Author: Dans les Coulisses

4 nations: The price to see Canada at the Bell Centre is astronomical.

Many hockey fans are eagerly awaiting the Four Nations Tournament.

Even though countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia will not be participating, Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland will thrill all the spectators present.

However, ticket sales for the tournament are currently slow, and the NHL is concerned about this.

Looking at the prices, especially for Canada’s games, it’s easier to understand why.

As reported by Michael Leach from the Toronto radio station 680 News, ticket prices for the Canada vs Sweden match at the Bell Centre in the pit are exorbitant.

The prices above were listed on Ticketmaster and wait to see the price for the match on February 15, between Canada and the United States.

The price for a single ticket is over $500…

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And if some wealthier individuals want to splurge and watch the game from the front row, they need to think about at least $2300 + taxes to go alone.

Looking at the site billets.ca, prices are less astronomical, but still very high.

Even though I expected it to sell like hotcakes, considering how much a pair of tickets would cost, along with a small snack and parking, it starts to get pricey.

At least, the matchups not including Canada are relatively affordable, comparable to the price of seeing the Montreal Canadiens, and it will still be excellent hockey.

In short, I think I will watch all of this from my couch on my television.

In Brief

– A nice milestone for Marner.

– Worth listening to.

– Really unfortunate for the Blue Jays.

– A must-read.

– Good news for Bayern Munich.

Compared to the last season (after 44 games), the CH has only three more points.

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed watching the Canadiens play this much.

And I’m sure I’m not alone on my island!

After the last few difficult years, it’s refreshing to see the team win…

There’s a real buzz in the city right now since the Canadiens are the team of the hour in the NHL.

The CH is just one point behind the Bruins and a playoff spot… And they are also just three points behind the Lightning and third place in the Atlantic Division.

The club is progressing, but to what extent?

I’m asking this because this morning, Réjean Tremblay stated in his column that the progress in terms of points collected by the team “is quite minimal.”

And he is right.

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After 44 games last year, the Canadiens had a record of 19 wins, 18 losses, and seven overtime losses.

The team earned 45 points in its first 44 games of the season, to put it another way.

What does it look like this year?

The CH has a record of 22 wins, 18 losses, and four overtime losses after playing its first 44 games of the season.

That gives 48 points:

(Credit: NHL.com)

The difference in points isn’t huge, let’s be clear.

But it is significant in the standings. After 44 games last season, the CH was sitting in 24th place in the league.

They are in 18th place as I write these lines.

All in all, we see progress and that’s what’s important. The Canadiens have managed to bounce back after a terrible start to the season and they find themselves today in an interesting position.

This aligns with the organization’s goals, by the way. The management talked about the mix even before the start of the season and they wanted the team to improve collectively.

That’s what’s happening right now.

In brief

– Suspension for the Islanders player.

– Interesting news in the NHL.

– It looks promising.

– A few updates in MLB:

Rumor Corner: The Devils are (very) involved in the J.T. Miller situation.

Nothing is going right for the Canucks.

The Vancouver team has lost 11 of its last 15 games and now the chain is really coming apart.

The team’s leaders no longer want to push themselves on the ice, and it shows. Yesterday, J.T. Miller looked like a guy who just doesn’t care, plain and simple:

There are several rumors surrounding Miller right now because things are not working out for him in Vancouver.

We’re talking about a super talented player… But we’re also talking about a guy who seems to want to do things his own way most of the time.

And that doesn’t work if you want to help your team win.

It’s relevant to discuss the forward because, according to the latest news, it seems that the Devils are very interested in the idea of adding his services.

There would even be discussions happening right now for it to take place:

In New Jersey, it is known that Simon Nemec is not satisfied with his usage.

Could the defender be included in an offer to convince the Canucks to let Miller go? That would make sense…

However, note that the Devils currently have cap space of just under $2 million ($1,894,436) and they will need to shed salary to add Miller to the lineup.

If they can… They will be one to watch because they already have a fiery attack:

(Credit: Daily Faceoff)

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Seth Jones on the market in Chicago?

