Hockey Day in Canada

Yesterday was special day for two reasons, it was Valentine's day and it was Hockey Day in Canada. This is the day where Canadians come together to watch hockey and to participate in the many activities involving our national sport across our great nation. Yesterday, all seven Canadian NHL teams were in action with six of those teams facing each other. The exception this year is the Winnipeg Jets, who are in Detroit to face the Red Wings. In other games, Ottawa hosted Edmonton, Toronto visited Montreal and in the night game Vancouver was in Calgary to face the Flames. For Canadians, watching hockey on Saturday night is synonymous with Americans watching NFL football on Sundays. It's tradition.

My favorite part of hockey day in Canada, besides watching my three favorite Canadian NHL teams, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver, is hearing some of the wonderful stories CBC produces to broadcast. These stories profile the exceptional people in hockey who have sacrificed so much to play the game of hockey or to help make it happen for others. Here is an example

As a side note, I was born and raised in the Lower Mainland in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver. We don't get enough snow or sustained freezing temperatures so I never experienced skating on an outdoor rink. However, I did attend the 2014 Heritage classic at BC Place stadium where the Canucks hosted the Senators. It was  OK, but BC Place is a football and soccer stadium. It is not built to host hockey games. As such, I was forced to watch the action on the jumbo-tron

The State of the Canadian NHL teams

Despite the Canadian dollar being weak at the moment, Canadian franchises are thriving. Even in Edmonton and Vancouver, where tickets can be bought dirt cheap, fans continue to fill the stadiums. The situation is not nearly as dire as it was in the mid 90's when Quebec City and Winnipeg were relocated to Colorado and Phoenix (Arizona now) respectfully.

In terms of being competitive, the Canadian franchises are doing well as a whole. Four of the seven Canadian teams have a very good chance of making the playoffs in April (Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary). Edmonton and Ottawa will definitely be on the outside looking in and Toronto requires a strong finish to nab one of the two wildcard spots in the East, but they just started clearing house.

A Canadian-based team has not won a Stanley cup since 1993 when your Montreal Canadiens hoisted the trophy. At the moment, Montreal likely represents Canada's best hope of winning the Stanley cup, but by no means will it be an easy task

Canada internationally

Every year Canada participates in international hockey tournaments, including the World Junior hockey tournament, which brings together the best 19 and under hockey players in the world and the Spengler Cup, which is comprised of players playing in the European leagues. Canada always has and always will be able to put together teams that are medal favorites. This is a testament to the fantastic coaches we have and the wonderful hockey programs kids can enroll in. A medal is less of a guarantee on the larger international ice surfaces as, other than the Spengler Cup, players that play in these tournaments played in the smaller rinks of North America the entire hockey season. Still, one can never count a Canadian hockey team out.

The women's game has a little less parity. The two North American teams, Canada and USA dominate the tournaments and the European franchises get routed when they play Canada or USA. It is to the point where the IOC is considering removing women's hockey as an Olympic sport because only Canada and USA have ever competed for a gold medal. No other country has ever come close.

I would like to give a shout-out to all hockey parents reading this blog. Thank you for putting in the countless hours to allow your son or daughter to play hockey.

So enjoy the games this weekend Habs fans and Go Habs Go

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Jaromir Jagr And The Kladno Connection

After the blockbuster deal that sent Evander Kane and Zack Bogosian from the Winnipeg Jets to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, two prospects and a first round draft pick, action is bound to pick up in the NHL with only a few weeks before the NHL trade deadline in early March.

After showing interest in the controversial Kane, Montreal Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin, will now have to turn his attention to other targets. One name that keeps coming up in trade chatter is that of ageless veteran Jaromir Jagr of the New Jersey Devils. 

The soon-to-be 43 years old veteran is enjoying a solid campaign yet again this season, notching 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points with a -10 differential in 50 games for a struggling Devils squad. Jagr, who is New Jersey's leading scorer, told GM Lou Lamoriello that he doesn't necessarily want to be traded before the deadline, but he is open to the idea. 

Should he be traded by the Devils, the 6'3'', 230-lb, right-winger would like to remain in the Eastern Conference and play for a contender with a change to win the Stanley Cup. With the Devils 12 points out of a playoff spot, it's a question of days before they are "officially" out of the race and, as a result, Jagr would like to continue playing come spring. 

The Native of Klado, Czech Republic (same hometown as Jiri Sekac and Tomas Plekanec), is willing to accept a diminished role and less ice-time to pursue his dream of another Cup. 

"I don't pay attention to the deadline. I'm a professional. I just work even harder than I did before," Jagr told Rich Chere of NJ Advance Media. "If I stay here, I stay here. If I don't, I still have to be ready. If somebody trades for me they'll expect me to be good. And if I stay here I have to be good. So I have to work harder than ever to make sure I'm good."

