All Habs Headlines: Thursday January 10, 2013
On this day in hockey history… In 1951, Maurice Richard registered his 16th career hat trick, giving him 274 career goals, good for 2nd all-time (passing fellow Hab legend Howie Morenz) in the NHL, in a 3-0 victory.
ALL HABS HEADLINES
► Habs – Leafs on January 19th: While we need to wait a few more days for the unveiling of the full shortened 2013 NHL schedule (which is to be announced once the NHLPA officially concludes ratifying the new agreement on Saturday), the first game for most clubs has been leaked. In the case of the Canadiens, they will open at home at the Bell Centre against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs on the first day of the season, Saturday, January 19th. The season’s original schedule had Montreal hosting the Boston Bruins that night, but with the Air Canada Centre busy hosting the Toronto Rock’s home opener that evening, the league has opted to send the Leafs down the 401 instead.
Speaking of the original 2012-13 calendar, the Canadiens had 37 games remaining beginning January 19th. Expect the season to be lengthened by a week and a half or so, and for the remaining “new” games to be dotted wherever the team previously had consecutive days off. Three of the club’s remaining 37 contests were against Western Conference opponents, so those will need to be swapped out for new matchups, and of course it’s possible that other games will change as well, creating a bit of chaos for the team as it intends to honour some existing tickets while also issuing new ones.
In Montreal on the 19th but won’t be able to make it to the Bell Centre? We’ve got the perfect solution for you with a fun-filled All Habs Hockey Party that evening! All Habs Hockey Parties are free to attend, and this first one of the shortened season will take place at McLean’s Pub from 5:30 – 11:00 PM. In addition to watching the game, it will feature a trivia contest, a charity raffle with great prizes, food and drink specials, and much more, plus of course the chance to meet and hockey mingle with your All Habs team!
To read more about the All Habs Hockey Party and RSVP, click HERE.
► KHL Wants to Keep its Stars: Once the new CBA was agreed to on Sunday, a flood of NHL players almost immediately left the European squads they had joined and began their journeys back to North America. The situation of certain Russian players in the KHL, however, was a little more complex.
The controversy started with regards to the KHL’s All-Star Game, which is set to take place this coming Sunday and to which a number of locked out NHL’ers had been named. While many exercised the escape clause in their contracts – including Montreal’s Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov who had been named to participate in the game – to forego their obligations, others decided they wanted to stay on in Russia.
In the case of Pavel Datsyuk, he received clearance from the Detroit Red Wings to participate in All-Star festivities before returning to the Motor City for training camp on Monday. The situation of Ilya Kovalchuk isn’t quite so resolved as it seems both Kovalchuk and his team’s management and ownership are looking at the possibility of him playing out the rest of the KHL season instead of re-joining the Devils.
The KHL’s President, Alexander Medvedev, took a number of shots at the NHL, indicated that while there is an understanding between the two leagues to honour each other’s deals, the fact that existing NHL contracts were signed under an old Collective Bargaining Agreement may be sufficient grounds for getting out of them if players wanted to do so. Markov and Emelin were the only Canadiens skating in the KHL, and both are already on their way back to Montreal. Kovalchuk and Lubomir Visnovsky represent the two main cases of players possibly hoping to stay on in the league.
Read more: KHL President has Choice Words for NHL
►Scary Injury for Mac Bennett: Michigan State blueliner and Montreal Canadiens prospect Mac Bennett suffered a scary injury Tuesday, when he was clipped in the knees late in a game against Bowling Green. The blatantly dirty play can be seen below.
The duration of Bennett’s absence is still unknown, though his coach – former Montreal Canadien Red Berenson – indicated it’ll be “at least a couple of weeks.” It’s unfortunate for Bennett who had stood out impressively on a talented back end that includes the likes of Jon Merrill (just returned from a major injury of his own) and Jacob Trouba, but hopefully he has a chance to return to action this season so that the Habs’ brass can decide if he’s ready to move up the ranks in his development over the summer.
Read more: Berenson – “None of us are good enough to outscore our mistakes”
► Bourque Hopes to Bounce Back: A growing group of Habs has been skating at the team’s practice facility in Brossard this week, with Rene Bourque joining his ‘mates for the first time yesterday. Bourque, who will switch his jersey number to 17 this season, is now fully recovered from off-season abdominal surgery which resolves an issue he had on-and-off last year but then flared up during summer training.
Bourque acknowledges that last season was a disappointment for him, and says he feels better going into this year, ready to make amends and proves his worth to the Canadiens. With a buyout period on the horizon, and Bourque holding a contract that extends through 2015-16, he’ll certainly need to improve his production to avoid looking for a new home for next season.
More players join the group daily in anticipation of camp-opening medicals Sunday, and netminders Carey Price and Peter Budaj, along with buyout candidates Scott Gomez and Tomas Kaberle, were among those to hit the ice for the first time today.
Read more: Canadiens’ Rene Bourque out to prove himself this season
► Attention Autograph Collectors: There will be a unique opportunity for autograph collectors in the Greater Toronto Area this May. The semi-annual Toronto Sportscard and Memorabilia Expo will play host to a reunion of members of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup winning team for the 20th anniversary of their conquest. Attendees are said to include Patrick Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Keane, Eric Desjardins, Mathieu Schneider, Benoit Brunet, Jacques Demeres, and others, though the availability of some is likely to change with the end of the NHL’s work stoppage.
The show is a must-attend for hockey collectors, but do keep in mind there is an admission fee plus additional charges for each autograph you seek.
Read more: Sportscard and Memorabilia Expo – Stars of the Game Autograph Section
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
P.K. Subban Plays at the RBC Play Hockey Charity Challenge [VIDEO]
Bulldogs Heat Up, Primed for Big Second Half [with AUDIO]
113 Days of What, Exactly? The ‘Catelli’ Lockout
Catching the Torch: Kristo Takes the Lead
Know the NHL NHLPA Agreement: New CBA 101
All Habs Mailbag: Hudon, Galchenyuk, Gomez, White, Prospects, Goalies