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Habs Wrap: Myth Busting Slafkovsky, Hutson Impresses, Demidov

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Montreal Canadiens Juraj Slafkovsky

MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens content to absorb, but there are only so many hours in a day. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.



Monday

Freshman Michael Hage continues to have a very encouraging season with the University of Michigan. He had three points in the team’s two games against Notre Dame this weekend, which brings us to two different talking points.

First off, the Wolverines are having a very hard time this year, making his 11 goals and 13 assists in 19 games even more impressive. His closest competition is four points back, though Hage has three games in hand. Oh, and Hage is three years younger. That player, TJ Hughes, is the only other Michigan forward who has reached 20 points this season.

The other subject is Hage’s scoring pace compared to his peers, as pointed out by MasterHockey on Twitter. Hage is currently outproducing all under-19 NCAA players.


ICYMI: The Montreal Canadiens have played half of their 2024-25 hockey season, and have an over-500 record to show for it. Kent Hughes took some flack earlier in the year for floating the idea that this team could be in the mix for a playoff spot, but as things stand, this team is right on the bubble, looking in. With a sufficient body of work for most Habs players, let’s look back at individual performances and see how they fared in the first 41 games of the season. [Canadiens Analysis: Mid-season Tiered Habs Player Rankings]

Prospect Oliver Kapanen was involved in a frightening play which saw him fall to the ice and slam his head without the benefit of a brain-injury preventing helmet. I haven’t been able to find an update as to Kapanen’s condition, but Patrik doesn’t seem to believe it was overly serious, which would be a great result all things considered. The player who ripped Kapanen’s helmet off was suspended for two games.


ICYMI: Seeing as teams such as the New Jersey Devils are interested in trading for Jake Evans, and the Habs have also expressed their interest in a contract extension, it’s time to take a look at some comparable deals that could serve as a baseline for negotiations with the impending free agent.  There’s no way to avoid it, his shooting percentage will lead to a big raise this summer, and that’s a risky proposal for a team offering a long-term deal. [Jake Evans Extension Discussion: Finding Comparable Contracts]

The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenceman Erik Brannstrom on waivers. I’m not suggesting the Habs should pick him up, but it’s a good reminder that getting the sum of the parts in a trade rarely works out. It’s simplistic, but the team that gets the best player at the time of the trade almost always ends up winning the deal, with all due respect to the Vegas Golden Knights and the Pacioretty/Suzuki deal.

Ottawa spent half a decade developing Mark Stone before eventually flipping him to the Golden Knights in exchange for Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg, and a second-round pick. Brannstrom was not qualified, and was later traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Tucker Poolman and a fourth-round pick.

Essentially, the Senators ended up with a half-eaten bag of stale Doritos in exchange for a high-end NHL forward.

Tuesday

e debuted a new series on Monday, inspired by the classic TV show MythBusters. Is Juraj Slafkovsky really having a bad year? With the help of Habs fans, we tackled some of the prevailing opinions regarding the 20-year-old forward, including his willingness to engage in physical play, speed bursts, turnovers, and more. [Montreal Canadiens MythBusters: Juraj Slafkovsky Edition]

Top prospect Ivan Demidov scored yet another fantastic goal in the NHL. This time around, the 19-year-old forward opted for a clever backhand goal once it seemed that he was out of runway. With the goal, Demidov is now on pace for 50 points in 67 games, an impressive pace considering his usage.

 

Speaking of Demidov, former Hab Ilya Kovalchuk is a fan of his younger countryman.

Alex Newhook missed practice as the team prepared to face the Utah TBDs, which means forward Michael Pezzetta is likely to be called-upon if the speedster is unable to play on Tuesday.

Wednesday

Emil Heineman was hit by a car while he was walking in Utah, but he thankfully avoided a serious injury. The 23-year-old forward is expected to miss four weeks as he recovers from the incident. [Emil Heineman Involved In Accident, Hit By Car]

Lane Hutson continues to enjoy a fantastic rookie season. The defenceman powered the Habs to a win against Utah thanks to a three-point effort, reaching the 30-point mark faster  (43 GP) than almost every Canadiens rookie defenceman in team history, except for Chris Chelios (39 GP). He was also the sixth faster rookie defenceman in NHL history to hit 30 assists. Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine also scored during 5v5 play, an encouraging sign for the second line. [Habs Highlights: The Lane Hutson Show, Dach and Laine]

Hutson’s production has been fantastic all season long, and the good news is that his underlying numbers are starting to catch up. It’s becoming difficult for anyone to suggest he shouldn’t be the front-runner for the Calder Trophy.

Hutson’s ability to find teammates in high-danger scoring areas is clearly the driving force behind the great start to his NHL career.

Patrik Laine’s first even-strength goal of the season means he’s the seventh-fastest Finn in league history to reach 400 points.

