Montreal Canadiens Final Preseason Reactions & Roster Outlook

Montreal Canadiens Final Preseason Reactions & Roster Outlook

As my friend Julian McKenzie likes to say, “What it do, baby?” Welcome to the Sunday Live. Yeah, come on. Come on. I love I love a Julian McKenzie reference on a I’m huge Julian McKenzie fan. Obviously, you can read him in the Athletic all over the Ottawa Senators beat. There’s Marco Demo all over the Canadians beat. There’s Sean Star right here. Two thumbs of this guy all over. I don’t know. I like to uh play golf a lot and I like to talk all over the golf courses. Hey, bro. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. I have I have I hope you all appreciate this. I have cut out so much golf out of my season because of this YouTube show. You guys have made this unbelievably exciting. So much fun to do. My golf rounds have absolutely been chopped when he texts me, “You playing golf today?” I’m like, “Yeah, I’m I’m playing golf.” He’s like, “Again?” I’m like, “Bro, you don’t understand how how much less golf I’ve been playing.” But seriously, it’s a pleasure to be here. A pleasure to be here with all of y’all. And thank you so much. Um, roll call right away. There’s the Miko. I’m star. A big shout out uh to our friends. You can support us by supporting this channel. And we’re brought to you by cheapest-shirts.ca. It’s your go-to for custom TE’s, hoodies, merchandise. They’re proudly Canadian-owned, fast shipping, no minimum orders, and unbeatable prices. Get yours today at cheapest t-shirts.ca. That’s where do gets his. That’s where I get mine, and you should get yours. Don’t forget, we’re going to be at MLAN’s Pub, a live show. A You’re watching this live, you can come see us in person. You can watch us. You could I don’t want to get too carried away. October 22nd at MLAN’s Pub, 1210 Peele Street, uh from 7 to 8:00 p.m. Marco, we have some awesome gifts to give away, don’t we? Yes, we do. We have gift cards to MLAN’s Pub. We have season uh well, a set of tickets that belong to MLAN’s season ticket uh threshold to be able to give away as well. We’ll get to you on how that contest is going to work shortly. Uh and obviously, like I said, we’re going to have quiz and and whatnot as well during the show. Uh it won’t simply just be us doing a live show. There will obviously be a watch component to it. Uh and then obviously a Q&A with you guys if you have more uh questions that you want to ask up front rather than putting it on a chat. Yeah. So we’ll see you there October 22nd from 7:00 to 8. No reservations. First come first serve to watch the live show. And of course we’re brought to you by Little Bear Little Bear online where Chuck and Eie and their amazing staff care about your pets as much as you do. They have local food and some of the best pet accessories from around the world at great prices. littlebearonline.com and welcome in Katherine Prince. Katherine with a K, prince.ca. You’re buying or selling your home, you just want a valuation on your current home. She’s a Remax Platin broker and a proud supporter of the show and a friend of ours and a friend of yours. So, we did it, brother. The Montreal Canadians preeason is over. Uh, a little gut check reaction before we get into the comments. Like what do you think we learned watching this team operate through six playoff games that ends with like whatever. The Kenyons lose 3-1 in a preseason game to Ottawa. It wasn’t the blood bath a lot of my friends were expecting on a Saturday night, but like goodness. Um I think I learned a few things. Marco, why don’t you start? What What do you think you learned through six preseason games? Um I think I’m going to start off just with Kirby Doc. Um, I thought Kirby Doc was moving exceptionally well yesterday. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, man, do I need coffee. Um, I think that, um, I think that Kirby Doc looked like he was physically ready. Took a couple of bumps. There was a little There were a couple of clench moments for us on the press gallery where we were looking down and he was like toppled over the bench because he had just taken a nasty hit. But yeah, for all intents and purposes, he’s skating very well, very aggressive, uh, making some good plays. So, it’s good to see the Kirby Doc is in shape and ready to go. Will he play all the games to start the season? We don’t know yet. But I think just from a mechanical perspective, he looks to have recovered from his knee surgery quite well. So, that was definitely one of them. Uh, the other one is, man, how close to the show is Adam Angstrom right there. Knocking on the door. Knocking on the door. Like, like like Sheldon Cooper like triple knocking on the door. Like, it’s just Oh my god. Big Bang. Big Bang Theory reference there. Yeah, I know. Oh, I’m sorry about that, guys. But I think he’s I think he’s quite close um in terms of his just I think his game is quite polished and the fact that he could play left, he could play right, you know, I really like what we’re seeing here. Um so I definitely enjoyed his game and then man, Joe Valeno. Yeah, just the wheels that and the effort that he showed last night. The the play defensively to stop the puck at the goal line when Montbo is displaced like just a good you know top down solid 200 foot game. I felt like him too just better and better every game. Um again my two cents solidified his spot you know on the 13 or 14 forwards that the Canadians are going to carry. Well, that’s it’s interesting too, right? Like I wonder about, you know, we’re talking about contracts. Marco had a a thorough breakdown of the Canadian secret weapon when it comes to negotiations visav Lane Hudson. You can read that at rg.org with a real like numerical breakdown of how they can make Lane Hudson a very rich slashhappy young man with a long-term future in the Montreal Canadians. I wonder about Mike Mat. You know, we talked about him this summer. you know, he spoke to Hughes and Gordon. He wanted an extension. That’s one of the things I took away is that Adam Instrom, you’re bang on. He is knocking on the door and that might mean someone that fills in the shoes of a Mike Mat uh down the road. We shall see how that plays out. But the other thing for me, you know, the takeaway from the six games was players forcing management into a decision, players leveling up. I like Owen Beck. I think Capan makes the Montreal Canadians. Martine St. Louis kind of alluded to this. Like he’s gonna go all signs point to him going with 13 forward. So like Samuel Ble, my friend, is going to be tested on the waiver wire. Same thing with Kappo Kakanin. Um they’re going to subject them to waiverss I would guess. Is that is that a fair read? Yeah, that’s a fair read. Um I’d be like because I don’t think the Canadians are going to go eight defenseman, right? So, are they going to go are they going to start the season with 22 players on their roster? I find that weird when you could just keep blle around. But again, we’ll see what Kent Hughes decides to do. Um, you know, uh, 13 fors considering, you know, depth and all that and the risk of sending Samuel Blair down and losing him for nothing, like at that point just carry 14. But I’m not the GM. I’m not the coach. So, we’ll see what comes of that. But you look at guys like Owen Beck, you look at guys like Florian Jackie, Adam Angstrom, you know, I think they’ve left their calling cards on what they can do. I think there’s more polishing to be done in their games. I don’t, you know, Adam Angstrom to me is probably going to be one of the first callups, you know, in any situation, I believe. Uh, one of the things that intrigued me the most about watching Adam Angstrom is the fact that the Canadians used him up until last night. Well, in certain points last night as well, but used him on the right side a lot this preseason, his offside. Um, so when you talk about a replacement for Mike Mat, you know, there’s a reason for that, right? Like they’re trying to test how close he is because they may have to make a decision on Mike Mat real soon as to whether to extend, let him lock, or trade him. And I know the majority of the fans watching this, I know where they sit. So, it’s it’s good to know that you will have the luxury of being able to potentially shift a guy out and bring in another guy and not lose a step. I think that’s the dream for an NHL general manager that allows you to take money and place it elsewhere. Now it’s just a question of, you know, a guy like Angstrom developing more of that minute eating habit in his case. You know, I see some of the comments starting to flood in, you know, uh on on on Noah adoption. No, no, look, everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but like watching