Headlines: Habs Sign Ellis, Dumont, Smilin’ DSP, Gonchar Not Done, Bozon Outlook

All Habs Headlines: Tuesday June 2, 2015
	On this day in hockey history… 1948 – This day in hockey history, at the NHL Annual meeting in Montreal, it was announced that the Art Ross Trophy would now be awarded every year to the NHL scoring leader, rather than “the outstanding player”. The Canadiens’ Elmer Lach became the first winner (61 points in 1947-48). 1951 – Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson born in Winchester, Ontario. 1971: The Philadelphia Flyers named future hall of famer Fred Shero as their new head coach.  2003 – Montreal Canadiens named Bob Gainey Executive Vice-President and General Manager.
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► Dumont, Ellis inked

• The Montreal Canadiens have signed centre Gabriel Dumont along with defenceman Morgan Ellis. Dumont played 66 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2014-15 while Ellis split time between the Bulldogs and the Wheeling Nailers. The contracts are similar for each player being one year, two-way deals at $575,000.
• The first two moves of the offseason aren’t earth-shattering by any means, however, there was widespread speculation that Dumont might not be returning to the organization next season. Dumont appeared on RDS’ program Antichambre to dispel any rumors of his departure but this was seen as a pro athlete vying for a contract.
• Dumont played all four years of junior only producing noticeable numbers in his final year with the Drummondville Volitigeurs. In his final QMJHL season, Dumont scored 51 goals to go along with 42 assists in 61 games and added another 11 goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games that year.
• The Ville Degelis native was chosen with the 139th overall pick in the 2009 draft, the same draft that produced Louis Leblanc, now a member of the Norfolk Admirals.
• Since moving to the pro ranks in the 2009-’10 season, the 5-foot-10 Dumont didn’t hit his stride until this past season in which he picked up 45 points, 20 of those being goals, in 66 games. Previously, the Bulldogs captain picked up a combined 109 points in 252 career games playing for the ‘Dogs.
• The former fifth round pick has had a couple stints in the NHL but hasn’t stuck, never really finding his niche. The 24-year-old has played in the NHL in short stints picking up one goal and two assists in 18 games.
• Morgan Ellis isn’t the cream of the crop in terms of prospects nonetheless he could be a valuable prospect. Ellis is a 6-foot-2, 196 pound defenceman who plays the right side, a desired commodity.
• Ellis played five years of junior due to his birthdate in April. In four seasons, he played on a subpar Cape Breton Screaming Eagles team yet still put up respectable numbers with 96 points in 211 games. Not to shortchange Morgan, he had a slow rookie season with restricted minutes putting up just six points in 52 games.  So minus his first season, Ellis earned 90 points in 159 games.
• In his final year of junior, he was traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes where his current St Johns IceCaps teammate Michael Bournival played for his entire junior career. The Ellerslie, PEI native put up monster numbers after getting traded, getting 27 points in 26 games. Shawinigan was eliminated in the second round by the Patrick Roy led Quebec Remparts, Ellis had 11 points in 11 games.
• Ellis was later taken 117th overall in the fourth round by the Habs.  In limited opportunities, he has 27 points in in 157 games in the AHL. To relieve a log-jam on the back end in Hamilton, he was sent to the ECHL this past year where he scored 26 points in 39 games with the Wheeling Nailers.

► Smith-Pelly is happy

• It was a simple tweet but one that caused a storm on Twitter on Saturday night.  Canadiens forward Devante Smith-Pelly tweeted a happy face after his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks. Ducks fans were not impressed.
• Smith-Pelly was unapologetic saying, “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I didn’t think people would be that upset about it, but that’s the way Twitter goes, I guess.”
• The Canadiens rugged winger was on TSN 1050 on Monday to defend his tweet.

:)

— Devante Smith-Pelly (@smithpelly23) May 31, 2015

► Gonchar not done

• Canadiens defenceman Sergei Gonchar is not ready to retire. The 41-year-old told TVA that he would like to play one more season in the NHL.
• In 45 games with the Habs last season, Gonchar had one goal and 12 assists.  Marc Bergevin has informed the rearguard that he would not be re-signed by the Canadiens.
• Gonchar will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

► Petty Bolts

• The insecure folks at the Tampa Bay Lightning are back to their old tricks creating silly rules to keep opposing fans out of Amalie Arena.  Canadiens fans are familiar with Lightning rules which restricted ticket sales to Florida residents during the second round of the playoffs.
• The policy will be repeated for the Stanley Cup final against the Chicago Blackhawks: “Amalie Arena is located in Tampa, FL. Sales to this event will be restricted to residents of Florida. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside the selected area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
• In addition, arena security will prohibit fans from wearing Blackhawk jerseys in certain areas of the arena: “Chase Club and Lexus Lounge ticket holders: Please note that for all 2015 NHL Playoff Games at Amalie Arena, only Tampa Bay Lightning apparel (or neutral) will be permitted in these club and adjoining seating areas. Fans wearing visiting team apparel will be asked to remove them while in these areas.”

► New OT rules?

• In this week’s NHL – NHLPA meetings, one of the points of discussion will be the implementation of 3-on-3 overtime. According to Elliotte Friedman, the rule change will not likely be put in place this upcoming season but it is not far away.
• The overtime would be broken down like this: three minutes of 4-on-4 play followed by three minutes of 3-on-3.
• This proposal would be the NHL’s way of reducing the likelihood of proceeding to a shootout, a skills competition created to recapture hockey fans’ attention after the 2005-06 lockout.

► Zuccarello speaks

• New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello suffered a skull fracture and bleeding in his brain after taking a Ryan McDonagh slap shot to the head in the Rangers’ first round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Not only did the 5-foot-6 forward suffer a brain contusion but he also lost the ability to speak for four days and temporarily lost feeling in his arm. He was treated in the hospital for three days, and was noticeably shaken in his first media availability session.
• Zuccarello said, “I was in the hospital for three days. I couldn’t talk for a while, had a contusion, some blood in my brain. That affects a lot. Now I go to speech therapy. I’m getting much better. I couldn’t say a word for four days. I feel much better.”
• He says that his health is improving and will be able to return to the Rangers lineup next season.

► No interest in Boucher

• Former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher has decided to stay in Switzerland to coach CP Bern. It was reported that Boucher was hoping to return to the NHL this upcoming season. While there was interest from a few teams, including the Maple Leafs and the Devils, the 43-year-old was only a runner-up in the selections.
• Boucher had an outstanding rookie coaching year in 2010-11 as a 39-year-old with 46 wins and 103 points with the Bolts on the way to losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final.
• Some Habs fans hoped that the former Bulldogs head coach would be a replacement for Jacques Martin was boring them to tears. While Boucher was said to be a more progressive coach, he was responsible for a full-out neutral zone trap in that playoff run he had with the Lightning.

► Outlook for Bozon

• Tim Bozon could be a candidate to fill the Canadiens need for scoring this upcoming year. Bozon was chosen 64th overall in 2012.
• Bozon courageously battled meningitis, returning this past season to the Kootenay Ice where he scored 35 goals and got 28 helpers in 57 games. Bozon had nine points in seven playoff games with the ice who were eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
• Bozon, at 6-foot-1, showed flashes of skill last year at Canadiens training camp but was an early cut. Tim played one game for the Bulldogs before being reassigned to the WHL to regain his strength and his game after recovering from his illness.
• There is a chance for the Lugano, Switzerland native to crack the roster this fall but he will likely need significant time in the AHL to transition his mainly one-sided junior game to the pro level.

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