, well, Zorofsky played like 10 games at center for UFA. Absolutely, and did you see how quick they took him off the moment they signed Evgeny Kuznetsov? They just used him there because they didn't have anybody else that could play center, and he's a great distributor of the puck and a good one 1v1 player, but 36% in the face-off circle, uh, not being used in defensive zone situations, like he was just there to play the position. He didn't play center, right? That that's the way I put it. Whereas Michael Hage, there is a possibility that he could be a center the same way that Tim Stutzla has really improved at becoming a center. Tim Stutzler was terrible at face-offs up until this year. They finally moved Giroux off his line to let him try to spread his wings in Ottawa, and he's been much, much better in the face-off circle this season. I feel like Michael Hage is going to, he's aware of it, guys. Let me tell you, and having spoken to Michael Hage, he's very aware of the face-off concerns. It's definitely something he's going to work on this summer. So I personally would have Michael Hage slightly above Zhurofsky.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:46

And can you imagine if, again, you know, like you know, you work off the information that you have, and you know, you saw you saw Michael Hage at the World Juniors in an alternate universe. If he didn't perform the way he performed, you know, what would the discourse be? You know, again, going back to that question. About prospect evaluation and the excitement and everything else. So um hoping to see Michael Hage healthy. I mean, uh didn't play Friday, but again, no right, no exact detail other than it's just an LBI for Michael Hage. Disagree on what?

SPEAKER_04 1:06:18

You know, disagree on the uh Jurofsky versus Hage. The only thing I'm gonna say is what Jurofsky does really well is when he scores or does a highlight real play, man, is it fun to look at because he's just such an electric player, skills-wise. But how does he impact the rest of the game outside of that 15 seconds? That's where, in having taken the time spending my mornings before my son was born, having taken the time to watch KHL games, he still has a ways to go. That's the reason I don't think he's joining the Canadians in April like Demidoff did.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:54

Because when is the Zorofsky timeline? Like what's the I think it's April.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:58

I think it's April 2027.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:00

April 2027.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:01

Okay, that's what I think because he's got he's you know, his coach started benching him towards the end of the season, not because of a political issue like like with Demidov, but more so because his play significantly dipped, and so that's why I just keep saying, you know, uh, first of all, thank you, uh Martin, for for following. Absolutely. Um, but the only thing I'm gonna say is the details in Michael Hage's game have really taken a step, and I would rat I would gather that they would be even more indicative in a professional situation because the NCAA is that much closer to the game. Yes, the KHL is now back on NHL Ice or back now on NHL Ice, so they play North American dimensions, but they don't play the North American game, they're not physical. And where Jurofsky is gonna have issues is he is slender AF, six about six two, 175 pounds, where Michael Hage is about six one and a half, and he's almost 200 pounds, like it's a massive difference. And Michael Hage is a phenomenally better skater, phenomenally better skater than Jurofsky. Uh let's that's my evaluation. Yeah, but they're very it's a very good problem to have when Hudson, Slavkovsky, um, Dumidov, Kapanin are already on your roster, and we're talking about these two as your top offensive prospects. It's a very good problem to have.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:28

Um, more Canadians prospect talk here from uh member of the Star and Demico show. Um Hayden Papanikis or LJ Mooney, the higher ceiling.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:37

Oh my god, this is a very good question. Man, I like this question.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:42

Way to go, Mark. You you saw you nailed it. Way to go, Mark.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:45

This is this may take time. If if y'all are willing to give me like 10 seconds here, that's not time.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:51

Usually you go on uh you know what, guys.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:53

I'm gonna have to go with LJ Mooney on this one. I'm gonna have to go with LJ Mooney. LJ Mooney popped off in the second half of the season for Minnesota, like he was having himself a game. And you look at a player like LJ Mooney playing, you would assume, oh my god, he's just this high octane offensive player. No, Bob Motsko before he was let go from Minnesota used him on the first wave of the penalty kill. First wave of the penalty kill, and that was just gravy because he was such a strong two-way presence that even in the world juniors, he started off on the on the fourth and the third line, and he ended up you know on the second line on the power play, being effective there too. And then towards the end of the season, if I'm not mistaken, um he ended up getting close to about a point per game. He wasn't near a point per game. Come the uh yeah, 30 points in 34 games on a University of Minnesota that had one point per game player in Brody Zemer. Uh, you know, to me, LJ Mooney was second in scoring. I thought he had an excellent overall year. I'm expecting him to pop off next year. But what I really appreciate with Mooney, you know, I think this is a good comment to make is Mooney the new Gallagher. I don't think that he has Gallagher's like net front ability, but man, he's got the motor, wheels, shot, vision, uh, two-way detail. Like, I look at him as being the perfect mix between a Lane Hudson and a Brendan Gallagher. That's the way I see him. And I know a lot of people are gonna be like, oh, he's small, he can't play. Well, if your bottom six has like five behemoths and one LJ Mooney, you're good. You're fine because LJ Mooney I thank you. I very much like this comparable. I don't think that he's gonna be as good offensively as Matt Zuccarello, but a very similar style of player. And remember, Matt Zuccharello was undrafted.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:50

That's right, correct. Uh, great player. Um, Marco, um, from from Jeff who talks about Owen Pratt's, he'll be the new NHL Scott Stevens in a demolishing way. Marco, um, we did we did the whole thing, we had the video. We had the rare Saturday video on Owen Pratt's uh dropped over the weekend. Um, I'm putting it some of the highlights for people that haven't seen it. Uh, why should they go watch that?