watching the Canadians wrap up their preseason with Ottawa yesterday. I mean, yeah, I’m going to speculate here for a second, but Noah Dobson doesn’t look 100% healthy to me. And that game played itself out like a don’t get hurt game until the third period when the first line really started to take the game over. I liked your tweet, Marco, during the game that you didn’t have the Cole Cfield boarding penalty of Cloeroo right in front of the Senator’s bench on your bingo card, but I like that jam. I like that jam from the Canadian sniper. I mean, jam. It was a love tap and he hit him. She hit him. Okay. Okay. I I think I feel like I’ve pushed like my sister harder than that and she was able to withstand the push, you know? Like I don’t know. I just Yeah, it is it is what it is. You know, like I to me, you know, I first of all, when we’re going to get to the Dobson point, I don’t think he’s playing at 100% right now. Yeah. Right. You don’t walk You don’t walk in with a groin injury and just magically are good to go in like five or six days, especially in hockey where you got to push off and Yeah. Yeah. I’ve had I’ve players have told me about this. It really does impact you for a week or two before you can really kind of go into it. Oh, Alexander Zerowski with another primary assist. man. Add him to the list of prospects that had a great weekend. We’ll talk about that. LJ Mooney, Michael Hayes, uh a few guys had some had some big performances. There’s another one for you. Yeah. And so, you know, when you’re looking at a player u like him, you just you got to give it a little bit of time. Let him get used to it. Um let him, you know, let him get comfortable. Um, yeah. You know, to me, I think the most indicative play and and how, you know, he’s not at 100%. When Dylan Cousins blew right by him on the power play, right? Noah Dobson, as I have seen him, would be able to stay with Dylan Cousins and keep stride with Dylan Cousins. Yeah. So, you know that there’s something off when he was pushing off because the length of his strides were far smaller, which is usually indicative of limited uh ability to expand the leg motion. So, that’s generally a groin situation. So, he’s probably not he didn’t push off to the maximum capacity that he could, which is why he kind of looks slower. And if you go back and watch the tapes, his skating strides were far stricter and, you know, closer to the shoulder length than it was, you know, a little bit more to the extreme when you want to push off with a little bit more power. But again, it’s preeason. Um, the Canadians basically Marshon lynched this performance where they were just there so they didn’t get fined. That’s it. Well said. You know, they just didn’t they didn’t just they just didn’t want to get injured. Wanted to get a tuneup in, finish this off. I could tell you right now those players are partying. Players around the league are partying that preseason games will be limited to just four as of next season. Yeah. So like you what else did we learn? Like weigh in on in the comments below like your takeaway here as we, you know, await the final roster for the Montreal Canadians. Now the cap is over, right? Like Capennan’s on the team. I think Joe Valeno is on the team. As we alluded to already, the Canadians are very likely to carry 13 forwards, right? Um I kind of liked what I saw and again you know Deidov you know they pull him from the game for precautionary reasons uh in that Quebec City game right but in the in the brief and very granted small sample size there was something about Capan and Deidov and maybe it’s more complimentary brother to Deidovv than it is to Capan without disrespect but for a 19-year-old man maybe Jeff Gordon’s right when he when when Connor McKenna and I spoke with him at Laval, like the belief is already existing that this young man can can drive a line. He’s he’s he’s already very confident in his game, but there was something there was something about him and Capen in that. I’m like, I want to build off of that. I want to see more of that. Like, what’s your educated guess to how MSL perhaps will build up his his his lines, the top nine more exclusively? Well, I think you don’t want too many projects on the same line. Yeah. Right. So, I think I think we can all agree. You can tell me in the comment section, but I think that the Demid uh doc line a line was just a train wreck. Doom from the start. Yeah, just doomed from the start. Um I agree with uh fan club over here. Definitely. What’s up, Rod? Good to see you, Rod. Yeah. Um, what I will say when it comes to to Cap Kapan is just really like and I’m sorry guys. He he asked for it to be said Kapan. Please, I apologize. Yeah, I apologize. I see the comments. Like, I’m really sorry guys. It is what it is. I’m not going to call him Kenan. Um, when you see him play, he plays a 200 foot game. He allows the Canadians on a third line to win the majority of their faceoffs. Um he’s able to cover for Demidov who you know has had some defensive miscues to start which is completely normal for a player of his talent coming over from the KHL. Um and I think you know with New Hook there as well as like the vet on that line which is saying something um to that uses speed to cover for them. I feel like this it’s just complimentary piece after complimentary piece. The one thing with Capan is he has the hockey IQ to read the play. He may not necessarily have the skill to finish the play, pun intended, but he could definitely read the play. Um, and if you have the IQ to follow a play, even if it goes in 60% of the time every time, it’s still 60% of the time, right? So, it’s to me that’s a really good it’s a really good ratio. So it works out that way where if you are if you have the mechanics to be able to follow a playmaker like Demidov or Denidov sorry uh then it becomes very interesting for a player like Capan who is more of a shooter than a passer as a center which are rarer nowadays. You want more of a puck distributor as a center and that’s where the play driving element of a deidov becomes so much more important. He makes players around him better. Kapannan can use the rub and you then have Alex New Hook there to round things out and cover for them with his feet. What about this second line? You know, I think everybody that’s on the channel right now, thank you so much for uh spending a part or uh a good chunk of your Sunday morning with um Star and Demo. I hope you enjoy the new branding. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been something we’ve been working a lot on and happy to um put it in play now. So, if you’ve noticed the change, yes, good eye because there has been a change that I don’t know if the Montreal Canadians as we talk live on this Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. Eastern time that they have right now. Big shout out on a Sunday. Always nice to see the boss man uh in the chat on on Sunday morning. Um that they haven’t answered to the second line just yet. Like the second line is going to be on any given night like who’s going and and who’s playing who’s got the jam. It could be Kirby Doc’s line, but it could be the captain line, right? I mean, I think that’s my state of mind going into Wednesday and Thursday as the Canadians open up their season in Toronto and Chicago. What do you think? I think that lines two, three, and four, however you number them, are probably going to play very similar five on five minutes, right? My two cents, I think they’re going to cycle two lines, you know, they’re going to start with the first line, cycle two lines, put the first line, then put the fourth line back, you know, and back and forth in terms of where the TOI is going to vary. I think it’ll be on special teams. Uh, and I think that’ll that’ll make the difference, right? So, it really is to that it becomes a matchup situation as well. Like, who do you I think that the Canadians veteran line. Um, you know, and we’ll see if the if the Canadians continue to start like if they start the season with line A on the fourth line, right? Like we’ll see if that changes because, you know, for all intents and purposes, you know, uh, Balzuk as well has to be healthy, right? If Bzer’s not healthy, then we’re probably going to see the lines we do. But if Bzik is healthy, um, what do you do with that top line? because I didn’t necessarily mind Joe Valeno uh in certain situations with Kirby Dock. Like I really like that combination. Um you know, speed going to the net. He’s strong on his skates, can protect the puck. I like that. Um so, you know, do you keep Brendan Gallagher there or do you want him on your fourth line so you could use that more as like a shutdown line, right? Especially when you’re playing on the road, you