Do you miss PK Subban?
Maybe just a little, but Montreal Canadiens fans must be happy with newly-acquired defenceman Shea Weber. His shot continues to be scary, but it’s the return of the man behind him, the soul of the franchise, Carey Price.
Category Archives: Bleu-Blanc-Rouge
2016/17 NHL SEASON-EXPECTATIONS!
The 2016/17 NHL season is about to begin! Here are the four season preview that I’ve been working on in the past four days! Be sure to share the videos with friends!
Will the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators push for playoff contention?
Is tanking over for the Oilers? Could the Flames clinch a playoff spot with NHL-calibre goaltending? Are the Vancouver Canucks looking to Nolan Patrick?
Could the Nashville Predators be the powerhouse of the Central Division? Will the Winnipeg Jets trade or sign Jacob Trouba?
Will the Washington Capitals win another President’s Trophy?
Welcome Back!
After St. Louis Blues assistant coaches Brad Shaw and Kirk Muller left following head coach Ken Hitchcock signed a contract extension, the Montreal Canadiens were quick to sweep up their former powerplay director.
Gambling Protection
2017 might be the year of the Expansion Draft. Las Vegas might be the first expansion team that will be granted an expansion draft. Per Lighthouse Hockey and Darren Dreger of TSN, the basic outline before the expansion draft will be as follows:
- Teams can protect either 3 defensemen, 7 forwards and 1 goalie, or 8 skaters and 1 goalie, per Darren Dreger.
- However: Teams can only lose one player per expansion team. (So if there’s only one team, you only lose one player).
- Prospects and “first- and second-year pros” are exempt and don’t need to be protected.
2017 might be the year of the Expansion Draft. Las Vegas might be the only team that will be granted an expansion draft. If so Which players will be protected by each Canadian NHL team?
MVP Great Scott!
The 2016 Bridgestone NHL All-Star weekend was probably the best showing in years. From several standing ovations for John Scott to Jaromir Jagr’s ability to keep up as a 43 year-old, hockey fans were entertained at so many levels.
Continue reading MVP Great Scott!
Hitting the Delete Button
Going into the 2015-16 season, the league increased the salary cap by $2.4M from $69M 2014-15. The salary cap could increase by a maximum of $3.1M for the 2016-17 season, but with the free-falling dollar, the NHL will not likely rise by the max of $3.1M from the cap of $71.4 in s2015-16.
The need for more salary cap space has never been higher (except for the Winnipeg Jets who have $25M of space). Ten of the stronger NHL teams are restricted to less than three million dollars of cap space. The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning likely want to improve their roster for a deep playoff run, but are restricted by a lack of cap space.
Each team in the NHL has at least one bad contract, in assessing performance for money. Ryan Callahan of the Tampa Bay Lightning is effective, but overpaid at $5.8M. Brandon Dubinsky is paid to $5.85M be a second/third line center.
Happy New Year!
Why not start the New Year with an outdoor hockey game featuring one of the best rivalries in sports? The hockey gods were especially nice to fans watching the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins at home (in Toronto); snow falling, cold weather, and the greatest game on ice.
Staal-ing the Stammer
Embed from Getty Images
Have you read Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts from December 9? Here is his eighth thought about the lack of trades two months into the season:
What gridlock is preventing teams from dealing players? Simply because of the salary cap. While the Winnipeg Jets have a healthy cap space of $11.5M, seven teams are pressed to the ceiling of under one million dollars, including the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. Teams do not have the luxury of trading a player because the acquiring team simply does not have the space. Here are two possible trades that could be explored in wake of adapting to the limited cap space.
StreakBusters!
Five goals against in your first loss. The Canucks are now streakbusters. Vancouver finally won their first home game of 2015-16 with a 5-1 win against the unbeaten, top team in the NHL. That’s how to end a nine-game winning streak Montreal.
Heading into the game, the matchup on paper looked as though it would be showcasing two stellar goaltenders: Ryan Miller for the Canucks and Carey Price for the Canadiens. Ryan Miller stole the show however, stopping 25 of 26 shots while Price allowed rubber into the net five times. Carey surely had an off night, one of the only times that the Price was not right.
Who Needs Carey?
Embed from Getty Images
The Montreal Canadiens have finally found a way to play that doesn’t include relying heavily on their Vezina goaltender Carey Price. Bergevin’s offseason moves have paid off (so far), Galchenyuk looks great playing center, and the team is dominant (except when they were outshot against the Leafs in the season opener, of course).
The main point of interest going into the 2015 playoffs was the reliance on Carey Price. The Habs were compared to the future Leafs due to a lack of shots for, and a large shots against. The team has turned it around, with shots against the opposing goalie that have risen from 30 in 2014-15, to 34 six games into 2015-16. The Canadiens have been able to score a larger margin of goals each game, a boost from 3.02 to 3.8.
Canadia Hockey 
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