We know it: things are going poorly in Chicago.

The Hawks are not progressing as they have not been able to surround Connor Bedard the right way and now, questions are starting to arise about the team’s rebuild.

That said, with things not working out and with him starting to age, Seth Jones is at the center of some rumors right now.

According to Darren Dreger, teams have called about the services of the big defender:

The problem with Jones is the following.

He is in the third year of an eight-year contract… That pays him a total of $9.5 million per season.

That’s a lot of money for a 30-year-old defender who seems to be in decline.

Obviously, the Hawks will have to retain part of his salary to send him elsewhere because there is no team that would take that contract.

It’s too bad the Coyotes are gone… They were known for taking on bad contracts to meet the salary floor in the NHL. Hehe.

No joke, Jones’ situation will be worth watching in the coming weeks. But if a trade happens, I expect it to be done next summer.

Moving a big contract like his is complicated during the regular season…

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The Avalanche does not want to trade Rantanen

The situation of Mikko Rantanen in Colorado is starting to gain traction.

Will he be able to sign a big contract and be paid his worth? It seems to be complicated right now…

The Avalanche still has the option to trade him before the trade deadline (or July 1) to not lose him for nothing, but that is not in the organization’s plans.

Really not, even:

No, Colorado has no interest in exploring a trade involving Mikko Rantanen. – David Pagnotta

Chris MacFarland has a significant issue to resolve.

What I’m primarily wondering is what Rantanen thinks about all this…

Let’s not forget after all that he won the Stanley Cup (2021-2022) and has been playing in Colorado since the start of his career.

Will he want to sign a new contract (perhaps cheaper) with the team that drafted him in 2015… Or would he prefer to test the free agent market to sign one of the biggest contracts in the NHL?

Hmm…

In Brief

– Interesting, nonetheless.

– Wow.

– Yes!

– Sweet.

From the worst to the best team in the NHL: the two faces of the Canadiens

Inexplicable! Improbable! Disconcerting!

What the Canadiens – who were languishing in the basement – are accomplishing could not have been anticipated at all. Going from the worst team in the league on November 25 (32nd in the standings) to the best in the entire league for the past month is quite something.

Since December 16, the CH has a record of 11-2-1.

(Credit: NHL.com)

During this period, the Montrealers scored 51 goals, just one less than the 52 scored by the Oilers and Blue Jackets, while allowing only 30.

Their two special teams have a combined efficiency rate of 110%!

Jakub Dobes, Patrik Laine, Alexandre Carrier… some additions are at the heart of this turnaround. But Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Samuel Montembeault, Jake Evans, Joel Armia, and others are also key to the team’s current success.

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Are we going to make the playoffs?
This morning, the CH is in 10th place in the East, only one point away from a playoff spot. With two games in hand…

(Credit: NHL.com)

In short, our team is in the mix.

The problem is, it won’t draft top three there are eight teams fighting for the two Wild Card spots in the East: the Blue Jackets, the Bruins, the Senators, the Canadiens, the Red Wings, the Flyers, the Rangers, and the Penguins.

So two of the previously mentioned teams are likely to make the playoffs.

Does that mean the CH has only a 25% chance to extend its season after its 82nd regular match?

No! The Canadiens are on a good roll and are closer to the top eight than the Flyers, Rangers, and Penguins. And they have an easier schedule than some teams directly competing with them.

The reputed site MoneyPuck.com gives the Canadiens a 36% chance of making the playoffs this morning. It sees the Bruins and the Sens making it to the playoffs… but it also sees the CH and the Flyers as the candidates most likely to surpass them.

Let’s remember that MoneyPuck uses advanced statistical calculations to determine its percentages.

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The site PlayoffsStatus.com is more generous with the Canadiens’ probabilities. It estimates a 50% chance of seeing the CH play in the playoffs.

According to the site’s calculations, the Canadiens and the Senators have better chances to extend their seasons than the Blue Jackets and the Bruins.

