by Corey Desormeaux , Managing Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

OTTAWA, ON — Preseason is in full swing! We hope you enjoy the latest edition of the All Habs Duel and stay tunes for the first Habs Banter episode of the 2016-17 Habs season.

Which Reporter will Geoff Molson lash out at next?

Corey

This week during the Habs first preseason game, Stu Cowan tweeted a photo of a relatively empty seating section of the Bell Centre. Along with his photo, Stu made a comment regarding the lack of attendance. Geoff Molson, yes the Owner of the Montreal Canadiens, sent Cowan a tweet with an angry sentiment stating that this was misinformation and that the game was actually a sellout.

Many Tweeters lashed back at Molson on Stu’s behalf, “Why are you wasting time tweeting at reporters?” or  “Let Stu do his job!”

Christopher Curtis, city reporter for the Montreal Gazette, went on a Twitter rant about the incident ending with “Anyhow, I don’t think it’s appropriate for the owner of a $1 billion team to throw his weight around because he doesn’t like a tweet.”

I guess Molson is a little testy heading into this season after all the poor media coverage from last year, including Carey Price’s injury, the P.K. Subban/Shea Weber trade, and the Max Pacioretty/Michel Therrien “worst Captain ever” thingy. Can’t say I really blame him.

My choice for Molson’s next lash out is Richard Labbe; he’s a pretty outspoken guy and never shies away from challenging anyone over just about anything and everything on the Twitter machine. That or Molson just goes after Cowan again, maybe they have history. Either way I’d like to see both of these fights to be honest.

Marc

Michel Villeneuve would have been the easy choice here, recently coming out with a rumour that Michel Therrien had referred to Max Pacioretty as the worst captain in Montreal Canadiens history. Unable to come up with any proof, Villeneuve has since been relieved of his duties at 91.9 FM. I never like to see anyone lose their job, but this also leaves me with the task of finding another answer for this question.

The Habs have had to face many tough questions over the last year, one reporter managed I noticed to ask some of the tougher, more direct questions each time Marc Bergevin made his way begrudgingly out of his fox hole was TSN 690’s Tony Marinaro. While I don’t always agree with his approach, and often don’t agree with his opinions, I have to give credit to Tony when it’s due, for being as direct as he was during the many P.K. Subban dramas, questions about a locker room rift, and the organization’s approach to articulating Carey Price’s injury status throughout the season. Tony just may be the guy to receive the ire of Mr. Molson on Twitter should things not go as well as planned for the Habs this year.

Will Artturi Lehkonen score over or under 15 goals with the Habs this season if he makes the team?

Corey

Starting the pre-season Monday night on a line with Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, it seems the organization is giving Artturi Lehkonen every opportunity to show what he can do. However, assuming Lehkonen makes the team, I don’t see him scoring more than 15 goals this season despite the talent he brings to the lineup and here’s why…

Therrien announced last week that to start the season the top two lines will look as follows:

Pacioretty – Galchenyuk – Gallagher
Shaw – Plekanec – Radulov

That means best case scenario for Lehkonen is to slot into the third line where he will play with less talented players. Furthermore, I don’t see Lehkonen acquiring much powerplay time should the lines stay the same. We all know that outside of the top six, Desharnais is the next forward in line to get powerplay time.

This will also be Lehkonen’s first time playing in North America on a consistent basis. The game speed is different and there’s less room on the ice. This is a lot for any player, especially a rookie.

Don’t get me wrong, Lehkonen is a good player, he is a great player and I can see him creeping close to 15 goals should he have a rookie season with Montreal. But with lack of opportunity and adjusting to North American hockey, I just don’t see him surpassing 15.

Marc

If I was a betting man (and I am), there’s only one path to take: The over. Going for the under isn’t just boring, it’s crazy to consider when thinking about a player like Lehkonen. The kid has immense talent and has experience playing against pros having spent the last four full seasons at the top level of hockey in Finland and Sweden.

A spot in the top-6 is his for the taking, and if he manages to make the team out of camp he’ll have the chance to play with either Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, or Tomas Plekanec and Russian newcomer Alexander Radulov. Both options gives the young Finn a chance to play on a balanced line complete with pure offensive talent (in Chucky and Radulov respectively) as well as sound two-way players (Plekanec and Gally.)

Lehkonen is off to a solid start in training camp, following up a strong performance at the rookie tournament in London. He’s shown a willingness to get into high-traffic areas, he’ll throw the body around when needed, and isn’t shy about putting the puck on net (four hits and nine shots on goal in his preseason debut).

Though only 21 years of age, the skill set and experience Lehkonen brings to the table should help him flourish in his first year, get through the inevitable bumps and bruises of an NHL rookie, and put up solid numbers (including more than 15 goals) in a lineup that desperately needs it.

Which newest Hab will have the best Movember stache?

Corey

These questions are so dumb, then I remember who comes up with them (Marc and I) and I get sad about life choices.

I am going to go against what I think would be the popular choice in Shea Weber and say Alex Radulov. He’s been rocking some facial hair since his arrival in Montreal and it looks pretty dece. He’s also embraced the team extremely well so I expect him to be a part of the Movember crew this season.

Marc

A little known fact (or maybe not) about me is that I spent four years in Belleville, Ontario as a teenager, one of my many stops in the life of a military brat. I saw lots of things there. A lot of pickup trucks and mullets were in the cards. While I didn’t see many moustaches while I lived there, I have no doubt Andrew Shaw will make Bellvegas proud in the month of Movember.

Besides, there’s no way a guy with flow like that can possibly give us a disappointing ‘stache, is there?