don’t have the last change. Yeah. Um but so this is the element that you really have to start getting in, right? because you’re on the road three games, one backto back in that regard. Are you going to want to protect some of your lines so that they’re not fully exposed? So you’re not loading them up with just talent, but you have guys that could also cover defensively. Like these are the conversations that need to be had. So it’s very likely that the opening day roster setup will maybe not even be the same from game one to the home opener against Seattle. It all depends on what Martine St. Louis wants to do in terms of change. The only constant is that first line. Uh although I will say that uh I would hope that we see a little bit more from your iceky at five on five so that that line can stay going in the offensive zone. I I I was I in French I think the the word is like I I I was expecting a little bit more bang from him uh last night. U really nice assist on the Cole Cfield play but just a lot of plays went to die on his stick at five on five. So, I’d like to see him pick that up because I expect uh I expect a really good season from him as well. Yeah. And again, I can see some of the comments, you know, uh in regards to, you know, the Anderson line and and um going through the motions, man. I’m convinced of this and and look, maybe I’ll maybe you’re right, maybe I’m wrong, but these veterans are going through the they’re just getting the engine warm, getting ready for Wednesday. Nobody wants to get hurt. They just want some touches. They want some reps, take some shifts, pass the puck around, get going, right? Um, which which takes me to talk about the four guys down the middle this season, at least starting Wednesday night projecting Nick Suzuki, Kirby, Doc, Capan, and Evans, and New H and New Hook on the wing, right? Like, I’m I’m down with that. I’m down with that. Yeah. My only thing is that’s four right shot centers. So yeah, you’re going to need you’re going to need and and two, you know, one of them Kirby Doc kind of improving in in this in the faceoff dot. So you almost know that you have to play a lefty that’s going to take draws on his line at least to start, right? So be it Balzuk or Valeno, you’re going to have to have one of them on that line in my honest opinion. And that’s why the Canadians were trying Valeno where they were. Uh it’s not by chance and then you complete that line with who you think can can play on that line. I liked Gallagher. I think Brendan Gallagher does not know how to take a night off. Um that guy’s engine is always at revving at 60. Um but it’s just, you know, I think he completed that line quite well. Um to me, it’s going to be important because, you know, you’re going to face off against the Leafs. They have a strong center line. In fact, that’s their strength right now is is down the middle. Um, and then, you know, you’re going to get to Detroit and Chicago. Their center line’s, you know, not as filled out. I think Detroit is a little bit better just because you have Marco Casper now who’s really kind of come in as a second line center, but you’re going to have headto-head with these guys. And that’s going to be the intriguing part to me is like how are you going to use a lot of these left guy these lefties to your advantage? And so that’s where I think a guy like Joe Valeno really comes into it because on top of the other elements we talked about his speed, his tenacity, his puck protection, it’s that faceoff ability as well. And that’s worth its weight in gold when you’re the Canadians. Because when the Canadians are able to play a puck possession game and start the play with the puck, they’re a very dangerous team. Where things go sour for the Canadians is when they go two or three minutes without significant amount of puck touches and they’re stuck chasing the play like we saw last night. I want to get into um what y’all think and make sure you flood the comments and like the and subscribe to our channel, please. Thank you so much for liking this video today. Uh I’m curious to see where the viewer reaction is to where you think the Canadians are going to finish in the standings now that the preseason o is over. I have my perspective. Marco of course has his. We’ll get into that. But I I’m going to say that for a for a second, right? I want to talk about the potential of a couple of storms brewing. And I I’m not one to dwell on the negative, but I’d like to be a realist as much as I can. And I want to talk about Patrick Line. I want to talk about the potential storm brewing there for a guy in a contract year. What’s going to happen if he doesn’t get his minutes? Obviously, he’s going to get his touches on the power play. And the other thing is, and I get it, you know, the Canadians top line, I believe, is going to be a dominant top line in hockey, and they’re going to need your eyes to round that out. But it’s another preeason where I don’t know. I don’t know if if Slowsky checked enough boxes that propels me, Marco, to a place where like, get ready. He’s going to start this season guns blazing, ready to go, firing on all cylinders. That’s the second storm is how many times this young man was taken aside, spoken to coach, general manager and said, “Hey, you know, we need a little bit more. We need you to play bigger. We need you to play with a little bit more intensity.” So, why don’t you walk me through what you saw from the smaller sample size when your iceky was was playing in the preseason? What what was your read? Um, I think Slowsky is obviously playing not to get injured here. Yeah. getting that skate to the face from Christian D’vorak right off the bat. U not exactly ideal, but um you know I I you definitely saw the vision. You definitely saw the ability. You definitely saw that he was able to make space for for you know his teammates. Um he’s a kind of guy that you want on that line because when they have to change their style, right? because Cfield and Suzuki kind of play their own style where they move around with the puck and they they obviously try to to to play that that transition game. But then when it comes to having to get dirty and play the cycle game, well, that’s where your eye becomes more valuable because a just the size, but b the hands in type, the ability for him to come up with the puck. Like this was a major problem for him when he started, right? because that’s the game they tried to get him to play and he just didn’t have the timing, the technical knowledge, etc. to be able to play that kind of game. Now I feel he plays it perfectly. Um I think the Canadians don’t want to load up their first line, right? I think the Canadians feel like you keep that line going because they complement each other and then you have Deidovv on another line so that you have two successive waves of offense coming at you on five on five. If you want to load them up, you know, maybe it’s in a uh in a nuclear option, right? Like playing Dobson with Hudson with two minutes left in the game and you’re looking for a goal. like maybe yes, but a five on five with matchups and everything, you really don’t want to load up that first line too too much just because, you know, ultimately if you play a deeper team, they will burn you that way. Look at, for example, the Edmonton Oilers playing the Florida Panthers. The Oilers had to routinely split up Dry Cidle and McDavid so that they can keep up with Florida’s three line three lines of doom that just consistently came in and hammered them shift after shift at five on five. That’s the vision I think the Canadians have for it. Um, but I agree with everybody. I’d love to see Suzuki Suzuki play with Deidov at some point. Yeah, me too. I think those two would create magic. Well, you you let’s put that under the category of good problems to have. Like, you know, for a Montreal Canadian team, I don’t know if you think the rebuild is done or not, but like the point that I I guess I would make here is that the Canadians have options, guys that are fighting and pushing, and that you’ve got to be looking over your shoulder. And you know, again, I’ll I’ll I’ll bring up one of my one of the analysts that I respect in Mark Deny from RDS who does a great job on the on the call with with Pier Hood about what’s wrong with having two number one lines. What what’s wrong with having two number one power play units? And which takes me to Patrick Lane. Like one of the keys for the Montreal Canadians, and you know, I’m going to this is captain obvious here. If the Canadians are going to be playoff bound again, they’re going to need Patrick Lane healthy, contributing like he did last year. They don’t make the playoffs if not for all those goals he scored and the role that he’s