Thursday

It’s much too early to discuss his return to play, but there was some good news on Wednesday, as David Reinbacher, picked fifth overall in 2023, was spotted skating. He was originally expected to miss five to six months, which places his potential return in February or March. [TVA]

The Montreal Canadiens have found a gem in Lane Hutson, and locking him down as soon as possible may quickly become priority Number 1 going into the offseason. [Hutson’s Development Could Impact Canadiens Summer Plans]

The Habs have enjoyed great results in recent weeks, but are they really a legitimate threat to make the playoffs? The stats are improving, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. [Hutson’s Development Could Impact Canadiens Summer Plans]

Since Tony DeAngelo’s contract was terminated by SKA, top prospect Ivan Demidov will replace him at the KHL All-Star Game.


Unsurprisingly, Canadiens prospect Jacob Fowler is likely to be among the top contenders for the Mike Richter Trophy, presented to the top goaltender in the NCAA. For now, he has been named to the ‘Watch List’.

Utah forward Jack McBain will have to pay up for his fairly vicious high stick on Brendan Gallagher during Tuesday’s game.


Emil Heineman was spotted at practice with a brace on his arm, confirming that he does indeed have an upper-body injury, and not a potential broken ankle as his agent hypothesized. [Emil Heineman Involved In Car Accident]

Friday

There’s no stopping Jakub Dobes. The rookie goaltender secured a fourth win in a row, beating the high-flying Dallas Stars, saving 32 of the 33 shots he faced, including almost a dozen high-danger scoring chances at 5v5. Juraj Slafkovsky, Patrik Laine, Joel Armia, and Alex Newhook also stood out in the 2-1 win versus the Stars. [Habs Highlights: The Jakub Dobes Show, Slafkovsky, Laine]

The most notable aspect of Dobes’ great play is how little daily he offers to shooters. He covers so much of the net that forwards are starting to overthink their shots, and even when he’s at a disadvantage due to an odd-man rush, Dobes still manages to make saves look easy.

Top prospect Ivan Demidov was given over 20 minutes of ice time for the first time all season, and he responded with a three-point game, pushing his season totals to 15 goals and 2o assists in 44 games.

His goal was yet another beauty, a great example of his agility, hand-eye coordination, and offensive instincts.

Demidov’s coach actually complimented him, though given that Tony DeAngelo is no longer playing for SKA, it’s probably a good idea to send some well-deserved praise Demidov’s way. SKA will need him at his best if they’re to make any noise in the playoffs.

It’s going to take a lot of work to qualify for the playoffs, but there’s no denying the Habs are in the midst of a special stretch.

Have another look at Laine’s great 5v5 goal from Tuesday night.

Saturday

Given that he’s a defenceman that’s leading all rookies in scoring this season, there’s no doubt Lane Hutson should be included in every Calder Trophy conversation, and if we’re being honest, he should probably be considered the front-runner. One of the reasons he’s managed to produce at such an impressive pace is his penchant for creating high-danger chances with passes through the slot, something he does better than every other defenceman in the NHL. [Calder Talk: Canadiens Lane Hutson Historical Scoring Comparison]


Even though the Habs don’t necessarily need to promote anyone from the AHL at this exact moment, Michael Pezzetta’s recent streak of penalties suggests the team may look for an alternative option from the Laval Rocket. Joshua Roy and Alex Barre-Boulet lead the Rocket in scoring, but if the goal is to replace Pezzetta the Canadiens should look to other players. That’s where Jared Davidson and Owen Beck come into play. [Montreal Canadiens Call-Up Options From The Laval Rocket]

The most notable aspect of Dobes’ great play is how little daily he offers to shooters. He covers so much of the net that forwards are starting to overthink their shots, and even when he’s at a disadvantage due to an odd-man rush, Dobes still manages to make saves look easy.

Stu Cowan over at the Montreal Gazette spoke to former Canadiens defenceman Larry Robinson about Martin St-Louis’ results in Montreal. For what it’s worth, thanks to a streak of firings, St-Louis is now the fifth-longest tenured head coach in the NHL. Technically, Andre Tourigny has been coaching longer, but the move to Utah reset the clock on his tenure with the organization.


Hey Jakub, I wouldn’t worry about it! The fans are clearly in your corner, as is the organization.


Joel Armia had a career-high eight hits on Thursday versus the Dallas Stars, though the most impressive shift from the Finn took place without the benefit of a having a stick to work with.

This isn’t particularly shocking, but apparently tickets for the 4 Nations Faceoff are not selling very well. It probably doesn’t help that it’s definitely not a best-on-best tournament, even if they advertise it as such (with a heavy dose of irony, given the tournament name). It also doesn’t help that they’re incredibly overpriced.

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