Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Dominique Ducharme, Jeff Gorton, Geoff Molson, Marc Bergevin, Paul Wilson, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens had a 2-1 lead on Saturday, before the Panthers scored four unanswered goals on their way to a 5-2 win in Florida.
“We fought and some plays made the difference. At 2-1, [Cole Caufield] had a breakaway and unfortunately we didn’t score. [Panthers] scored two goals, Suzuki had another breakaway. We could have increased the lead when we were winning 2-1 or tie the score 3-3. We fought, but that goal allowed dearly in the third period took the wind out of our sails, but the guys fought the entire time,” Dominique Ducharme said.
“I liked our game. A lot of guys playing big minutes. We didn’t quit at all during the game and I’m proud of the guys for that,” Nick Suzuki said after scoring his seventh goal of the season. Jonathan Drouin scored Montreal’s other goal.
Game Must Go On
Prior to Saturday’s puck drop, Jake Evans and Alexander Romanov were added to the National Hockey League’s (NHL) COVID protocol. As a result, 16 players and goalie coach Eric Raymond were unavailable to hit the ice at FLA Live Arena. Forward Cameron Hillis was the last man standing in the taxi squad available to dress. Hillis became the first player in Trois-Rivieres Lions history to play in the NHL.
Ducharme dressed the 11 forwards and five defencemen on his roster to face the Panthers. To make matters worse, Cedric Paquette left the game in the second period with a neck injury, following a hit from Sam Bennett. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety handed Bennett a three game suspension for the incident.
Earlier in the day, the organization was in communication with the league whether the match should be postponed or if Montreal will play with two less players on their roster. TSN’s Pierre Lebrun reported that following discussions with the league’s doctors, and the Canadiens’ desire to proceed, the puck was dropped as scheduled.
Ducharme confirmed that he was not involved in the conversations with the league. The decision was made above his pay grade. In other words, Executive Vice President, Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and/or owner Geoff Molson wanted the game to proceed.
Unexpected Opportunities
It was evident to me by his body language that Dominique Ducharme wanted Saturday’s game to be postponed. The roster he had to work with had no chance to compete against a relatively healthy Florida Panthers.
Ducharme remained politically correct when answering questions about the game being played. Drouin declined to comment at the conclusion of the game in Florida, and Paquette was vocal in Carolina about his concerns.
There’s no doubt that some of the Canadiens players were happy to play in Florida. With the 12-day break following the game, it was likely the last opportunity for several players to dress for a NHL game this season or even in their career.
Individuals such as Lukas Vejdemo, Alex Belzile, Jesse Ylonen and Rafael Harvey-Pinard may not get another opportunity to dress with Montreal this season as players are removed from the COVID protocol.
Others, such as Hillis, Corey Schueneman, and Brandon Baddock (unavailable on Saturday) may never get another opportunity to play in the NHL again in their career.
Kale Clague and Sami Niku, both acquired via waivers earlier in the season, obtained 27:34 and 20:40 respectively of ice time against Florida. It was a career high for both of those players. It’s safe to say that the players that are not established in the NHL wanted to play on Saturday.
On Pause
On Saturday, the Canadiens announced a pause of activities as a preventive measure until January 6 inclusively.
“Given all the new positive cases arising daily, and for the health of our players and staff, we feel that pausing our activities is necessary at this time. This pause will give our players the time they need to recover so that we can continue the season safely,” Gorton said via statement.
The pause will also give the organization time to figure out plans going forward. The measures currently in force in Quebec limit practice to two individuals or between occupants residing at the same address. An exception will need to be requested and approved by the provincial authorities in order to allow the players to practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.
If access is not granted by the government, the Canadiens may potentially head to the United States earlier than planned to prepare for their next game versus the Bruins on January 12th.
Montreal’s next home game is scheduled for January 15th. It will likely be the last home game postponed due to attendance restrictions. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the NHL will be forcing all Canadian teams to play their home games regardless of capacity restrictions starting the third week of January. Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Calgary are the other Canadian teams that requested to postpone games due provincial restrictions.
Rocket Impacted
The Rocket’s activities are also paused until Thursday. Laval’s home games against Springfield on Wednesday, and Toronto on Friday and Saturday have been postponed. The Rocket have players on the American Hockey League’s COVID protocol. As the AHL’s protocol does not force teams to identify players/staff on the list, the names or the number of individuals on Laval’s list is unknown.
The next game is scheduled for January 12th against Syracuse at Place Bell. Similar to the Canadiens situation, the Rocket will need to figure out a solution to the measures in place in Quebec.
Last week, the AHL announced that it has extended the conclusion of the regular season by six days. The change will add flexibility for the league to reschedule postponed matches. Currently, Laval has had five games postponed due to COVID protocols.
Lions Hit Hard
On Friday, the Trois-Rivieres Lions had a 3-1 lead midway through the game before allowing four consecutive goals to Maine Mariners on their way to a 5-3 loss.
“It’s a moral victory, but, with all the circumstances we’ve faced in the last few days, you’re pretty much better off getting blown out than being in a close game, and finally coming out of there with a loss at the end of the game. I am proud of the guys. We played well. We could have won! The result is disappointing, but I couldn’t ask for more,” coach Eric Belanger said.
Due to recalls by the Rocket, and the COVID protocol, eight players made their Lions’ debut in Maine. Earlier in the week, four players, one coach, and general manager Marc-Andre Bergeron were added to the protocol.
“This situation creates stress. The guys have wives and children. It’s a bit of big nonsense, but we face it like champions. We will continue until the end,” Belanger answered when asked about the team’s COVID situation.
“I was surprised to see that our team was heading to the United States. I will refrain from saying what I really think about the situation. However, I want to tip my hat off to our players,” added the coach.
Belanger’s concerns were validated on Sunday as he, nine players, and one coach were added to the COVID protocol. As a result, Sunday’s game against Adirondack, and this weekend’s trip to Newfound have been postponed.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
Bergevin’s First Public Appearance
On Friday, former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, and senior vice-president communications Paul Wilson made their first public appearance since being being relieved of their duties.
The duo appeared on Radio-Canada’s Bye Bye television program. Bye Bye is an annual comedy special that is broadcasted on New Year’s eve by the French network. Bergevin and Wilson appeared with Mario Tremblay in a parody of the recent Uber Eats commercial featuring Tremblay and Patrick Roy.
In the sketch, the former general manager says that he will only be eating a ‘pouding chomeur’ because he no longer has a job. Pouding chomeur, a Quebec desert, translates in English to poor man’s pudding, or pudding of the unemployed. The sketch finishes as Bergevin declined a “Molsonne” beer offered by Tremblay.
The writers confirmed that Wilson reached out to them after being let go by the Canadiens to offer their presence to the year-end special.
Click here to view the sketch.
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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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