going to play. Um, you know, are they going to are they going to, you know, to be dramatic, hide him, uh, at five on five more often than not? Um, if he doesn’t get his touches, everybody likes to look and chart their ice time there. But again, I don’t know what the Canadians think about Patrick Lane, how big this season is for him as it relates to the future as a Montreal Canadian. So, what do you think about the possibility of of Patrick Lane and how he’s kind of used especially at at five on five to balance out the attack? I think it’s a little difficult to evaluate Patrick Lane because there are elements in his game that you’ve clearly seen him improve on, you know, throughout the season. Like I find that he’s less of a of a traveler in the defensive zone when when the puck is in the Canadian zone and and they’re playing man-to-man and whatnot, right? Like like I I feel like he’s more engaged and and committed to the two-way side of the of the puck. And you know, considering the way he was playing before, like I don’t know if that’s saying much. But to me, his issue, and I think the issue here is always I don’t understand why the Canadians have not had a conversation with him about his own entries. Interesting. Because I feel like that’s where plays go to die is when Patrick Ly is attempting his own entry. He does not have the speed nor the the rapid like the the rapidness of execution with his hands to play that way anymore. And you play on a line that’s dumping and chasing with Jake Evans and and and and Josh Anderson, you know. So to me, I I don’t know that that line can stay together and be effective. I think you’d be hurting the ability of that fourth line to to be that shutdown element. So to hide Patrick L. Look to me like if Zach Bzuk isn’t ready to start I think Valeno Doc and L will be fine. Sure. And Valeno’s speed can make up for that. But it’s about the strategy. Like if I’m Patrick Lane and you have no other option, dump it. Dump it. Allow Kirby Doc and and Joe Valeno who have excellent foot speed to do some of that work for you. It’s about the way that they think the game. And that to me is on coaching, right? Like that’s where Martine St. Louis has to come in and have that conversation. But again, and I’ll reiterate this because, you know, I’m not in the room and I’m not an NHL coach. This is me observing. But the best way to for Patrick Lane to be effective is to use his body, take up space, cause ruckus in the in the neutral zone with his reach, get the puck to his teammates, get settled in the zone, and get open. And I think that is when he could be at his best. You know, we saw a Kovalevesque fake uh last night where he like completely undressed a defenseman and then just got robbed right at the end with a with a stick check or else that would have been a highlight reel goal. But, you know, like it was it’s that kind of play where he kind of explodes into the play without him being the play driver on that line or the guy that has to come in with possession. That’s the way I see it. and right now he thinks he can play that way, that role, and more often than not he loses those one-on-one battles. So, if you want to avoid, you know, a loss of possession and then going it back the other way, I think playing or at least coaching an idea of a more conservative game or putting him on a line with speedsters that can make up for his lack of speed uh is necessary. You know, you know, it’s Patrick Lanni is going to be a happy camper when he’s out there firing pucks from his office scoring goals on the power play. And I I’m not I’m not the big skeptic that thinks that the five on five or the lack of minutes at five on five is really going to be a burr under this guy’s saddle, but we shall see how it plays out because the Montreal Canadians last season finished the year with 40 dubs and 91 total points. Even if they get to 91, even if they get to 93, depending on how the season plays itself out, that might not be a high enough total. But yeah, I think the power play is going to be the most integral part, important part to getting this team over the line. They have so much I haven’t seen a team in Montreal, you know, and it was funny last week, I got killed in the comments as I usually do. Uh, but this one was about when I asked you about the uh the prospect you were most excited to see when we were talking about Demidov. You’re like, “Oh, that’s a gimme putter.” And I said, “Gilaf Flur.” What I had meant to say was the forward. Obviously, the forward obviously, right? Clearly, but whatever. It is what it is, right? But I have not seen a team in this market since I’ve been in the media since my days of 2001 when we started the all sports radio station that they have so much depth at the forward position. So many options and I get you know they caught lightning at a ball with Sheldon Sur. Andre Marov was a great QB on the power play. Andre Marov’s the greatest Canadians defenseman my eyes have seen and I don’t come from the big three generation right. So 79. I can’t wait to see this guy honored. When is that? Is that December? I’d have to double check my calendar there. Um to see Marov honored by the Canadian. I think it’s December 3rd, I think. Yeah, that sounds right to me. Um but you know, Mark Andre Berseron, uh Mark Stright, you know, all these guys that caught lightning in a bottle when the Canadians had a very hot gunning power play, right? This is so Yeah. Ex Yes. I love the whiz. um the the substance, the depth on this power play. I know there’s only one puck, but how I mean, obviously the power play is going to be important. Is it a make or break? Do you think it’s a make or break? If the Canadians power play languishes in the 20s, they’re going to have a hard time, but if they get into the into the teens, into the high teens, into the single digits, we’re talking about a playoffbound team. Really? I thought I think you want them to be in the 20s to to be productive in terms of their their power play. I think where were they? 2122 last year. No, I think they finished at 19.2 because they in standing the overall standings. In the overall standings league standings, yes, because I I the way I see it and I think the golden rule in the NHL is the famous you want your two special teams to equal 100% or more for you to be in a good situation, right? So when you’re when you’re looking at it, you talk about the power play. I’m also really concerned about the penalty kill. And I’m not saying concerned because I think they they can’t do it. But when you lose a Christian D’vorak, when you lose uh uh Joel Armia, when you lose a David, you know, like that’s that’s kind of how who’s going to step up, who’s going to be better, you know? And that’s why I kept an eye on the way that Noah Dobson played on the PK. I thought he played a he played solidly on the PK despite clear mobility issues. Uh I thought he was thinking the game well. I thought he was moving his body well. Um Nick Suzuki has always been a staple there. So is Jake Evans, but I I think you know a guy like Alex New Hook is going to be valuable in that kind of situation. I think a guy like uh like Joe Valeno can play in those kinds of situations as well. So they’ll definitely have options on the power play. You know, I think they just need to keep it simple and not necessarily have to overthink this like, oh, I want to keep my five on five lines together or uh I want I don’t want too many shooters on one wave. Uh, you know, so it’s it to me I I think any team in the NHL has to have, you know, a top 12 power play, top 15 power play really. Um, only the teams with elite defensive ability can really make it without that. And I don’t think the Canadians are there yet. So, I’m with you on this one. They absolutely need to have at least a 21% uh, you know, power play in my opinion to be able to make up for, right, maybe some of the goals that they give up at on the PK that they weren’t necessarily doing last year. So, let’s get into, you know, our our thoughts on this season, right? Um, and and where the Canadians kind of are in the Atlantic division, right? I mean, off the top, I’m going to say Tampa Bay is going to be the best team in the Atlantic Division. I’m fascinated by what happens with Toronto. I’m very curious to see um how they how they play itself out absorbing the loss of a Mitch Marner. Can can N level up? Can Austin Matthews, you know, take this team and and run with it to be determined. Right. They they got they brought James Rhymer in um for a little goalie depth. And I wonder about the Ottawa Senators, the rival of the Montreal Canadians along, you know, the days of the Habs and Bruins and the radio wars between uh Montreal and Boston. I wish those days would come back, but