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Canadiens Wrap

Habs Wrap: The Demidov Situation, Hutson Calder Case, Playoffs

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montreal canadiens prospect ivan demidov

MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens news to be absorbed on a daily basis, 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. Due to the heavy weekend schedule, this edition of the Habs Wrap was pushed back to Monday morning.

Monday

Thanks to their 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens are back in the driver’s seat for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. With that in mind, even if the Habs have an easier schedule to close out the year, they cannot afford to leave any more points on the table if they hope to hold off the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets, among others.  [Canadiens Playoff Odds: Down To The Eastern Conference Wire]

Boston College lost 3-1 to the Denver Pioneers, which means top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler is now expected to sign a contract. It remains to be seen whether he will end up signing his entry-level contract with the Canadiens, or if he ends up signing an amateur tryout with the Laval Rocket, in a bid to bolster their lineup prior to the Calder Cup playoffs getting underway. The former is more likely, but the latter could provide Fowler with more opportunities to play professional hockey in the final stretch of the year. [Canadiens Prospects: Discussing Fowler’s Potential Contract]

Former Hab Vincent Damphousse doesn’t seem worried about thrusting Fowler into a very difficult situation. Damphousse would give him a start as soon as he signs his upcoming contract.

Nikko Mikkola was fined for his shot at the end of the Canadiens-Panthers game on Sunday. His fine is $5,000, which means the immense financial hit will ensure Mikkola will never step out of line again.

Right?

Right?

Bueller?

The Habs had  a day off on Monday, which means Lane Hutson was busy practicing alone. There are only two states of existence for Hutson: Playing hockey, and desperately counting down the minutes until he can play hockey again. [TVA Sports]

Ivan Demidov was finally given a reasonable amount of ice time (17:36) in SKA Saint-Petersburg’s second playoff game, which led to the Canadiens prospect scoring the team’s only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss. Seeing as Demidov immediately responded to the well-deserved uptick in ice time, SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg decided to drop Demidov’s ice time to just 9:37 on Monday. Demidov still set up the team’s opening goal, assisting on Arseny Gritsyuk’s powerplay marker.

It looks like Demidov whiffed on his shot, but they don’t ask how, they just ask how many. [The Silver Lining To Demidov’s Ridiculous KHL Usage]

Tuesday

They did it again! Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki combined for a pair of crucial goals, saving the team’s season with just nine seconds left to play in the third period, and then securing an incredible comeback win just 29 seconds into overtime. Of course, they weren’t the only ones who played well on Tuesday, but it’s quite clear that Hutson and Suzuki have a hunger for playoff hockey that is pushing the Canadiens to the next level a little earlier than we expected. [Jacob Fowler Contract: A Potential Wrinkle In The Canadiens Plans]

As a reminder, Hutson’s rookie season isn’t just good, it’s verging on historic.

With the win, not only did the Habs improve their playoff odds, they’re inching toward the 50 percent mark, which is fairly healthy when you consider the other Eastern Conference teams will be at 30 percent or much lower once the rest of the odds are updated.

To make matters better for the Habs, the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings all lost. The unfortunate side to Tuesday’s results is that the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Nashville Predators, making them the Canadiens’ biggest threat down the final stretch of the season. The Rangers will also be a factor, but the Habs still have a huge edge when it comes to their strength of schedule (SOS).

For the record, the Habs have the second-easiest SOS (31st), while Detroit, Columbus, and the New York Rangers are in the top five. [Tankathon]

Jacob Fowler’s entry-level contract is still very much in play, but there are whispers that the Canadiens prospect is willing to spend another year in the NCAA with the Boston College Eagles. There’s no doubt Fowler is an excellent goaltender, but there’s very little evidence to suggest rushing a goalie to the pros is a good idea, whereas there are very few, if any examples of goaltenders spending too much time in the minors. The negotiations are still ongoing, but don’t be shocked if the NCAA is once again on the menu for Fowler. [Canadiens Prospects: Discussing Fowler’s Potential Contract]

Speaking of players potentially heading to Montreal, due to Timra IK’s playoff elimination, Oliver Kapanen is now availabe to the Canadiens. Like Fowler, there’s a healthy debate to be had about where his landing spot should be, Montreal or Laval. Personally, I’d venture to guess the Canadiens intend on sending him to the Rocket, just as Kent Hughes suggested during his trade-deadline press conference. [Oliver Kapanen Discussion: Where Should The Habs Send Him?]