The Flyers, Penguins, and Rangers have very little positive probability, according to PlayoffStatus.com.

In the end, the Tricolore has between a one in three and a one in two chance of participating in the playoffs…

Which makes the odds to that effect on Mise-o-jeu VERY interesting: 4.50.

I think I’m going to go bet a little $20 on the CH.

in brief

– It will be Toronto or L.A.

– Logical.

– Frederik Andersen is back.

Caufield is at a point with Suzuki: We really need to start talking about #13’s season.

I find that we don’t talk enough about Cole Caufield.

Last year, we all criticized him because we expected more from him. Yet he still finished the 23-24 season with his best career numbers, both in terms of goals (28) and points (65).

That’s no small feat.

But this year, we’re seeing a different Cole Caufield.

The young forward has accumulated a total of 43 points in 44 games since the start of the season, and it’s clear that he has improved his play without the puck.

Eric Engels is right to point this out on Twitter.

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I want to give some love to #13. Are you ready?

Let’s go!

Caufield, since December 12, has accumulated 18 points in 16 games, including seven goals.

He is the top scorer for the Canadiens during this time, with Hutson (17 points) and Suzuki (16 points) closely following him.

Caufield is ranked 31st among the top scorers in the entire NHL.

Last year, after 44 games, he only had 33 points… and was ranked 85th among the league’s most productive players.

Caufield has scored 24 goals on 130 shots since the start of the season, resulting in a shooting percentage of 18.5%.

Last year, after 44 games, Caufield scored 14 goals on 159 shots, with a shooting percentage of 8.8%.

There’s a clear improvement in his game, and it’s great to see. It was reasonable to think that the arrival of Laine might cause him some problems (especially on the power play)… but that’s not the case.

Both are capable of coexisting on the ice and both can be productive on the power play even when playing together, which is interesting.

They also seem to get along well:

But what’s striking is how good Caufield is at even strength. 32 of his 43 points this season have come at even strength (he leads the Canadiens in that regard too), and that changes the game because he’s constantly a threat right now.

That wasn’t always the case last season.

All this to say that there’s no one in town who can be disappointed with the performance of Tit-Cole at the moment.

He is playing up to his talent, scoring important goals… And we see how important he has been to Martin St-Louis’ lineup since the start of the season.

It’s refreshing because we know how much he has the tools to become one of the (very) good players in the NHL.

After all, he’s only 24 years old!

In brief

– Oh. Reinforcements in Edmonton.

– Good point.

– Colleague Maxime Truman asked questions to Prince Owusu and Samuel Piette today. Here’s what stands out:

– Still.

The Canadiens will not make a call-up today.

The misfortune of some makes the happiness of others. Right?

Since the forward Emil Heineman was hit by a car on Monday, Michael Pezzetta now has the opportunity to replace him in Martin St-Louis’s lineup. But we know what the problem is with Pezz.

He may be a good teammate, as Martin St-Louis said… But we are still talking about a guy who hurts the Canadiens when he is on the ice. That’s why in January, over six games, the forward has an average ice time of 4:17 per game. That’s not much.

We might have expected to see the Canadiens call up a player from Laval for their game yesterday in Dallas, but they did not.

The strategy paid off as the CH secured a big win against the Stars. We can thank Jakub Dobes, by the way.

However, the CH will return to the Bell Centre tomorrow for their game against the Leafs, and we should expect the team to make a call-up. Because playing with 11 forwards (and a half) and six defensemen is not ideal.

What we need to know in all this is that the Canadiens will not make a call-up today according to what Anthony Marcotte reported on Twitter.

The Rocket is in action tonight in Utica:

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It’s rare to see the Canadiens and the Rocket playing at home at the same time, but that will be the case on Saturday.

The Canadiens’ farm team will host the Utica Comets in the second game of a two-game series (in as many days).

It should also be noted that for tonight, Cayden Primeau will defend the Rocket’s net:

There are some interesting names in Laval for a call-up.