that’s not happening. The Florida Panthers with devastating injuries obviously to their captain and their leader, to a gamer, a winner like Matthew Kachchuck, right? That’s significant. And that takes us to who’s going to be fighting for the third spot, the fourth spot, the fifth spot. How close, let’s start with Ottawa. How close are the Canadians and the Ottawa Senators in terms of competitive balance? The Senators had five more wins and six more points. And both teams last year got off to very slow start. So, walk me through your thoughts about the Senators and the Canadians and where they’re at. I think the Senators are are stronger down the middle than the Montreal Canadians. I think that’s where their strength lies. Uh I would say that Omar is a more proven goalie than Samuel Maltbo. And I think that’s about it. Yeah, I think after that I think the Canadians beat them in terms of of winger depth. Uh I think the Canadians beat them in terms of organizational depth. I think that agreed. You know, if injuries hit the Ottawa Senators, Lord have mercy. Whereas if injuries hit the Montreal Canadians, well, as we just finished talking about, you have a Florian Jack. you can call up. You have an Owen Beck you can call up a last shot at forward. You have Adam Angstrom you can call up, right? Like there there is depth at every position. So I’m not necessarily worried there. The Ottawa Senators um did a really good job of trading away all of their top picks for players that are no longer on their roster in De Brinkit and Chrin um and have to give up their first round pick this year uh because of the the Daidenov situation. So, you know, like their organizational depth went to hell because they traded away all their picks at that time because they thought their rebuild was over, which is why I caution everybody about this one. Um, so I think that’s where it’s going to be played, right? If there is a major injury to a Tim Stutler or a Dylan Cousins, that team is sunk. I think defensively, Sanderson is a gem. Going to be a top five, 10, maybe five NHL defenseman in his prime. um you know someone to rival Lane Hudson for years and years to come. Thomas Shabbat is a good defenseman and then after that you know I think Nick Jensen is getting up there in age and and you know like I think going to get a guy like Malcolm Spence was a smart move but I don’t think he moves the needle enough for them for it to make much sense. And then you look at the Canadians and you have Dobson, Kulie, Dudson. Yeah. Mat, Jack, Gukey Eye, Carrie. Like I feel like all of those guys would be can’t miss players on the on the Ottawa Senators defense compared to what they have now. So I think defensively the Montreal Canadians have an advantage there. I think wingerwise, Cole Coughfield, your iceky um you know, you look at even Ivan Deidov, Zack Balzer, even Patrick Lining on on on the power play. I just feel like they are better surrounded. But if they had the center line of the Ottawa Senators, like if they had a Dylan Cousins playing behind Nick Suzuki, I feel like the Montreal Canadians would be a top three team in the Atlantic all day, every day. So, as we know, I mean, the Canadians shocked the world and made the playoffs as the second wild card car team. Ottawa and Montreal, those are the two wild card teams, right? We’re speaking almost like exclusively about the Atlantic division. But like, let’s dip our toes into the Metro for a second. Like the New York Rangers roster to me, I don’t know. Maybe it’s a hot New York Rangers. You know what the New York Rangers roster reminds me of? Uh, hot garbage. Jesus. Okay. I was gonna go with it. It eerily reminds me of the 0809 Canadians roster in the Centennial season with all those free agents in the lineup and them just like being a little shaky. Yeah. And then it all going to hell and all of these players leaving. I think that’s where the Rangers are at right now. I’m not, you know, one one person in the comments says outside of Nick Suzuki, who who doesn’t have like better depth down the middle? I don’t think the Rangers are better down the middle than the Montreal Canadians are. I mean, you know, Vince decided I like Vincent Troche, don’t get me wrong, but Yeah, but they’ve decided that Zabinad is a winger now. Exactly. Center winger. Center winger, right? And then after that, you kind of factor in your your organizational depth. If they had if if push came to shove, yes, I think the Rangers have a better center depth than the Montreal Canadians. If push came to shove, um they could be able to line up centers in a in a top nine situation that would be superior. Where the Canadians, I think, get them is on defense, right? is going to get a guy like Gabricov makes sense, but you just lost Ke Miller in a trade, right? So like Yeah. And what about Adam Fox comeback year, right? Like Yeah, but even if Adam Fox has a Norris level season, it’s like when the Boston Bruins had basically Makavoy sitting on an island by himself before the acquisition of uh of of Hampus Lindholm, right? Like he was just kind of doing his own thing after Char retired, right? So, that’s where I’m kind of at with with the Rangers right now is that yes, the Gav the Gabricov Fox combo could work really well, but then after that, your second and third pair, like I like Braden Schneider. I really do, but I just don’t feel like, you know, and and William Borggan is is a really good defenseman as well, but just it doesn’t speak to me enough to say that’s a team that’s going to stick out in the Metro when you have Washington that looks stacked at every position. When you have the the Carolina Hurricanes retooling on the fly after letting go of Orlov and Brent Burns when you have, you know, the New Jersey Devils who look primed uh outside of an injury to Jonathan Kovvich to make a a run assuming that Jack Hughes stays healthy. You know, I just don’t see them having that standout ability. Right. Fair. Fair. So, like before we move on, right, lots of comments. Thank you so much. Uh like and subscribe to our channel. Welcome to the Star and De Mo show. I’m Sean Star. There’s Marco Domikos. You can support us by supporting our sponsors, cheapest t-shirts.ca, locallyowned MLAN’s Pub. Marco and I will be there for a live inperson show. No reservations. Just walk through the front door. You’ll meet Marco. You can meet me. We’ll be at McLean’s October 22nd uh from 7 to 8:00 p.m. 12:10 Pel. And Marco, quickly, we have some awesome uh giveaway opportunities too on October 22nd, don’t we? Yes. Yes. We’ll be giving away gift cards to MLAN’s Pub. Uh, and we’ll also be giving away a pair of tickets to a future Montreal Canadians game this season. Uh, so we’ll keep you guys posted in terms of how that contest is going to work. Obviously, like and subscribe because that’s probably going to be part of the uh part of the the deal, but we’re definitely going to uh we’re definitely going to make it very interesting and very fun for you. Um, we will be doing a live show. We’ll also be doing a watch party as well, so you can come and hang with us during the game. Watch the game. And in between the intermissions, there’ll be more contests, quizzes, and a live Q&A for you guys if you want to ask more questions even during the game. So, first come, first serve. We’ll see you there. And welcome Katherine Prince, Remax Platinum uh broker, friend to the show, friend of yours. You want to know what your house is worth today? You maybe you want to move closer to the Bell Center. You don’t have to take the metro or park. Uh Katherine Prince, Katherine Prince.ca is her website. That’s Katherine with a K. What about these Columbus Blue Jackets, man? Like they were two points back of the Canadians with the same amount of wins. They both Montreal and Columbus both had 40 dubs this season. They’re always like Columbus is such an interesting team to me. Like what version of Shawn Mahan are they going to get? Good depth down the middle with Coyle and and Boone Jenner. Obviously Adam Fantelli is a superstar in the making there. How pesky are the Columbus Blue Jackets going to be to the Montreal Canadians fan base to watch here? Yeah, you talk about a team with offensive depth. I mean, geez, you could just start naming them off. Yeah, you know, it is. They have to me a strong center line, good wingers. I think the real question is, can Zack Worinsky carry that defense? That’s that’s my question because I don’t think Denton Maché uh Mate who they drafted. Well, I again like Provarov to me, you see look at that contract with Prover 8.5 mil. Yeah, that was a panic contract because they missed out on no adoption, right? So, that was a panic contract. They knew that that was what they were asking for. They knew that that was what the defensive market was going to be. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody now. But 8.5 million is going to be second pair money for an unrestricted free agent defenseman moving forward in my honest opinion. So, that’s the reason they went and did that. They still have Damon Severson. Um, you know, we’ll see what Eric and Branson can do, but to me, that’s their area of weakness is going to be their defense. And most of that is carried by Zach Worinsky, who in my opinion probably should have won the Norris last year, uh, if if Columbus uh, or if he had a little bit more of an exciting following that the Mars and and the Quinn Hughes have. M so that to me to me that’s the team that’s going to be the other wildcard uh kind of element that’s going to be pushing for that third spot in the metro. I think the Montreal Canadians can be a top three team in their division this year. I do I can see a p I can see a path get it where where they get there. I’m going to walk you through it as quickly as I can. To me it begins with the power play. If the Montreal Canadians two waves on the man advantage can live up to the talent that I believe they have, I think that’s going to propel them to a higher seating after 82 games. The other big X factor to me is Ivon Deidov and can he have a Lane Hudson kind of season? Your rookie of the year front runner right now according to oddsmakers. Can he have that version up front? I see a patient, confident young man that I read a lot into and I think the Montreal Canadians have an absolute star in the making in Ivon Deidov. I think Noah Dobson is the other reason why. I think Noah Dobson with his with the minutes that he can eat, with the offense that he can provide. I think he’s out from underneath the Patrick Wash shadow. I think Martine St. Louisie might be one of the most relatable coaches coaching a squad in the NHL today. And I think you’ve seen there’s there’s a lot of examples of MSL’s touches on guys that have leveled up. Cole Cfield, Josh Anderson, just to name two. Look at the season Brenda Gallagher is coming off of. Look at the season Lane Hudson have had, which takes me to number 48. Lane Hudson, the six goals and 60 assists. Um, I don’t I I have a hard time imagining the sophomore slump coming for 48. There’s so much skill on this team, so much depth on this team. And yes, they got to check a lot of boxes. I get it. Lots of ifs and buts there. But I believe they have the potential, I really do, to be a top three team in the NHL’s Atlantic Division. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re talking about Tampa Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa kind of fighting it all out over the course of what should be an outstanding season. Marco? Yeah, I really wouldn’t count out the Florida Panthers just yet. I know. I know. I know. I know. You know, you you talk about players that might break out. I say keep an eye out on for Anton Lindell. I agree, man. How long have we been talking about this guy on this channel, brother? I think Anton Lindell is probably one of the NHL’s best kept secrets and probably one of the most valuable contracts on the market right now in terms of his $5 million for another four years. just steal of a deal for a guy that’s going to be putting up almost put up what 50-ish points uh last season playing in a third line role. This is a guy who I think is going to alleviate the loss of a Barkov. Obviously, he’s not going to make up for the whole thing, but with the winger depth that that organization has. He’s a guy can step into the top six and help them kind of keep pace. So, for me, Florida is going to be their team defense and above all Babski that’s going to keep them in the race. If Babroski continues to have a strong showing like he has the last couple of years, I think that they’ll be in the playoff race uh and a team that could be vying for that second or third wild card spot. I agree with you. I think Tampa Bay is going to be the team to beat. Um I think that they did a good job in being able to bring in a little bit more depth in their lineup and this is a team that’s going to be aggressive. I feel like as of soon as November, uh, all the conversations that I’ve heard of evolving around Tampa Bay is they’ve been aggressive as heck in in calling teams about certain player availability. So, they’re they definitely have a shopping list and they’re definitely ready to go shopping. So, I wouldn’t um I wouldn’t I wouldn’t sleep on them at all. I you know, when it comes to Montreal and I really like I like the what you said about Hudson. I think Hudson obviously the contract is is weighing on him. So you see him you see him play he’s playing all out in a preseason game for a reason. Like every game is a statement right now for le for Lane Hudson and not just to the Montreal Canadiens but to Bill Garin and Tom Fitzgerald and the entire Team USA management team for you know obviously snubbing him for the uh orientation camp. He could still make the roster. Remember, ladies and gentlemen, he filled out the the paperwork that was sent to him by USA Hockey to make him eligible or part of the eligible list to play in the Olympics. So, we’ll know more. Uh I believe it’s uh a week or eight days from today uh is I believe when they have to submit like their 45 uh player roster to the Olympic Committee. And so, we’ll know if he’s on it by then or not. But he’s definitely playing with fire right now in his in his eyes because he wants to prove people that think he’s just a you know what have people called him in the past a gadget player. Uh uh just a a power play merchant as I’ve seen. He wants to prove that he could play a far more complete game. And if if you’ve been paying attention to the preseason, he’s definitely trying he’s definitely giving double effort in the defensive zone when it comes to separating players from pucks, protecting the puck, thinking the game, slowing down the pace. You know, he’s playing a far safer game in my opinion and I think it shows. So, I think Lane Hudson leveling up is definitely on in the cards and what’s going to help propel the Canadians from making the playoffs on the last game of the season to comfortably making the playoffs, you know, by like end of March. To me, the biggest wild card is can the Canadians get a second line going at five on five because I think power play-wise, it’ll sort itself out the same way that Lane Hudson found himself on the first power play wave. So, too will eventually Ivan Deidovv and I think that’s when you’ll see a full click. Well, it’s fascinating you bring that up, right? Because I want to spend like the last 10 minutes here um interacting with the fans and putting some of their questions. I want to see any of the comments. So, I want to see all this. We’ve been putting, you know, every now and again, but like maybe it’s a super fanboy take what I’m about to spit out at you right here is I’m so confident in Ivon Deidov’s game that whatever line he’s on, it’s going to drag him into the fight, man. He’s going to make him look good. That’s how confident I am. Um, so here, let’s put this one up. Uh, big shout out to Tom M. Thank you so much, brother. Fearing the lessons of last year may have been lost. Talking about a skilled team, but a soft team. Um, talking about Deitov and Hudson and protection. Um, one of the lessons, Marco, I think I learned here is that this is a tough together team. This is very legitimately this is a very glue team, man. And I think they are team tough. And I think just because Florian Jackey, who I do do not expect to make the team and be in the NHL on Wednesday in Toronto, I don’t believe that the loss of Florian Jack, as much as I’d like to see him on Wednesday. I don’t believe his absence from that lineup will make the Canadians air quote softer. One of the things I learned is I think this is a is a team tough year for them. I’m not so worried about them being soft or Hudson and Demidov lacking protection. Um, this is the way I’m going to say this. The opening night roster may not be the roster that they end with. Okay. You want to elaborate? I can’t, but that’s what I’m going to say. I don’t It’s an 82 game season. Yes. Soon to be 84. Yeah. Um, really the toughness angle is in the later stages of the season. That’s why people that’s why you see a load up of physical physical talent kind of towards the trade deadline. Uh the Canadians are aware of this and in fact they honestly feel like if they can send Florian Jackey and Adam Angstrom down to Laval that they would allow them to develop and if they’re ready for NHL action come March they don’t have to make a deadline acquisition because they just went and got their crash and banger by