This got lost in the excitement following the big win versus the Panthers, but the Laval Rocket maintained their grip on the top spot in the AHL with a 3-2 win over the Manitoba Moose. As a reminder, if Laval is the top team in the North Division by the end of the season, they will receive a bye into the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

There have been a few encouraging signs coming from Laval this season, but few are as impressive as the play of rookie Florian Xhekaj. Many immediately dismissed Xhekaj as a nepo pick at the draft, but he ended up scoring the most goals from a rookie in Laval Rocket franchise history, while spending most of his time on the third and fourth line. Oh, speaking of which, Xhekaj scored his 20th of the year on Tuesday. He also happens to lead the AHL in penalty minutes, with 159. At one point, Xhekaj will end up playing on the same line as Jared Davidson for the Canadiens, and it will be a glorious moment from an entertainment standpoint. [The Laval Rocket Are Building Something Special In The AHL]

Wednesday

Any way you cut it, Lane Hutson is the obvious choice for the Calder Trophy this season. Macklin Celebrini, Dustin Wolf, and Matvei Michkov are having good seasons, but Hutson is in the midst a historic season. The voting should be easy, with an emphasis on “should”.[Canadiens Calder Trophy: The Strong Case For Lane Hutson]

SKA Saint-Petersburg decided to lean heavily on Ivan Demidov during Wednesday’s playoff game against Dynamo Moscow. The top Montreal Canadiens prospect responded by scoring the opening-goal of the game while on the powerplay. It was Demidov’s third consecutive playoff game with a point. Unfortunately for Demidov and Co., Dynamo emerged with a 5-4 win in double overtime. At the very least, the frustration stemming from his ridiculous usage seems to have subsided.  [Ivan Demidov Shows Frustration In Pre-Game Interview]

For a brief moment it appeared Demidov had scored the game-winning goal in overtime, but upon further review they called the goal back for goalie interference, which was more than fair. All things considered, Demidov looked great on Wednesday. Whenever he was on the ice, the puck had a very high likelihood of ending up 200 feet away from his goaltender.

The Habs are still in the driver’s seat when it comes to the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ll face stiff competition from the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Believe it or not, it seems like a lot of fans want to see Montreal make the playoffs.

Most of you know I like to mention Florian Xhekaj and Jared Davidson as often as possible, and I’d like to apologize, because I’m not going to stop any time soon. Yes, scoring goals is great, and having tough players in the lineup is important, but I will always gravitate toward entertaining players, regardless of where that entertainment comes from. In this case, it’s a combination of talent, truculence, and a penchant for making something happen every shift.

Speaking of Davidson, his game-winning goal against the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday was the 22nd time he found the back of the net. It wasn’t his most violent one-timer of the year, but it was a one-timer, because that’s how Davidson rolls.

One-timer or bust.

The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 (OT), which means they’re now tied with the Habs. The good news is the Canadiens have a game in hand.

nhl standings screenshot

Thursday

Oliver Kapanen is now in Montreal, but he’s not quite ready to play. The 21-year-old centre will be given a few days to catch-up before head coach Martin St-Louis puts him in the lineup. That leads us to the question, where should Kapanen play? The obvious choice may be replacing Michael Pezzetta on the fourth line, but there’s also a clear need for a second-line centre. [Finding A Late-Season Canadiens Role For Oliver Kapanen]

The Montreal Canadiens did not just beat the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, they flat-out dominated their rivals. As per usual, the first line made their mark, with Nick Suzuki reaching 80 points, and Cole Caufield hitting the 35-goal mark, but it was the third line, led by Brendan Gallagher, that really set the tone. There are a lot of great stories this season, but Gallagher’s resurgence has to be among the best.
[Habs Highlights: Gallagher & Suzuki Push Team Closer To Playoffs]

Few players do more with less. Gallagher doesn’t get a lot of ice time, but he doesn’t let that let get in the way of producing.

With the win, the Habs now have 81 points with seven games left on the docket. Statistically speaking, they’re very likely to make the playoffs. They have the easiest strength of schedule and the most points. Seeing as the Columbus Blue Jackets lost to the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers now represent the clear and present danger for the Canadiens, since they hold an edge in regulation wins (RW), as well as regulation and overtime wins (ROW), which are the primary and secondary playoff tiebreakers.

The updated playoff odds were not available at the time of scheduling this article, but if I had to guess, the Habs will be somewhere in the 60-65 percent range, while the Rangers will be closer to 25 percent. Click here for updated NHL playoff odds.