One of the hardest working off the ice, Jagr's dedication to training is legendary around the league and is one of the key elements of his never-ending career. A long-time friend and international teammate of Tomas Plekanec, Jagr also trained with Plekanec and Sekac this summer in Kladno, so the three Czechs are already familiar with each other.

Jagr, who has a cap hit of $5.5 million because of the bonus he received this season, has already played for several Eastern Conference teams, namely the Bruins, the Rangers, the Flyers, the Capitals and the Penguins, which basically leaves the Lightning, the Red Wings and the Habs as a likely destination.

While the "Mullet Man" is not a bona-fide superstar any more, he can certainly produce offensively and help the Habs' struggling power play come playoff time. Jagr is also great with the puck, so his arrival would certainly improve the team's possession statistics, which are ranked in the bottom third of the league right now.

A middle-round pick and a low-level prospect such as Christian Thomas is probably what the Devils will ask for Jagr before the deadline. Are you willing to pay that kind of price?

Potential forward lines with Jagr:

Pacioretty-Desharnais-Weise/Parenteau

Sekac-Plekanec-Jagr

Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher

Bournival-De La Rose/Malhotra-Prust

Who would you want to acquire at forward if you were Marc Bergevin?

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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The General Continues To Stand Tall

Greetings Habs Addicts!

The Habs swept the season series against the Boston Bruins the other day for the first time since the 2007-08 season with a 3-1 win in Boston on Sunday night. The Habs are 10-1 in their past 11 games against Boston, including six straight wins in Boston. Impressive!

Andrei Markov had an empty-net goal to ice the victory, his seventh goal of the season. Last night he set up David Desharnais' overtime winner against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Habs 2-1 victory. He now has 31 points in 53 games played this season. The General is continuing to defy the aging process that inevitably hits all players and is averaging 24:48 of ice time per game this season at age 36. He may have lost a step in terms of speed, but in terms of skills and stats, he is hardly slowing down.

Photo Credit: RDS.CA

Andrei Markov has been a rock for the Canadiens since he broke into the NHL back in 2000-01. He suffered a series of knee injuries that required reconstruction and limited him to only seven games played in 2010-11 and 13 games the following year, but Markov has returned strong and appeared in all 48 games during the strike shortened season, missed only one game last year and thus far has appeared in all 53 games thus far this season. Media and fans were concerned about re-signing Markov after the knee injury and management faced a lot of criticism when they did re-sign him to a contract with such a high average-annual salary cap value; however, he has rewarded management's faith in him by returning to his high level of play. Calm and cool with the puck, you never see Markov panicking on the ice. The quarterback of the power play for years, he has proven to be a lethal combination with P.K. Subban on the back end. What more can you ask of a player who was only drafted in the 6th round, 162 overall in 1998?

Habs fans cringed last summer when Markov was approaching free-agency for the first time in his career. Coming into last season with a salary cap hit of $5.75 million, fans and media alike were concerned about Marc Bergevin extending the soon-to-be 36 year old at that current cap hit. Well, Bergevin rewarded his veteran leader with a three-year extension at the same salary cap hit and Markov has responded in year one thus far, on pace for 11 goals and 49 points.

Markov has started to show signs of age creeping up to him. As stated earlier, he has lost a step in the speed department after the knee injury, but he has not let that affect his play as he better positions himself and takes advantage of the vast hockey smarts he developed over his 13-year career. Last season, it was evident that fatigue was catching up to him as he entered the playoffs as he had only one goal and four assists in his final 13 regular season games and then was kept off the score sheet entirely during the four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Markov was beginning to feel the effects of his first full regular season in four years. Critics were calling for Michel Therrien to rest the veteran, and limit his minutes to keep him fresh, but Markov played over 25 minutes per game last year and is very close to that same amount of ice time this year. Will he fade a bit down the stretch? Even with his fade, Markov finished last years playoff run with 10 points in 17 playoff games. Solid production from a solid producer.

The trade deadline is approaching. Bergevin will address some needs and another puck-mover on the back end would surely help. Names like Cody Franson and Mike Green have been bandied about. Edmonton is trying to move Jeff Petry and he could be an option, as well. Bergevin has already acquired fellow Russian veteran Sergei Gonchar earlier this year and he has paired up tremendously well with young Nathan Beaulieu. On the flip side, Alexei Emelin continues to make baffling mistakes both mentally and with the puck on a game-to-game basis and his partner Tom Gilbert has provided only nine points in 49 games played this season after being expected to anchor the second power-play unit. Veteran Mike Weaver has been a healthy scratch for most of the season and has appeared in only two games since the middle of December.

Michel Therrien will be wise to limit the minutes for Markov down the stretch, especially late in games where the outcome is more or less decided. The only problem is the Canadiens have an inability to score goals this year which has seen them play in a lot of one-goal games. Hard to limit your stud leader when the game is on the line. It would be nice to see the scoring pace pick up and Markov finish the stretch run playing around 20 minutes per game and subsequently have a bit more in the tank for the playoffs, where fans expect another long spring of hockey in Montreal.