just developing them in house. Right. So, I don’t think that there’s a I don’t think the Canadians had a toughness issue last season. I think that this has been accentuated to like massive levels because they had a toughness issue in the playoffs, which every young team that comes into this situation generally does because it is a different game between the regular season and the playoffs and you have to adapt to that both as players and organizationally. And that’s why you have a guy like Sammy Ble. That’s why Josh Anderson is valuable to this team. That’s why they want to see more physicality from a guy like Kirby Dock. That’s why Arbor Jackey is going to be a staple in the lineup. That’s why they’re asking Jaden Strub to be more physical because first it has to come from the inside. Then you bring in elements that can add to that without sacrificing talent. And that’s what the Canadians are looking for right now. But that market doesn’t exist yet because every team except for maybe three or four think they’re going to make the playoffs this year. Once they start trailing off, that’s when the Canadians can start looking to add those elements. How many guys have been How many guys have been like he Zack Balduk is a massive X factor um in terms of you know less using the word leveling or the the phrase leveling up. Zachary Bdduk who was phenomenal for the Blues down the stretch to get them over the line in the Western Conference. guys in the preseason um playing a little hurt. We talked about Ghoulie, we talked about Dobson, obviously Bulldook. Do you think there’s a chance that he’s not in the opening lineup Wednesday due to injury? I think he should play. Uh dayto day, I mean, was the call, right? So, I think he if you don’t see him at practice tomorrow, then you could probably start panicking, but I think I think he’ll play. And you know, you talk about toughness element. That was one of the major the major reasons why they acquired Bunzuk because he’s a tough player that can shoot like no other in terms of that release on the left side. Uh especially when he can get into the slot or or the bumper area, you know. So, that was one of the elements that they they decided they needed a top six physical presence and I think that’s exactly what he brings along with a shooting ability. Um, you know, Sherry, I I’m very confused about the Maple Leafs. Me, too. I don’t know that Anthony Stoz is gonna be able to play 50 plus games this season and look as good as he did last season. Yeah. Um, we don’t know yet what’s going on with Wool. That’s why the the Leafs are looking into goalending potentially. Uh, in terms of an ad, their defense consistently mystifies me uh in terms of what they’re adding. I mean, like I like Chris Tanv. I really really did in his career. I just feel like he’s reaching the point where he’s just consistently always not playing at 100% and that impacts his game. I think Morgan Riley’s taken a step back. Um they don’t have a true number one defenseman in my honest opinion. So it’s really difficult for me to evaluate them and the loss of Mitch Mner is going to be felt seriously at five on five in that element as well. So I don’t know about the Leafs. That’s why I put Tampa at the top because Tampa is Tampa and if they can remain healthy then they should be there. Um, just to go back to the Canadians though, I feel like the toughness element is going to come from team toughness first and foremost and that is why the Canadians have been so uh, aggressive um, so aggressive in terms of going to get guys that can make plays in tight. And I think that’s the key here. there. No one’s going to kill themselves in the preseason to to to pay the price to go into the to the gritty areas to score goals unless they’re fighting for a playoff spot for a roster spot. Yeah. Not the established guys. No. And I can tell you this fans from from from being in the room and talking to the players, they couldn’t wait for this to finish. They’re not going to jeopardize their season so that they could potentially look good for projections so that fans and and analysts can feel better about the way that they they view a team. Like they just want to finish the preseason in in peace. And when the real games start, that’s when players are going to sacrifice because coach is watching and they ain’t going to take no games off for that. So I really wouldn’t worry about it. you know, it’s kind of the point of playing a little bit more perimeter in in that kind of sense, but I would definitely say that the Canadians were not playing perimeter last night. It’s just that the Ottawa Senators were really good at boxing them out. Uh, this from Bill, uh, listen, you know, my my my take on this is I think Joe Valeno makes the team. I think Oliver Capan makes this team. I think the Can as Martine St. Louis probably, you know, strongly indicated yesterday, they’re going to go with 13 forwards. But I mean, I heard whispers that maybe you we’d get an announcement today. Um, what about Bill’s question about the roster? They’re off today. Uh, today’s uh like media every like everyone’s off. So, I think if we hear anything, it’ll either it’ll be tomorrow. You have to give your um you have to give your your final rosters uh by 5:00 PM on October 7th. 5:00 PM Eastern that is on October. Tuesday. Yeah. Yeah. Tuesday at 5:00 PM you will that will be the latest in which we will know. And I think at that point you’ll have to know because um if they have to if they’re going to carry 13 forwards it means that Sammy Blle is probably going to be waved if that’s the case. Yeah. So you’ll know about him at 2 PM on Tuesday at the latest because they have to put him on waiverss before they could submit their final roster. Damn. Damn. Uh Gary bringing the smoke on your eyes the the next the forward version of Peter Papovic. How much pressure how much pressure do you think the fans not you or I but how much pressure do you think this fan base is is going to put on your ice if they don’t like what they see out of the gate man you you know how this fan base can react? You know everybody has expectations. Gary has his you have yours. I have mine and pro there there are varying degrees of expectations but I mean the pressure from the marketplace is going to be something like people are expecting your eyes to have a better season this year. I mean that’s fair across the board but it’s more like what’s the reaction going to be if he doesn’t get off to a good start again. Yeah. Look, this is why I don’t make def definitive like let’s keep that in mind. Let’s keep that in mind too. I don’t make definitive takes on a player that’s a veteran, a fourth year veteran, uh, or about to start his fourth year, um, in the preseason. I don’t. This is when you evaluate players that are trying to make it in the show and you’re you’re trying to be reassured for players that are coming back from injuries like Kirby Doc, for example. But I’m not going to look at this preseason and be like, “Ah, Slowski soft.” because that guy was hammering stuff like he was the one of the only physical presences for the Montreal Canadians in their series against the Washington Capitals. What I want to see is Slowski get angry, but I don’t want him getting angry in the in the preseason. I want to see it in the regular season. And I think that like the that entire team, and I stress this to fans, the entire Canadians team just wanted to get through the preseason and tune up and that’s it. And you know, the evaluation will come puck drop Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs because, you know, that’s when we’re really going to start being able to evaluate apples to apples and in a situation where all players have to perform. Now, it’s not a question of making the team. The teams are made. Now, it’s about going out and performing. And at that point, my expectations for Slipkovski will increase the same way you’re seeing certain fans in the comments right now. I I just hope for his own sake that you know there’s one thing to be you know play intense but you know stay within yourself stay where your feet are at um in terms of like not reacting too dramatically to one thing or the other and trying to compensate because the perception of you know you don’t play hard enough. It’s you know finding that confidence level and you know he plays on a he plays on a great he’s part of a great line on this team in this organization. It is a very very good slashdomminant line with Cole Cfield career-high and 37 points. Nick Suzuki 89 points. Um, Yuri Levkowski elite at puck retrieval, elite at netfront presence, tip drill, so on and so forth. Like he has earned his spot on this line with with room to grow. I just hope he’s not too hard on