All Habs Headlines: Monday August 31, 2015 |
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On this day in hockey history… 1931 — The greatest captain in Canadiens history, Jean Beliveau was born. 1992 — The Habs traded Russ Courtnall to Minnesota in exchange for Brian Bellows. 1995 — The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson to the New York Rangers, in exchange for Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved. |
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► Happy birthday Mr. Beliveau
- Jean Beliveau, one of the greatest captains to ever play the game, would have been 84 years old today. Beliveau passed away on December 2, 2014.
- Tim Thompson created this video tribute following his passing. It’s worth another look.
► Subban is sixth
- Last week EA Sports revealed that Carey Price is the top goaltender in their soon-to-be-released NHL 16 with a rank of 94.
- On the weekend, in the rankings of defenseman, P.K. Subban was left out of the top-5 placing sixth behind Shea Weber (94), Duncan Keith (93), Drew Doughty (93), Ryan Suter (93) and Erik Karlsson (91).
- Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Roman Josi and Alex Petrangelo rounded out the top-10.
- On Sunday, EA Sports announced the top-10 right-wingers without a Canadiens representative. Corey Perry (92), Patrick Kane (92), Vladimir Tarasenko (91), Jakub Voracek (90) and Marian Hossa (90) made up the top-5.
- The video game comes out on September 15th featuring not only Youpi! and the Canadiens’ goal song but the Canadiens’ new jerseys as well.
► Sad news about Richard
- Long time Canadiens captain and 11 time Stanley Cup champion Henri Richard’s Alzheimer’s has “worsened lately” according to Le Journal de Montreal.
- The Pocket Rocket was absent at Toe Blake’s Alzheimer Celebrity Golf Tournament which sparked the report. Blake died in 1995, he also had Alzheimer’s.
- Richard played 1259 games, all of which were with the Canadiens, and had 358 goals and 1046 points. His 11 Stanley Cup championships is the most by any player and will most likely never be eclipsed. He was also the seventh ever player to take home the Bill Masterton Trophy for the comeback player of that year.
- “It’s very sad to see him in the state that he’s in” said Dickie Moore. He went on to say “We are happy to see this annual golf tournament that that has his name that raises important money for Alzheimer’s research. We hold this tournament close to our hearts.”
- Since its creation in 1994, the tournament has raised around $1.3 million for Alzheimer’s research.
► Closing of the Hall
- The Canadiens’ Hall of Fame opened its doors for the final time on Sunday. The club announced earlier this summer that it was being closed permanently to “enhance the fan experience” at the Bell Centre in their multi-million dollar renovation to make an extended plaza.
- Since it first opened its doors in 2010, following the Canadiens’ 100th anniversary, it has hosted over 230,000 people. Throughout the month of August, admission was free.
- Some of the artifacts will go back to the collectors who lent them and others will be distributed to displays inside the arena.
► Eakin re-signs in Dallas
- The Dallas Stars and forward Cody Eakin have come to terms on an agreement that will pay the centreman to a four-year extension worth $15.4 million.
- Eakin was originally drafted 85th overall by the Washington Capitals in 2009 but was sent to the lone star state in the deal that sent Mark Ribeiro to Washington.
- The Winnipeg, Manitoba native had seven goals and 24 points in his rookie season in 2012-13. He has scored 35 goals and added 40 assists in 189 games since.
- The former Swift Current Bronco is widely regarded as one of the best third line centres in the NHL especially now that he has insulation in the form of Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza. Eakin is highly dependable in defensive roles with all the offensive talent in Dallas and provides very good value even if it doesn’t show up on the score sheet.
- Stars GM Jim Nill also pumped the tires of the 24-year-old in the form of a press release “Cody is a well-rounded player and has the versatility to play in a number of roles. He has the ability to shutdown opponent’s top players, win faceoffs and kill penalties, all while producing offensively. Cody has been an important part of our team and will continue to be a part of our core for the next five seasons.”
► Yakupov ready for a fresh start
- Edmonton Oilers winger Nail Yakupov has had a rocky first couple seasons in the NHL to say the least but is excited for the upcoming season.
- “They’re excited about Connor McDavid, but there have been a lot of changes, a new GM, a new coaching staff a lot of new players again, it’ll be something different this year for sure.” the former first overall pick told the Edmonton Sun.
- “Our fans obviously want us to fight for a playoff spot and play better than we have for the last few years. I think, for us, every year is really important, but this season is a big one. The time is now and we have to do everything we can to make our team better. Our job is to try to get in the playoffs — that’s what we have to do.”
- Yakupov also spoke about his perception of his newest teammate Connor McDavid “I’ve never seen him on the ice live, but I’ve seen him on TV. The way people talk about him, he must be pretty good, but there is going to be a lot of pressure on him, too. […] He’ll be part of a team, he won’t have to do everything by himself on the ice. We have another 22 guys that will work hard to try and make our team better.”
► Glencross regrets hometown discount
- Former Calgary Flames forward and current free agent Curtis Glencross is seriously regretting a hometown discount he took with the Calgary Flames.
- In an interview with the Calgary Sun the longtime Flame noted that you have to take advantage of the situation as it arises ““If I could do it again … as much as I love (Calgary) and call it home and met great people, at the same time, when it’s time for you to cash in, you have to take advantage and cash in. You can’t take a pay-cut or hometown discount because things change.”
- “I loved my time in Calgary and the organization, but you learn that eventually it’s a business and you’re just a number.”
- In 2010 the 32-year old signed a four-year $10.2 million contract in the prime of his career and he could have held out for $2-4 million more.
- Glencross is now looking for a job and it will likely come in the form of a professional tryout. Before getting dealt to Washington at the trade deadline it was believed he was looking for a $4 million a year contract with the Flames.
► Bowman excited about new acquisitions
- Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman shook up his roster this offseason and is very exited about the newest members of his organization.
- “I think change is good, and I think we’ve embraced that in the past and been able to bring in some players that now are household names … but at one point they were new,” Bowman told NHL.com.
- The GM had some prosperous words to say on the new players “It’s going to be the same thing for some of the new guys that are part of this group next year. They might be new to the fans and media, but as you’ll see in time, I think we’re really going to fall in love with some of these guys.”
- Bowman was disappointed Brandon Saad had to be dealt but understands its part of the game “We (will) miss a dimension to our team as well. That’s today’s game. That’s one of the things you have to deal with when you’re a championship team. Guys are going to earn more money based on their performance and what they’ve achieved, (and) deservedly so. (Saad) falls into that category.”
► Boedker, a perfect Habs target?
- I detail Mikkel Boedker’s potential to be a perfect fit with the Habs.
► A disaster, competent or elite?
- J.D. Lagrange wonders if Michel Therrien should be considered elite.
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