It will be interesting to see how they play Markov during the home stretch of the season and how The General responds this year. Even if he does slow down next year and the last year of his deal, he will still be a valuable power-play producer. Kimmo Timonen in Philadelphia is a prime example of what kind of player Markov can develop into as he advances into his age 37 and 38 seasons. Not too shabby.

When its all said and done and he wraps up his career, there might very well be a #79 banner hanging in the rafters of the Bell Centre.

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Nick Malofy is a transplanted Montrealer, currently living in evil LeafLand. He is a contributor here at HabsAddict.com and give him a follow, as he can often be found rambling on Twitter.

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Marc Bergevin Looking At Western Conference Defensemen: Jeff Petry Anyone?

With about three weeks before the trade deadline, it has been fairly quiet on the trade front in the NHL. However, action should pick up around the league as we are slowly separating contenders and pretenders. One player that will definitely be traded is Edmonton Oilers' defenseman, Jeff Petry. The right-handed blue liner is an impending unrestricted free agent earning a respectable $3.025 million this season.

According to TSN Insider Darren Dreger, Montreal Canadiens GM has been contacting Western Conference teams to inquire about the availability of some of their defensemen.

The impending UFA is currently having one of his worst defensive seasons so far this year, recording 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points with a putrid -27 differential in 53 games with the lowly Oilers. The lanky 6'3'', 198-lb, blue liner, who is not known for his offensive abilities, has spent all his professional career with Edmonton, who drafted him 45th overall in 2006.

The 27-year-old defenseman has only 70 hits and 61 blocked shots this season, which is nothing to write home. Spending on average 21:16 minutes on the ice per game, Petry is a more expensive version of Tom Gilbert, who has been playing very well lately, paired alongside bruising defenseman Alexei Emelin.

A healthy scratch earlier this season (like Gilbert), Petry has been one of the steadiest Oilers defencemen lately, although he will never be physical enough to hush his harshest critics (like Gilbert). For comparison purposes, Gilbert has 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points with a +8 rating in 49 games with the Habs this year. Gilbert is the lesser physical of the two with a mere 23 hits this season, but he has more blocked shots than Petry with 87. 

While Petry (50.2% CFeven) has better possession numbers than Gilbert (45.2% CFeven) and is slightly more physical than Gilbert, is he really worth sacrificing a middle round pick and/or a prospect to improve the Canadiens' defensive brigade which ranks first in the league in goals allowed per game with 2.03? I don't think so. I'd trade for Cody Franson instead if I were Marc Bergevin...

Who would you want to acquire if you were Marc Bergevin?

Other options on defense include Cody Franson, Mike Green, Andrej Sekera, Marc Methot, Zbynek Michalek and Marek Zidlicky.

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Should The Montreal Canadiens Trade For Evander Kane?

Well, the writing is on the wall regarding the tense relationship between winger Evander Kane and the Winnipeg Jets. After being made a healthy scratch against his hometown Vancouver Canucks for violating the team's dress code.

The 23-year-old Kane has 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 37 games this season, but this marks the second time he's been made a healthy scratch by head coach Paul Maurice. The relationship between them is tense to say the least and Kane has been mainly used on a checking line with Adam Lowry and Chris Thorburn this season.

With a cap hit of $5.25 million this season, Kane will not come cheap, so any team vying for his services will have to make room to fit his long term salary in their payroll. Kane will become a UFA after the 2017-18 season. Now, according to TSN insider, Darren Dreger, Winnipeg's general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff is currently listening to offers for the rugged winger.

Many questions around Evander Kane and the Jets. Some medical issues to be resolved, but teams are calling and Jets are listening...hard.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 5, 2015

And according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Canadiens have expressed interest in the past as well as the Philadelphia Flyers.

on LTR: Canadiens, Flyers two teams who heavily expressed interest in Kane in the past. Could they revisit talks now?
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 5, 2015

Currently hampered by a lower-body injury, Kane has been playing with the pain until he decides to undergo surgery, during the season, or preferably in the off-season. Will this injury and his off-ice antics lower his trade value on the market? Well, according to some pro scouts yes.

Surveyed some NHL scouts and feeling is that price on Evander Kane has dropped. One top asset could be enough to land him from #NHLJets.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 5, 2015

Not afraid of the rough stuff, Kane has 56 penalty minutes and 119 hits (3.21 hits per game) this season. Kane also has 10 NHL fights in his career, so he can drop the gloves once in a while similar to the veteran Jarome Iginla.

With the Habs' lack of offensive output in recent games, the arrival of an impact player such as Kane would definitely boost the team and give Michel Therrien another sniper who can help Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk.

