Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Shea Weber, Evgenii Dadonov, Kent Hughes, Jeff Petry, Josh Anderson, Cayden Primeau, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Thursday, the Canadiens traded captain Shea Weber to the Vegas Golden Knights in return for forward Evgenii Dadonov. Weber joined Montreal in June 2016, after spending 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators. The defenceman was named the Canadiens captain in October 2018.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined playing for let alone being named captain of the Montreal Canadiens. Pulling on that legendary jersey every night was one of the greatest honours of my career and it’s something I appreciated every chance I got,” Weber said on Friday via a statement.

“Even though he wasn’t around a lot, his presence was really felt. If you talk to the players and everybody around it, I think that was one of the biggest things we’ve heard from them: that his absence created a leadership void. He was that kind of a presence, and he really helped steer the ship off-the-ice. Those types of people don’t come around every day; when you have them in an organization, you’re lucky,” Kent Hughes spoke about the defenceman.

Hughes explained that the deal was made to gain long term flexibility as Dadonov’s contract has one year remaining compared to the four seasons on Weber’s. The general manager said that he pulled the trigger because the team would be in a problematic situation if they had to carry Weber and potentially Carey Price‘s contracts on LITR. Hughes did not explain why.

“We believe that Dadonov can bring an offensive element to our team. We definitely need to continue to improve the team’s offense,” Hughes said about his newest acquisition. Last season, Dadonov scored 20 goals and 43 points in 78 games with the Golden Knights.

More Moves Coming

With the acquisition of Dadonov, and his contract that counts $5-million against the salary cap, the Canadiens have an estimated $1.9-million remaining to spend. With that amount, the organization may wish to sign notable restricted free agents Rem Pitlick, Alexander Romanov and Samuel Montembeault. In addition to signing some or all of those three players, the Canadiens will likely sign their first overall pick to an entry level contract before the start of the season. 

Hughes will be busy on the phone with other general managers over the summer, attempting to create salary cap space. One of the candidates expected to be moved is Jeff Petry. The general manager said that his phone has been ringing more often, but there’s no imminent trade involving Petry. TSN’s Pierre Lebrun reported that up to six teams, including the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings have shown interest in acquiring the defender.

Hughes confirmed that Josh Anderson has generated interest from other teams, but he has not received an offer that he can’t refuse. The Canadiens are listening to all offers that they receive.

“I believe that we have to listen. We finished in 32nd place. When you finish last, you have to listen to all options to improve our team,” Hughes said. “We’re going to listen [to trade offers] for almost everyone, because it’s the prudent thing to do.”

Rocket Looking Ahead

The Laval Rocket held their exit interviews on Thursday, following their elimination to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday in the Eastern Conference Final. As is the case annually in the American Hockey League, next season’s roster is expected to be quite different than the one that finished the season.

Jean-Francois Houle expects to have a say on the composition of the roster, and would like to build on this season’s success. “Our team will be younger, but I think we can be as competitive. It’s important to have a good core of veterans, that can guide the young players on and off the ice.”

The coach added that the veterans in this year’s dressing room contains good pieces to bring back next season. “We have a good core of veterans that in my opinion we should bring back. They implemented a winning culture, and we can also have continuity.” The veterans decided to focus on the playoff run, and wait till the offseason to negotiate for a new contract.

Houle added that if there’s four young defencemen on the roster next season, he would like to support them with a veteran on each pairing.

Prior to joining the organization, Houle was an assistant with the Oilers AHL affiliate for six seasons, the last three for head coach Jay Woodcroft. Houle was asked if he would jump to the NHL if his former coach called him.

“I’d think about it. One day, I would like to be in the NHL. I’ve been in the AHL for 10 years. It’s a lot of years spent developing players. I love my journey here in Laval, and I’m really happy. If I get a telephone call, I would listen, but being a head coach now in Laval is where I want to be.

Patience with Primeau

After sitting out the first game of Laval’s playoff run, Cayden Primeau took the net in game 2 of the series against the Syracuse Crunch, and never looked back. Primeau’s performance in the postseason was his best stretch since becoming a professional. In 14 games, he recorded 2.17 goals-against-average, and .936 save percentage.

“He surprised me,” Houle said about the goalie’s playoff performance. “What I liked about him is that he had a lot of confidence, and he was more solid in goal when teams crashed the net and tried to push him.”

Primeau’s regular season had a lot of ups and downs between his stints with the Canadiens and the Rocket. “I had expectations of myself and how I wanted to play and how I thought I should be playing, and I wasn’t meeting those. It started to spiral out of control, and I didn’t manage it very well. I’m definitely better equipped to manage it moving forward.”

The 22-year old knows that this offseason will be an important one, and will work on improving on his consistency. Primeau does not want to set expectations whether he should play in Laval or Montreal next season.

Veteran netminder Kevin Poulin acted as Laval’s backup and has a firm opinion on where Primeau should play next season. “I think he needs to have one solid year in the AHL, and play every game, and his focus to be only on the Rocket.”

Coach Houle agrees that not rushing Primeau would benefit his development. “I think it would be important for Cayden to continue his journey in the AHL, continue playing with confidence, and not skip too many steps. Goalies are usually ready for the NHL between 24 and 26 years old. There’s not too many of them at 22-23 years old.”

Lions Signings

The Trois-Rivieres Lions announced several signings this week for their 2022-23 roster. Up front, the Lions signed Cedric Montminy, William Leblanc, and Jonathan Joanette to contracts.

Montminy captained the team last season, recording 38 points in 61 games. Leblanc collected 23 points in 32 games, after signing with Trois-Rivieres from the UQTR university team. Joanette recorded 13 points in 42 games.

On defence, the Lions signed Mathieu Brodeur, Connor Welsh, and Bradley Johnson. Brodeur, drafted by the Coyotes, wore an ‘A’ on his jersey, and collected 19 points in 69 games. Welsh joined the team for 11 games from Dalhousie University, and registered two points. Johnson joined Trois-Rivieres from Bemidji State University, and tallied two assists in 16 games.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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