SPEAKER_04 1:11:15

Well, we break down basically who Owen Pratt's is, what kind of player he is. I had the pleasure of being able to interview him uh in December. So maybe also talking a little bit about what came out from there. Um, you know, I think when it comes to the way that he plays overall, smash mouth, no nonsense, defensive defenseman, understands his limitations, very detail-oriented guy. I very much appreciate the way that he plays. But where does he fit in the long-term structure of the Montreal Canadians? When can he start? Where is he playing this spring? Can he play in Laval? Is he playing in Laval next year? These are all questions that we answer on the video. For those that haven't seen it, we invite you to go and check it out after this live. Um, very informative in terms of where he's going. Uh, I personally, I if you asked me, this is the kind of individual you'd want to go and grab a beer with at a bar. He's just such a uh a really fun human being, and is a guy that I believe, um, you know, I believe that if all goes well, could be a hard-hitting third pair left shot defenseman.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:21

Uh, speaking of defenseman, very quickly here, Marco, I know Laval lost 3-1 to uh at Wilkesbury on Saturday, but uh watching a little bit of David Reinbacker, man, his game is rounding into form. Um, smooth transition, smart decisions, good tempo, aggressive when he needs to be, starting to see, starting to see this guy cook now that he's building a pattern of consistency by staying healthy.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:46

Yeah, I mean, isn't that it? Get those reps in. Once he finds his structure, I'm pretty sure that I that he'll be fine. He'll be more than fine. And I think that I'll go one step further. If he continues to play the way he does, he has this game in his in these last games into the playoffs, and the Canadians go on a lengthy playoff run, and he's a big part of that. I think it may slightly alter the Canadians' plans this summer in terms of what they want to do with their defense.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:15

Well, again, all that prospect talk you you know, I see lots of people in the chat. It's not a coincidence, not lost. You have all these prospect talk and um speculation and and evaluation, and what Ken Hughes um and management have up their sleeves uh for the summer should be should be fun, man. Should be a lot of fun, no doubt. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:32

The summer's gonna be a ton of fun. I like I said, I I fully expect the Canadians to be active, and I know y'all are tired of hearing about it, but they got a couple of things that they had very close to being baked out of the oven that didn't get done, that they're probably gonna look back and circle back on in the summer. So I expect the Montreal Canadians, like they have every summer since they've since this new regime has been in. I expect them to be very aggressive.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:56

Uh, we're over 1,200 people watching us, um, 73 minutes, 74 minutes now into the live show. I'd love to have over 1200 likes on this video. That would be great. Um, and continue with the subscriptions as the channel continues to grow, getting close to 14 and a half thousand. We're pushing for 15,000. Let's let's do it. Let's get it together here. Um, Marco, thank you as always for an extended version of Sunday's live show. Love you guys. And uh hope to see a bunch of you uh coming up this afternoon, live from McLean's The Real Deal on Peel, 1210 Peel in the heart of downtown Montreal. Marco and I will be there for a live show. If you can join us, you can join us online. We'll be here on YouTube.com. Uh, but better yet, as always, come see us in person. We'd love to meet and greet a whole bunch of you. All right, brother, that's it. We're done. Anything else you want to say?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:42

No, I just want to thank everybody for following. Uh, we'll have another live tomorrow, of course, at noon to talk about tonight's game. Um, so for those that want to continue to follow, please like and subscribe. We're very close to getting to 15,000. Thanks to your support. Uh, and for those that will be uh joining us uh at Peel Pub, please don't be shy to come and say hi to us. Uh sorry, McLean's Pub, please come and say hi to us. I saw Peel Peel Street. I apologize. Uh, we'll be there. Uh, and like I said, uh we'll be able to have pints watch the game. And uh let's see if the Canadians can have a perfect week this week.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:16

That's right. And as always, you can continue to support the show by supporting our sponsors. The link to all of our proud locally owned sponsors are in the description of today's video. So instacustoms.com, cheapest t-shirts, cablatel, and the best in home security at the best rates in the business. These are all proudly Montreal-owned and operated companies, and we love their support. And uh, we encourage you to check them out and see if anything meets your needs. Um, so thanks as always for your time. And uh man, halves are hot, baby. Uh, we'll see you this afternoon at four o'clock live from McLean's or right here on youtube.com. See you, Marco.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:50

Take care, everybody. See you soon.