Screenshot nhl.com montreal canadiens

It sounds like the Jacob Fowler situation is winding down. The top Montreal Canadiens goaltending prospect is expected to sign an amateur tryout with the Laval Rocket, which means his entry-level contract would only kick in next season. Kent Hughes pulled off the best-case-scenario with his prized netminder.


It’s a great sign that Juraj Slafkovksy’s points per 60 (P/60) is going up, but we may have to do something about his sassiness per 60 (Sass/60), because it’s out of control.

I noticed a picture of Juraj Slafkovsky alongside David Desharnais on Sportsnet’s feed last night. I can actually provide a little background about the story. I had a lot of time to kill at a Canadiens development camp in Brossard one season, and a volunteer working with the Canadiens youth camp flagged me down. He explained that Slafkovsky, the team’s brand new, shiny toy, actually had a link with the team prior to the draft, as he had participated in one of the many Canadiens youth camps that took place at the team’s practice facility. He also thought it would be cool if Slafkovsky could quickly say hello to the kids that were participating in a youth camp at the time, and he was absolutely right.

Anyhow, Slafkovsky came out and said hello to the kids, making it a full-circle moment.

Bonus: I found the quick picture I snapped of Slafkovsky saying hello to the children. It’s not the greatest, but it was an old phone during a very humid day.

montreal canadiens source: me

Friday

SKA Saint-Petersburg avoided elimination by beating Dynamo Moscow 4-3 in overtime. Ivan Demidov scored a goal and added an assist, pushing his playoff production this season to three goals and two assists in five games. Demidov was given over 24 minutes TOI, making him one of the busiest SKA players on Friday. Coincidentally, or not, Demidov responds quite well when he’s given appropriate ice time.

Top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler signed his entry-level contract, however, thanks to some crafty negotiating by Kent Hughes, it only kicks in next season (2025-26). In the meantime, Fowler will join the Laval Rocket in the AHL via an amateur tryout. It’s the best case scenario for the organization. [Impact Of Jacob Fowler Contract On Canadiens, Rocket]

Fowler made sure to thank the Boston College Eagles after signing his deal.


Both the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Islanders won on Friday, keeping their dwindling playoff hopes alive for the time being. With seven games left on the docket, the Canadiens playoff odds are sitting at 53.5 percent, while the New York Rangers clocking-in at 31.5 percent. Don’t forget, regulation wins (RW) represents the first tiebreaker, and the Rangers have a significant edge in that statistical category.

 

Thanks to his penchant for scoring crucial, dramatic goals in bunches, Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was named the player of the NHLPA Player of the Week. [Canadiens Mythbusting – Nick Suzuki Is Clearly A Number One Centre]

Saturday

Prior to puck drop on Saturday the Montreal Canadiens announced Josh Anderson would not be available family reasons, as the Anderson clan is awaiting the birth of their first child. This meant that Oliver Kapanen would be called on to anchor the fourth line, while Jake Evans was promoted to the third.


The Habs struggled in the first period of Saturday’s game versus the Philadelphia Flyers, but the usual suspects came to the rescue, as Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, and Brendan Gallagher scored to secure a crucial 3-2 win. Hutson’s goal, in particular, was impressive, as it was an end-to-end effort from the clear-cut front-runner for the Calder Trophy. [Habs Highlights: Welcome To The Lane Hutson Show]

Speaking of Hutson, his affability might match his talent, and that’s saying a lot. How can you not love this humble star?


The win, combined with losses from the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets put the Canadiens firmly in the driver’s seat when it comes to the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal’s odds of qualifying for the playoffs are now 72.4 percent, giving them a significant advantage down the final stretch of the season.

As it stands, the Canadiens are now four points clear on the Rangers. However, the Rangers hold the first tiebreaker advantage, regulation wins (RW), which means the Habs have to finish one point ahead of them to keep hold of their Wild Card spot.

The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are still in the conversation, but they’re going to have to hope the Habs stumble down the stretch if they’re to sneak their way into the playoffs.

David Reinbacher was injured almost immediately upon his return to play, which is a worrying situation give his history. Thankfully, according to Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent, they’re being overly cautious when it comes to Reinbacher. The 20-year-old defenceman was spotted skating on Friday.


Seeing as Jacob Fowler signed his entry-level contract this week, a new mask was in order. As per usual, Sylabrush did a fantastic job.

Speaking of Fowler, here’s a fantastic highlight video put together by Hab Prospect Videos, a great YouTube account that’s certainly worthy of a subscription.

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