himself because he’s still kind of air quote inexperienced and still very young. I think what you want to see is more urgency in his game on a general basis, right? What do you mean? You like more intensity, consistent intensity in intensity a, but also b like for example, I feel like, you know, even last night is something I observed, but the time it takes for his release is too long. You want it to be faster, snapper, right? You don’t want it to be like this where he has to pull the puck back to take that shot. just straight flick, right? And and see what happens there. You don’t necessarily have to like wire the puck through the netting every time you take a shot. So, it’s it’s about being a little bit more aggressive, being a little bit more intense, not simply just with the use of his body, but the way he plays the game. You want to see more oomph. You know, when you look at a guy like Cole Cawfield with puck, and obviously I’m comparing apples to oranges here, but when Cole Cawfield has the puck on his stick, it’s explosive. You something’s going to happen. He’s so shifty this and that. Whereas Slukovski is longer stick, longer stride, more time to make a movement, right? So, you need it to be even snappier, right? You need to execution to be quicker. People want to see a little bit more of that because we’ve seen Slowski get to a point where his execution gets really, really quick, right? It’s called the second half of the season apparently, but we everybody wants to see that in October. And I think that’s where the frustration lies in a lot of the comments that we see here. Not simply just his physical ability because he’s not going to be a Brady Kachchuck even though he says that he is going to be a Miko Ranton in light and that is always been the comparison but I mean light and now it’s a question of it if it’s light or light light because it’s it’s really he’s got to hit that extra gear. He’s got to get to the 60 65 70 point plateau to really earn that kind of a moniker because to me right now he’s playing like a second line player, not a first line player in general. I’m not taking anything in this preseason for granted in terms of this is what it’s going to be. I’m saying based on last year and based on some of the some of the ways we’ve seen him play, you know, there’s a reason why a lot of people think Demidov is going to be the one to take his spot is because he’s been far more impressive. But again, it’s his first preseason. He’s showing what he can do. He’s fighting for a job even though we all know he’s making this team. Um but he’s going out there to prove that he is there and he’s a proud athlete. So it it’s a very different context and that’s all I got to say. Uh final thoughts on again, you know, um the roster deadline in terms of it being submitted uh Tuesday. The Canadians are in action Wednesday, Thursday in Toronto in Chicago. They open up the Bell Center regular season against the Seattle Kraken. Um, I’m not expecting any surprises. And by surprise, I would qualify surprise as What’s up, Tony? What’s good? Proud member of the Star and do show. You can join our show for $2.99 a month and cancel anytime. And you get early access to all the content we put out uh generally 24 hours before it goes live to the public. I wouldn’t, you know, I would qualify a surprise as Adam Angstrom makes the Canadians. Uh, Florian Jackkeye makes the Canadians and is there Wednesday night. Are you expecting a surprise or walk me through who breaks camp as a Montreal Canadian? Thank you, Vince. Um, I think Kapanov I think Kapan playing the final game was basically a lock for him to make this team. So, I think he I think he’s on I’m going to shock the world here and say that Ivan Deidov is on this team. Um, I think in terms of cuts, you’ll see Flory and Jackie go back to Laval. I think the Canadians definitely want to continue to grow his offensive game and put him in offensive situations with lots of minutes. Owen Beck, same concept. Um, where I think it’s going to be played is if the Canadians decide to go 13 or 14 forwards, then I believe at that point Sammy Blle would probably be the one cut here. uh Joe Valeno simply just showed too much for me in terms of value, speed, intensity uh that they would ignore that. My honest opinion, I don’t see the need to subject Sami Bled waiverss, just keep him as a 14th forward. You have the roster ability to do so. And then Adam Angstrom, yeah, because if you’re sending down Adam, which I believe they will, um then you’re at seven defenseman, you have two goalies, you’re allowed to carry 23 men, and you have $4.5 million of cap space. like why not carry 14 players? But again, I’m not the capologist. Um maybe there’s there’s uh capacrual purposes for this. But I I I you know, why risk putting Sami Blair through Ravers is my only thing. Um but other than that, I think that everything else is kind of set in stone. Um just we have to see if Zachary Bzer can play the first game. If not, they could always put him on retroactive IR, uh, which would allow them to keep Sammy Blle without having to put him through waiverss. Um, we’ll have to see how how all that shakes out, but I think the last cut would be Ble in this case, uh, with the two young with the three youngsters being able to go down to Lava without waiverss. Marco and I both believe Oliver Capan will make this team for those throwing it out there in the chat. And again, just to clarify, I misspoke. Um, it’s to it’s Detroit on Thursday. Uh Toronto Wednesday, Detroit Thursday, Saturday at Chicago home opener October 14th against the Seattle Kraken. Um 65 minutes has absolutely uh flown by. Welcome to the newest version of this show. It’s the Star and De Mo show on YouTube.com. We will be live following Montreal Canadian Game. So you can look forward to a live show again on Thursday and Friday morning following the backtoback to open up the regular season. And of course, you can like, subscribe, and and go back and and watch this video if you only watched a bit of it. Uh it’ll be up obviously on the channel. And um looking forward to a fantastic season, and I hope to see many of you at MLAN’s on October 22nd. And maybe you’re wearing the best t-shirts from uh cheapest t-shirts.ca with no minimum order, next day delivery, proudly locallyowned and operated. Check out their website, cheapest t-shirts.ca, brother. So that’s it for a Sunday live. Marco, not too bad, brother. Yeah, I was going to say, uh, ladies and gentlemen, also make your Sunday morning a star and do show morning. Yes, you will be seeing us every Sunday considering that the uh, you know, Montreal Canadians play basically what the next 30 29 of the next 30 Saturdays. So, you can expect us to be here doing a live with you guys every Sunday uh, for for the foreseeable future. So, keep us locked on Sunday mornings. Generally going to be doing this every morning at 10 a.m. So, if you guys like what you see and you enjoy it, by all means, come and come and hang out with us. During the regular season, we’ll have a little bit more time obviously to field your questions. Things are moving a lot more rapidly. Um, so, you know, no problem with you having you guys here. We appreciate you all and we look forward to a full season uh to be able to talk hockey with you and obviously see this team uh on the ice and see where things go. Bro, let’s go to Rio de Janeiro. Let’s do a live show from Rio. That I know that you’ll be able to find me if I go to Rio. Oh, I can’t wait. Can’t wait. Um it’s going to be an awesome season and we’re happy to be here with you and uh yeah, thanks for watching and uh just watching the comments. Thank you. You guys are just absolutely the best the best audience on YouTube.com. Marco, enjoy your Sunday, my man. And uh we’ll see you. We got content coming out on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Maybe there’s a surprise contract extension. If there is, Demo and Star will be with you to break it all down. And we’ll be here again on Thursday morning following the Canadians in Toronto Maple Leafs to open up the season. Marco, thanks, man. Always a pleasure, guys. Have a good day, everybody.

The Montreal Canadiens dropped their final pre-season game 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators, and there’s plenty to unpack. Join Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico LIVE as we break down what went wrong for the Habs, who stood out, and which players might have played their final game before roster cuts.

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🏒 Key takeaways from Canadiens vs Senators
🔥 Final impressions before the regular season
👀 Roster decisions — who makes the team?
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