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Mete, Kotkaniemi, Hockey Operations | Habs Notepad

Chris G

Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Habs, Week In Review, Josh Anderson, Victor Mete, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Martin Lapointe, Scott Mellanby

Victor Mete (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens extended their win streak to three games on Thursday with a 4-2 win against the Flames. Carey Price was 1:18 away from a shutout when Milan Lucic put Calgary on the board. Lucic doesn’t make it easy for Habs fans to like him regardless of where he plays.

“We were very opportunistic tonight. I still don’t think that was our best effort by any means. I think we’ve got a lot of room to improve here, and that’s a good sign because we’re playing well enough to win and we’re capitalizing. I think we just need to tighten up a few areas,” captain Shea Weber said.

On Saturday, Johnny Gaudreau scored the game-winning goal 3:34 into the contest and Flames added an empty net goal and went on to a 2-0 victory. It was Montreal’s first regulation loss of the year. Jacob Markstrom stopped all 37 shots to record a shutout.

“I thought it was a good game by both teams. Both goalies were excellent tonight. On our side, the big difference was the fact that we couldn’t score. We had excellent chances all game long. That was probably the biggest difference,” Claude Julien explained the loss.

The Canucks visit the Bell Centre on Monday and Tuesday, before the Canadiens start a home-and-home series against the Senators on Thursday and Saturday.

Anderson Flu

Josh Anderson left Saturday’s game at the end of the first period, after playing nine shifts for a total of 6:06 of ice time. His departure was surprising as there was nothing conclusive that occurred during the period that would explain it.

“Anderson had flu-like symptoms tonight. We decided to send him home. Obviously, we don’t want that to spread. But he tested negative for COVID-19. He’ll have another test tomorrow [Sunday]. It was a preventive measure,” Julien explained.

Even though Anderson tested negative prior to the Flames game, there was a lot of anticipation for the results of Sunday’s test. Fortunately, Anderson tested negative again. We’ve seen around the National Hockey League (NHL), and all of professional sports, the impact of a positive test on a team and the league.

On Saturday, the Quebec provincial government unveiled a new ad campaign in partnership with the Canadiens, reminding that the population is battling the pandemic as a team.

Mete Wants Change

TSN’s Salim Valji tweeted on Saturday that Victor Mete has officially requested a trade. “There isn’t an opportunity to get in the lineup. It’s best for both the player and the team,” Mete’s agent, Darren Ferris told TSN’s Pierre Lebrun. Mete has been a healthy scratch for all of Montreal’s eight games.

“Not true and not trading him,” Marc Bergevin responded to Lebrun. There’s no reason for the general manager to trade the defenceman. Mete can play regularly on a third defensive pairing unit for most teams. His one-year contract paying him $735,000 makes it easy for a team to fit on their payroll. Mete will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.

Bergevin took these factors into consideration in January when a decision was needed on the opening night roster. The general manager felt that it was more likely that another team would pick up Mete on waivers compared to veterans Corey Perry or Michael Frolik.

“My agent came back to me with a couple of things, but I thought one year was probably the best for me going into next season, to give myself an extra year to kind of prove myself hopefully,” Mete said in October after signing his deal.

On September 1st, former Hab Max Domi fired Pat Brisson as his agent. On October 7th, Domi was traded to Columbus. On Saturday, it was confirmed that the Flames’ Sam Bennett also asked for a trade.

Why are Domi and Bennett relevant to this story about Mete? They’re all represented by Ferris.

Opportunity to Play

Mete knew in October that a roster spot wasn’t guaranteed. He lost his spot as Shea Weber‘s partner to Ben Chiarot, Bergevin told Joel Edmunston in September that he would play next to Jeff Petry, and the organization hyped Alexander Romanov even before his first game as a Hab.

Mete’s only opportunity to earn a spot was on the third pairing. In the off-season, I projected Mete as Romanov’s partner.

“I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I kind of just came into camp, just working my hardest and trying to be the best I can be on the ice. I’m happy with my camp. I thought it was really good, so we’ll see,” he said before the team headed to Toronto for opening night.

Brett Kulak got the first chance on the third pairing and he’s held on to it. All six defencemen are playing well for the Canadiens. There’s no reason for Claude Julien to pull any of them out of the lineup.

“They’ve been outstanding. They’re really hard to play against as a unit. All those guys are big tough guys and they can also make some good plays. I think for us as forwards, it’s nice having them back there because they’re killing plays quick down low, and they’re helping us go on the offence.

“On the offensive side, you’ve seen already these past few games, there’s been some great plays by those guys. It’s been a great asset for us,” responded Jake Evans on Friday when asked about the defensive unit.

Kotkaniemi Hit in the Head

During the second period of Saturday’s game, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was hit directly on the head by Dillon Dube behind Calgary’s net. There was no penalty called on the play by the officials. To make matters worse, Montreal ended up on the penalty kill as Shea Weber stepped in to defend his teammate.

“I don’t really care. I think those are just things that happen in a game. They’ll make the call. It’s not my call, so let’s keep it that way,” said Kotkaniemi when asked to comment the hit. He missed the remainder of the middle frame as he went through concussion protocol, but was back on the ice for the final period.

“I don’t have to say a lot. It’s pretty obvious to everyone,” Julien limited himself to comment further after the game.

We hear regularly that the speed of the game is quick and that the referees have a split second to make a decision to call a penalty. I agree that hockey is a fast sport.

It’s the reason that I think the NHL’s Department of Player Safety need to step in and make the appropriate decisions. They have more than a few seconds to take action. The decision taken on Sunday was that the hit was unavoidable, therefore not subject to supplemental discipline.

As I wrote following Tyler Myers’ recent hit on Joel Armia, if the rules make Dube’s hit legal, the NHL and the NHL Players Association need to step up and change the rules. I won’t take them seriously on this topic, until they make any concrete changes.

Hockey Operations

The Canadiens announced on Thursday that the team has agreed to terms with Martin Lapointe on a three-year contract extension, along with the addition of new duties as the club’s director of amateur scouting. The role was vacant since Shane Churla accepted the same role with the Panthers in November.

Lapointe will keep his duties as director of player personnel for the duration of the contract with the organization until the end of the 2023-24 season.

TVA Sports reported on Sunday, that assistant general manager Scott Mellanby informed Bergevin that he has no intention of leaving the Canadiens in the near future. Mellanby has been interviewed by several organizations for the role of general manager, and was reported to be a candidate for the recently vacated general manager role in Pittsburgh.

If you’re wondering, Bergevin’s current contract with the organization expires at the end of the 2021-22 season.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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