All Habs Headlines: Monday June 18, 2012
On this day in hockey history… In 1989, legendary Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, taken by the Canadiens in the 7th round of the 1983 Entry Draft, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Tretiak would play his entire career for CSKA Moscow, though he did serve as a goaltending coach to the Chicago Blackhawks for a bit after retirement.
ALL HABS HEADLINES
► Daigneault denies Habs’ interest: Rick Moffat of CJAD spoke to former Canadiens defenseman Jean-Jacques Daigneault who denied that the Habs had ever approached him regarding the vacancy for an Assistant Coach to focus on the team’s d-men. Just yesterday, Dany Dube had reported on 98.5 radio that Daigneault would in fact be the fourth member to complete the team’s NHL coaching staff.
The two names mentioned most frequently as a potential D coach of late are Daigneault and New Jersey’s Larry Robinson. Daigneault, a Montreal native who won a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993, has served as an Assistant Coach with the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate since 2006. In that time, he has worked with Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, and Ryan McDonagh amongst others, with his work earning him consideration for an NHL job. The 46-year old seems like a qualified candidate for the Canadiens’ position, so even if he hasn’t spoken to the team yet, it doesn’t mean he won’t at some point in the future.
► Desharnais happy: Montreal’s David Desharnais attended defenseman Philippe Boucher‘s charity golf tournament yesterday, where he was asked for his take on all of the front office changes in Montreal this off-season. Desharnais indicated having spoken to both Boucher and Maxime Talbot, who’ve had Michel Therrien as a coach previously, and both had only good things to say about him. Wisely, Desharnais also commented that while it’s nice to see more Quebecers added to the team’s staff, the club has to hire individuals based on their competencies and not place of birth, which he feels they have done.
Read more: David Desharnais satisfait du nouveau personnel d’entraineurs du CH
► Habs talk with Moen: According to RDS, Marc Bergevin is in negotiations with the agent for pending unrestricted free agent Travis Moen about re-signing with the team prior to July 1st. Moen just completed a three year deal with a $1.5M annual cap hit, signed as a free agent in Montreal back in 2009. Moen is one of three pending unrestricted free agents at forward on the Canadiens’ roster, along with Mathieu Darche and Brad Staubitz. There have been no updates on contracts for the other two.
►Player usage charts: A group known as Rob Vollman and friends has released a report showing player usage charts for the 2011-12 season. The report looks at how tough the minutes assigned to various players are by charting them based on the quality of the opposition they are on ice against, and how frequently they are sent out for offensive zone face-offs as opposed to starts elsewhere on the ice. What we see from the Montreal chart is that Scott Gomez had some of the team’s easiest minutes last season, while Josh Gorges, P.K. Subban, and Ryan White were given the toughest assignments.
Read more: 2011-12 NHL Player Usage Charts
► Teravainen could surprise: There’s been lots of speculation about who the Canadiens will select with their No. 3 pick at the NHL Entry Draft. We’ve known for quite some time that Trevor Timmins is fond of two players Alex Galchenyuk and Teuvo Teravainen. While it may seem unlikely for Teravainen to go in the Top 5, Marc Bergevin said that there will be surprises in the first round as teams’ top choices seem to vary widely.
Teravainen had 11 goals and 7 assists in 40 games for Jokerit last season. Jokerit’s General Manager is Jarmo Kekalainen, a good friend of Timmins. When asked about the possibility of Teravainen being selected third, Kekalainen didn’t dismiss it.
“I do not want to put pressure on my friend Trevor, but I would not be surprised that he is drafted by a team early. It will take a bold recruiter because Teuvo is not the most physically imposing, but he is not tiny either at 5’11”. He is certainly not smaller than Claude Giroux.” — Jarmo Kekalainen
Read more: Teuvo Teravainen: un souvenir de Claude Giroux (in French)
►Habs market to ‘irrational’ fans: Kevin Gilmore, the Canadiens Chief Operating Officer, is the almost forgotten member of the expanding front office. Gilmore, speaking at a conference in Barcelona recently, provided a glimpse into the Canadiens business model. The Habs market passion stressing emotional connections to the successes of the past.
“We deal with very emotional human beings. Rational people don’t spend the money they spend on season tickets. They are fans, not spectators, who are detached. We are in the business of selling emotions, of selling passion. It’s about creating a strong emotional bond. It is different from selling a product based on quality.” — Kevin Gilmore
Read more: The business of the game
►Geoffrion is off the market: Catching up on news that happened while we were covering the Habs Development Camp, we are told that Blake Geoffrion is now engaged. Congratulations to Blake and Katelyn!
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Habs’ Toughness… Piece of Cake
Two Minutes for Asking: Need Hockey Fan Advice?
Day 4 Report from Habs’ Development Camp (Part 1)
Day 3 Report from Habs’ Development Camp (Part 1)
Day 2 Report from Habs’ Development Camp (Part 1)
Day 1 Report from Habs’ Development Camp (Part 1)
NHL Entry Draft Q&A With Mark Edwards, HockeyProspect.com
The Curious Case of Tomas Vokoun