Montreal would probably need to send a few players and picks to get a deal done. Maybe a package of Lars Eller, with a couple of prospects and a 2nd-3rd round pick could start the trade discussions.

Who are you willing to offer for Evander Kane?

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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Do The Montreal Canadiens Really Need Mike Green?

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie on TSN 690 Montreal, the Washington Capitals will most likely trade offensive defenseman Mike Green before the NHL trade deadline. The 29-year-old Greenw, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, is not expected to sign a contract extension with the Caps prior to March 2nd.

As reported by McKenzie and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Montreal Canadiens are one of the teams interested in his services. The right-handed blue liner has 5 goals and 26 assists for 31 points and a +7 rating in 42 games with Washington this season. The Habs are in the market for a top-four defenseman and are willing to deal mid-level prospects and draft picks for a player like Green or Cody Franson, if the Capitals are willing to accept that kind of offer.

Green, who is in the last year of a three-year pact, has a cap hit of $6,083 million, which is not easy to fit under the salary cap. The oft-injured Green is currently in his prime and will be looking to cash in on one more long-term deal in excess of $6 million annually. The problem with that rumor is that even if the Capitals believe they won't re-sign Green in the off-season, they are still in the thick of the playoff race and would be stupid to unload Green without even replacing him on the blue line. The Capitals currently hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 25-15-10 record as of February 2nd.

While Green is not playing on the team's top pairing any more after the acquisition of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen in the off-season, the offensive specialist is still logging over 19 minutes of ice time per game. Green currently has 11 points on the man advantage and he is playing on the first power play unit with Alexander Ovechkin at the point. Do you really think the Caps would trade Green to the Habs with the chance of facing them in the playoffs? I highly doubt that!

The Canadiens currently don't have enough cap space to trade for Green without giving another roster player in return. Maybe if Marc Bergevin is able to convince Washington to take Alexei Emelin's off our hands, a deal could be possible, but it's not that simple since Emelin has a full no-movement clause. With Ovechkin, Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetzov, maybe Washington is a destination that could entice Emelin to waive his NMC because of the Russian Factor...

The problem regarding Green is not that he is a bad player, it's rather that he is another offensive-minded rearguard, which is not the Canadiens need for a long playoff run, with PK Subban, Andrei Markov, Nathan Beaulieu and Sergei Gonchar all moving the puck well and able to play on the PP. The Habs need a rugged defensman who can lay out thunderous hits, clear the front of the net and kill penalties efficiently.

Who would you want to acquire if you were Marc Bergevin?

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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Could The Montreal Canadiens Be Interested In Cody Franson?

With one month before the NHL trade deadline, action should pick up on the trade front as we are slowly separating contenders and pretenders. One player that will most likely be traded is Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman, Cody Franson. The right-handed blue liner has reportedly declined the Leafs' latest contract offer of around $4.5 million annually.

According to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, the TLeafs are looking for a second-round pick in exchange for the 27-year-old Franson. This season, the native of Sicamous, BC has recorded 6 goals and 23 assists for 29 points in 49 contests for the slumping Leafs. The offensive-minded defender is also a good shot blocker with 96 this season (he would rank 2nd on the Habs behind Andrei Markov who has 101) and he can also be physical as shown by his 140 hits, which is three more than Montreal's most physical defenseman, Alexei Emelin.

The impending UFA is currently having one of his best seasons so far (he had 33 points in 2013-14) which means he will most likely want to cash in on the open market next July. This means that the team who will trade for him will get a rental player and not a long-term solution on the blue line. Will Habs GM Marc Bergevin be willing to pay the asking price (2nd rounder pick) for Franson, who is earning $3.3 million this season? That remains to be seen.

Can Montreal head into the playoffs with Sergei Gonchar, Tom Gilbert and Mike Weaver as the team's other right-handed options after PK Subban? We know for sure that Bergevin likes Cody Franson as he was the asset that the team would have landed if Josh Gorges had not refused a deal to Toronto prior to heading to Buffalo. Because of the aborted trade, Bergevin scrambled to find another solution on the blue line and was forced to settle for Tom Gilbert, who he signed to a two-year pact worth $2.8 million AAV. 

While Gilbert has been somewhat reliable on the team's blue line, his 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points in 46 games are a far cry from Franson' offensive production this year and the Canadiens could certainly use Franson's offensive abilities on the second power play unit instead of Sergei Gonchar or Nathan Beaulieu. Used to play on average 20 or more minutes per game, Franson is a big defender at 6'5'' and 215-lb, which is exactly what the Canadiens' back end needs for a long playoff run.

Other options on defnse include Mike Green, Andrej Sekera, Marc Methot, Jeff Petry, Zbynek Michalek and Marek Zidlicky, among others.

Who would you want to acquire if you were Marc Bergevin?

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

 

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