All Habs Headlines: Sunday September 18, 2016 |
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On this day in hockey history… 1922 — Montreal Canadiens traded Newsy Lalonde to the Saskatoon Sheiks in the WCHL, in exchange for Aurel Joliat, and $3,500. 1969 — The NHL announced Vancouver, and one of Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City, or Washington would join the NHL in 1970-71. 1995 — Larry Robinson, Fred Cook, Bill Torrey and Gunther Sabetzki were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. |
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► Fielding Calls on Beaulieu
- Over his NHL career, Nathan Beaulieu has had spurts of appearing as though his time had come, and entering his third full season in the NHL it appears as though his name is being bandied about in trade talks.
- During an interview with Francois Gagnon of RDS, translated in English by Eric Engels of Sportsnet, Bergevin spoke generally about players on which he is fielding calls.
- “My work consists of making the team better. Nathan [Beaulieu] isn’t an item in the window [meaning he isn’t shopping him], but I’ve receive calls and I’m listening to what other teams have to offer. It’s my job to listen and analyze,” noted the Canadiens GM.
- “It’s my job to listen and analyze. Nathan is a good young player. We’re not sure yet what his specific niche is in the NHL,” said the former NHLer. “If I want to make my team better, I have to move players that have value. […] You don’t get anything for nothing in the NHL.”
- Beaulieu, the Canadiens’ first round pick in 2011, accrued career-highs in goals (2), assists (17) and points (19) last season, however those are nevertheless disappointing relative to his draft projections.
- You can read more about the Beaulieu situation here.
► What A Way To Start The Season
- The Rookie Tournament the Canadiens took part in for the first time last September has proved highly entertaining, with Nikita Scherbak pulling off a phenomenal move in the team’s first game.
- The Canadiens took down the Penguins 8-3 with notable performances and highlihgts from many a player with Nikita Scherbak coming out of the night with the flashiest of the lot.
- Coming down from the right wing, Scherbak angled himself parallel to the boards, with space, put the puck between his legs from behind him, beat the defenceman, shielded the puck and the cut across the crease for the salt-lemon juice combo that was that goal for Pittsburgh.
Tout un but de @nikscherbak au tournoi des recrues à London! (courtoisie : Leafs TV) #RDSCH pic.twitter.com/rpmDj0yWSS
— Hockey 360 (@hockey360) September 16, 2016
- The former first round pick had a prosaic beginning to his pro career, finishing strong however playing both at center and right wing and ending with 23 points in 48 games with St. John’s.
- You can see the full photo gallery from game one of the tournament here.
► Tanguay Not On Montreal’s List
- With a vacant roster spot available in Montreal and the team’s propensity for veterans, there was mass speculation over whether Alex Tanguay would join the team either via PTO or a contract. But it appears this isn’t the case.
- Richard Labbé of LaPresse published an article on Friday relinquishing all chatter over whether the one-time Hab would be re-joining the team this season.
- “According to information obtained by LaPresse, the Canadiens aren’t interested in submitting an offer to Alex Tanguay, who still doesn’t have a contract for 2016-17 after having finished 2015-16 in an Arizona Coyotes jersey,” said Labbé.
- The former Halifax Moosehead played one season in Montreal, recording 16 goals and 41 points in 50 games back in 2008-09.
- In 2015-16, the Sainte Justine, Quebec native split his season between Colorado and Arizona, the latter of which he had success in, scoring four goals and putting up 13 points in 18 games.
► Radulov’s Absence Explained
- Former Canadiens forward and current RDS employee Guillaume Latendresse said this week that Alexander Radulov was the Canadiens’ most talented player, so there was an explanation needed when he was absent from Team Russia’s World Cup roster.
- J-F Chaumont of the Journal de Montreal reported this week about the omission of Radulov from Russia’s World Cup of Hockey roster by speaking with team head coach Oleg Znarok.
- “Oleg Znarok (Russia’s head coach) explains Radulov’s absence from the World Cup of Hockey due to injuries from the month of May,” Chaumont reported via Twitter this week.
- Radulov signed a one-year, $5.75 million deal this offseason, wanting more term however both sides mutually agreed that the former CSKA Moscow captain needed to prove his worth prior to singing longer-term.
- Last time the virtuous winger spent time as a member of a Quebec organization was in 2005-06 as a member of the Quebec Remparts, scoring 61 goals and accruing 152 points in 62 games.
► Lehkonen Wants To Stay In North America
- Many people believe in the unabating talent of Arturri Lehkonen, including long-time Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, and if there’s nothing Lehkonen doesn’t want to do, it’s return to Sweden.
- “I don’t want to return to Sweden and I believe in my chances,” he told Le Journal de Montreal. “I have made progress, I became a more complete player in Sweden, not only a player who cares about his game offensively. […]”
- “I’m good enough to qualify for the chance to play in the NHL, and it’s for me to prove it. […] My goal is not to return to Sweden. I really wanted to be here, and the rookie tournament will be an opportunity for me to put myself in value,” he told Richard Labbé.
- Lehkonen scored 27 goals and finished with 52 points in 65 games between the regular and post-season in Frolunda last season, setting a team record previously held by Daniel Alfredsson for points in the playoffs with 19.
► Kuznetsov Trigger Happy
- Olympic swimming namesake Evgeni Kuznetsov has become an integral part of the Washington Capitals attack, however it seems that should he have elongated contract negotiations, he wouldn’t hesitate to go back home.
- The Capitals’ leading scorer from last season was asked about Russian teammate Nikita Kucherov’s contract talks and expressed his willingness to sing with the KHL.
- Kucherov told Craig Cunstance of ESPN his stance on the matter “If I would be in his position, I would be signed in the KHL for sure… I would sign and say bye. That’s me. I would buy a beach house and a couple Rolls-Royces.”
- In all fairness, we have no idea whether he was being facetious or not, it’s just a quote with no tone indication, but when considering his importance to the Capitals team and pure talent, it’s an unnerving quote from Capitals and NHL fans alike.
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