Are the Canadiens a team that is only built for the regular season and lacks size to compete for the Stanley Cup?
Lorne Freeman
It certainly looks that way after the last two games, with the Canadiens losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings and 7-0 to the Dallas Stars on home ice. The Canadiens are 1-4-1 this season against teams that made the playoffs last season, while being outscored 30-15 in those games.
The Canadiens are the youngest team in the NHL, with an average age of 26, but they’re not that small, with an average size of 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds. The Stars and Kings both have an average size of 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, but the big difference comes in experience. The Stars have an average age of 28.6, while the Kings have an average age of 30.3.
Josh Anderson’s game is built for the playoffs and he showed that when the Canadiens went to the Stanley Cup final in 2021 before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning and again last season, when they lost in five games to the Washington Capitals in the first round.
I asked Anderson Friday morning at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard what the Canadiens need to do in order to compete against teams like the Stars and Kings.
“Be harder to play against, to be honest with you,” he said. “The last two teams, bigger boys, play a good structure game. But I love the way we’re playing right now … just a little bit more urgency and harder to play against. Compete level’s got to jump up a little bit more. It all starts tomorrow night. Get back on the right path and go from there.”
The Boston Bruins will be at the Bell Centre on Saturday (7 p.m., Citytv, SNE, TVA Sports). The Canadiens are still in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 10-5-2 record, but are tied in points with the Ottawa Senators (9-5-4) and the Bruins (11-8-0). The Senators ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory Thursday night in Ottawa.
With Alex Newhook’s injury and the power play lacking finish, is Patrik Laine able to return?
Nick Leclerc
The answer is no.
When Laine had surgery for a core muscle injury on Oct. 24, the Canadiens said he would be out for three to four months. So he’s nowhere close to returning to play, although he has been watching games at the Bell Centre from the press box.
The Canadiens called up Jared Davidson from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Friday to take Newhook’s spot after the forward fractured his ankle in Thursday’s loss to the Stars and will miss four months. The 6-foot, 183-pound Davidson had 9-2-11 totals in 13 games with the Rocket. The Canadiens selected him in the fifth round (130th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has yet to play a game in the NHL.
Do the Habs have a goaltending problem or a team defence problem?
ALL NEW HAB-its on X — @Bad_Hab_its
It’s mainly a goaltending problem.
The Canadiens are giving up 26.6 shots per game, which is the ninth-fewest in the NHL. They are averaging only 24.6 shots themselves, which ranks 29th in the NHL and is a problem.
The Canadiens aren’t getting enough saves from Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes — especially at key points in the game. In Thursday’s loss to Dallas, the Canadiens only gave up four high-danger scoring chances and outshot the Stars 24-19, including 14-5 in the first period.
The Canadiens went into the first intermission trailing 1-0 on a power-play goal and then the Stars beat Dobes four times on eight shots in the second period before head coach Martin St. Louis pulled him for the third period. Samuel Montembeault was beaten on the first shot he saw and gave up two goals on four shots.
Dobes is 6-1-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. His save percentage over his last four games is .839. Montembeault is 4-4-1 with a 3.61 GAA and a .857 save percentage.
Those numbers simply aren’t good enough.
Dallas Stars’ Thomas Harley, left, looks on as Jason Robertson scores past Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes while being defended by Oliver Kapanen and Lane Hutson, 48, Thursday in Montreal.
With it never hurting to get a head start on the holiday season, what should the Canadiens be asking from Santa this year?
Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Better goaltending.
What are the most important factors affecting a free agent’s decision on where to sign? If money was equal, what are the factors that help a player make a decision? Some of them are obvious — such as a chance to win, tax situation, weather, family. But what else?
Lee Whitley
Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has said that during his long career as a player agent, players are happy “when hockey is going well,” no matter what city they’re in.
But there are definitely other factors besides winning that come into play when players reach free agency.
The Canadiens’ Jake Evans could have become an unrestricted free agent this past summer, but instead decided to stay with the Canadiens, signing a four-year, US$11.4-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$2.85 million. There’s a saying, “happy wife, happy life” and family considerations also come into play when players reach free agency. Evans’s wife gave birth to twins this summer.
I asked Evans Friday morning what kind of things he and his wife were looking for if he had taken the free-agent route.
“It depends on everyone, but you do look at the city,” he said. “You ask players on how they’re treated within the organization. You could look for teammates that you’d be playing with in certain scenarios. I’m sure you want to hear me say taxes and some players probably would look at that eventually. Facilities. There’s a bunch of different things that guys will look at. Weather is a huge factor, I bet, for some.”
Evans was happy to stay in Montreal, but added with a chuckle: “Not with the weather.”
Enjoyed reading the Habs Mailbag question about retired numbers (The Gazette, Nov. 8). I agree with you and your order — Toe Blake No. 6, Steve Shutt No. 22 and Jacques Lemaire No. 25 — of potential future jersey retirements. I also don’t understand how the Canadiens have never properly honoured Blake, Dick Irvin Sr. and Scotty Bowman as coaches. There are ways to “retire” their names to the rafters. Other clubs do it. Al Arbour with the Islanders in New York as an example. What are your thoughts on the Canadiens honouring the best three coaches they ever had?
Steve Boutang
It would be cool if the Canadiens hung a banner at the Bell Centre with the names and faces of their coaches with the most Stanley Cup wins. Blake would be at the top of that list with eight, followed by Bowman with five and Irvin Sr. with three. Bowman has a record nine Stanley Cups in total as a coach, including one with the Pittsburgh Penguins and three with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Canadiens could also hang a banner listing the players with the most Stanley Cup wins. Henri Richard would be at the top of the list with 11, followed by Jean Béliveau (10), Yvan Cournoyer (10), Claude Provost (9), Maurice Richard (8), Lemaire (8), Serge Savard (8) and Jean-Guy Talbot (7).
Joe Veleno has been OK, but not great. Jayden Struble looks like the better sixth defenceman when Kaiden Ghule returns from injury. Since Florian Xhekaj isn’t ready yet, how about trying brother Arber as a fourth-line winger? Wendel Clark was a converted defenceman with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Arber has the same hitting, big shot and, of course, fighting skills as Wendel. He can bring more energy than Veleno and this would allow Arber to find a regular role. And when Florian is ready — two Xhekajs on the fourth line! Thoughts?
Mick Chow
It certainly would be fun to see the Xhekaj brothers as linemates, but I don’t think the Canadiens will try to convert Arber into a winger at age 24 after playing four seasons in the NHL. Arber has also been playing well on defence since being partnered with Alexandre Carrier following the injury to Guhle.
“He’s been a great partner for me to balance my game out,” Xhekaj said about Carrier. “I think we’ve been jelling pretty good together.”
Clark was indeed a defenceman when the Maple Leafs selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 1985 NHL Draft after he had 32-55-87 totals and 253 penalty minutes in 64 games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. But Clark never played defence in the NHL, with the Maple Leafs immediately converting him into a forward and he responded with 34-11-45 totals and 227 penalty minutes in 66 games as a rookie. He was also minus-27.
If you have a question you’d like to ask for the weekly Habs Mailbag, you can email it to montrealcanadiens@postmedia.com
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