All Habs Headlines: Wednesday April 20, 2016 |
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On this day in hockey history… 1958 — Bernie Geoffrion scored twice and added an assist as the Canadiens beat Boston 5-3 in Game 6 of the Finals, to win their third straight Stanley Cup. 1968 — St. Louis Blues signed free agent Doug Harvey. 1992 — Kings’ Wayne Gretzky picked up four assists to become the first player in NHL history to record 300 career playoff points, in an 8-5 win over the Oilers. |
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► Caps Begin their Summer
- The St. John’s IceCaps completed their season with the final two games of the regular campaign on the weekend. If you missed them check out our coverage here: RECAP | Wolf Pack – IceCaps: Ending the Season on a High Note
- Prior to the game the IceCaps presented their year-end player awards. Morgan Ellis was selected as the team’s top defenseman and Mike McCarron was chosen as the top rookie. Josiah Didier was named the hardest working player of the year. Captain Gabriel Dumont got the nod as the team’s MVP.
@FlyersRule @IceCapsReport Great work, Thanx for all the updates, interviews & info on our fave #ahl team.
— DAVE JURSIC (@DAVECBYZ) April 16, 2016
► Musical Icon Instead of Hockey
- With Canadiens fans still in mourning, Carlos Santana broke the deafening silence of the lack of playoff hockey at the Bell Center on Tuesday night.
La soirée mágica de @SantanaCarlos en #Montreal (fotos) https://t.co/scDOJeTSiE pic.twitter.com/9gAwuxi6kl
— NM Noticias (@NMnoticias) April 20, 2016
► Bouillon Not In Discussions
- Approximately two weeks after the Canadiens season mercifully ended rumours began to emerge that Francis Bouillon might be joining the team’s coaching staff, rumours that were dismantled this week.
- According to Mathias Brunet, Bouillon informed him that he and Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin were not in discussions recently, just an informal talk during the winter.
- Whether Bouillon will come on as an assistant or special consultant remains to be seen however despite his upwards of 700 game playing career he has yet to be behind the bench for a single game at any level.
- In case you were sitting at home asking yourself, “I wonder what Bouillon’s 1996 output was in ball hockey,” he had four goals and 13 points in 23 games with the Montreal Roadrunners.
► Subban the Key?
- The Canadiens are primed for turnover come later on in the offseason and the largest opportunity to do so is in the form of Steven Stamkos, a friend of P.K. Subban.
- In a recent interview with LaPresse former player agent and current NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton spoke about the possibility of Stamkos reuniting with Subban in Montreal.
- “P. K.’s a childhood friend […] of Stamkos. This isn’t to be overlooked, because we see it sometimes in the world of hockey; two old friends who want to play together and decide to end up with the same team, it happens.”
- He later went on to cite Zach Parise and Ryan Suter signing in Minnesota saying, “Zack Parise and Ryan Suter both both chose to join the Minnesota Wild. There are links like this, friendships that can influence a decision.”
► Plekanec Refutes Rumours
- For years, rumours and fan fare have been surrounding Tomas Plekanec’s name and the Czech forward has once again refuted those whispers.
- “I signed a two-year extension. Why would I make that demand,” Plekanec told LaPresse.
- Through a full 82-game season, the former third-round pick recorded a career-low 14 goals however still recorded 54 points.
- Plekanec led the Canadiens forward in point for the majority of the season and, despite of his stretches of disenchant play, still finished third on the team in points behind Pacioretty and Galchenyuk.
- Should Plekanec not be moved in the offseason, Lars Eller and David Desharnais’ time as members of the Canadiens organization might be numbered.
► Don’t Judge a Book
- As Alexei Emelin’s departure becomes all the more imminent, the Russian defenceman’s personality has never been more adored, with last week’s confirmation of his love for Montreal and now this.
- In a piece written by Mylène Moisan this week the former third-round pick made one little boy extremely happy this year when he wrote back to him.
- A 10-year old boy, Thomas, has dysphasia, a disease that limits his apprehension and deliverance of speech, he also has ADHD.
- According to the article, he doesn’t have much of a comprehension of the outside world.
- Emelin sent the child a letter saying that when he arrived in Canada, he felt as if he was in another world learning the language and the way of living. “The next goal that I’ll score will be for you Thomas.” He also invited he and his parents to a game.
- At the beginning, the only way Emelin would be interviewed on the topic was if the reporter didn’t disclose which Russian defenceman sent the letter.
► Instant Decline
- There was a pervasive expectation that television ratings would go down however, according to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, the drop off in viewership is incredible.
- Campbell reports that Sportsnet and the CBC have been witness to a prosaic 61% drop off in the amount of views the event garners.
- The reasoning behind the drop off is clear, with no Canadian teams in the postseason for the first time in 46 years, unless you’re a fan of hockey, what’s the point unless you’re team isn’t in it.
- “Even with no Canadian teams, those are shockingly low numbers,” noted one industry expert in the article. “There were regular season games on TSN two years ago that did better than that.”
► Semin Ends With Glory
- Alexander Semin’s tenure as a member of the Montreal Canadiens organization was sad, hilarious and in some ways predictable but at least the Russian went out in style.
- The Alexander Semin led Magnitogorsk Metallurg took home the Gagarin Cup this week, the Russian equivalent to the Stanley Cup.
- In 20 regular season games with Metallurg, the former Canadien, Capital and Hurricane had five goals, 14 points and a minus-two rating.
- During his team’s 22 game run to the Gagarin Cup final the 32-year old had seven goals and 15 points accompanied by 20 penalty minutes.
- Semin’s four points as a member of the Canadiens was surpassed easily by Joel Hanley, who only took five games to supplant the feature for the greater of the two.
Montreal Canadiens cast off Alexander Semin wins championship in Russia:https://t.co/TqZXZsUYXC #Habs pic.twitter.com/22wFwRIduX
— Douglas Gelevan (@DGelevan) April 20, 2016
► Weise Welcomes Return
- Dale Weise is not playing in Chicago and he is frustrated. Weise told RDS, “It’s very frustrating I must admit. I know I can help this team as I did with the Canadiens. I’m able to score big goals, to get involved, help the cause of the team. But it’s impossible to do that if not given the chance to do so. I’ve played one game so far. I spent six minutes on ice. I try to maximize what they offer me, but they do not offer me much.”
- Weise enjoyed his time in Montreal and would welcome a return when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Weise said, “I was very disappointed to be traded. I understood the decision since I was in the last year of my contract. But I love the Canadiens. I love Montreal and its fans. I know the team management liked me and I will do everything to sign a new deal with the Canadiens after the season is over.”
Dale Weise était très utile au #CH. Il veut revenir l'an prochain. À 2,5 M par année, il aura sa place selon moi https://t.co/zCNU4bB6rQ
— Francois Gagnon (@GagnonFrancois) April 20, 2016
► Lehkonen Leads
Artturi Lehkonen clinches Frölunda's win in Game-3 with a late 3-1 goal, his playoff-leading 9th goal. #Habs
— Szymon Szemberg (@Sz1909_Szemberg) April 19, 2016
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