And in the view of replacing a guy on the fourth line, there are mainly three logical candidates in my opinion:

  • Luke Tuch
  • Jared Davidson
  • Lucas Condotta

I expect it to be Condotta because he knows the NHL. He played seven games with the big club this season and he could easily fit in on the team’s fourth line because he also knows Martin St-Louis’s system.

But personally, I would really like to see Davidson get the chance to prove himself. He is having a great season so far and he has the characteristics in his game (verve, intensity) that could help the Canadiens.

We could also say the same for the big Tuch, after all…

All this to say that it remains to be seen, but we really should expect to see the Canadiens make a call-up during the day tomorrow.

In brief

– Notice to interested parties:

– Good choices!

– Minor signing in Columbus. Another defenseman!

– The Avalanche says no.

Let’s play as GM and manage the files on Kent Hughes’s desk.

Kent Hughes has several files on his desk right now. That’s normal.

I want to “take” a few of them to see what the club should do, in my opinion, leading up to the deadline. This will involve unrestricted free agents starting July 1st.

After all, due to the beautiful season of the Habs, the club shouldn’t have to manage anything else (in terms of contracts or trades) with players under club control until March 7th.

Michael Pezzetta

I know Pezz is the 13th forward the club wants (so they can let him sit in the stands as long as he wishes), but the guy often holds back too much, and when he plays, he isn’t up to par.

Get him out of his misery and put him on waivers.

David Savard

Unless the Canadiens get a king’s ransom for his services (a first-round pick or an equivalent), I keep him. His best value is in Montreal, with the young players.

Arber Xhekaj is a new man by his side.

I don’t see how the Habs would benefit from letting him go for another third round pick right now. He is a veteran the Canadiens desperately need to support the young guys.

And if he wants to stay for one more year at maximum two million dollars in a more limited role, I’d offer him an extension. We know he wants to stay in Montreal with his family.

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Joel Armia

I’m not trading Joel Armia before the end of the season. And if the guy wants to sign a contract worthy of a fourth-line player, I would be willing to keep him. But he must not, in any case, be a player who is even slightly overpaid.

Keep in mind that three key elements of the penalty kill (Savard, Armia, and Evans) are ending their contracts. Opening the door to possibly not letting everyone go must be done.

Jake Evans

The only scenario in which I would trade Jake Evans is if the Habs are no longer in the race, he has a golden offer on the market, and the negotiations with Evans show that the player and the club are light-years away from reaching an agreement.

Otherwise, I keep him. And I try to sign him.

Pierre LeBrun recently said that the player and the club will both need to be uncomfortable to reach an agreement. I imagine the club will offer four years at three million dollars (12 million total). And the player, if he is greedy, will ask for six years at four million dollars (24 million total) from the Habs.

Do you do it in the two to five years and 3.5 million dollars per season? Is that too much for a guy who plays above his level? In my eyes, it’s too much. It will be less than that if it materializes… because Evans would be less greedy at the outset.

Christian Dvorak

We know that the center player does not have a high value on the market (even at 50% of 4.45 million dollars, I wonder who would want him that much) and that he will be leaving at the end of the year.

If I’m the GM, I keep him to finish the year because he is part of a trio that works and because he helps at the faceoff circle. But if he leaves in March, that’s okay too.

In a nutshell

– Indeed.

– Hmm…

– Reminder: the Habs have many picks.

Jake Evans has not scored a point in eight games.

Since the beginning of the season, we have been singing the praises of Jake Evans. And with good reason.

Clearly, the Canadiens’ center has chosen the right season (a few months before unrestricted free agency) to reach another level as a player for the Canadiens.

This draws a lot of attention, as you know.

So, we wonder at what price the CH and the player could reach an agreement to avoid him becoming a free agent. It’s likely one of the most important files on Kent Hughes’ desk right now.

After all, with everything the player is doing, losing him would hurt on many levels.

But in recent weeks, it has been a reminder that Jake Evans remains a player with limited potential. Why? Because since he scored five goals in five games around the holidays, he has gone dry.

Basically, since the game on December 31 in Nevada, Evans has not accumulated any points.

(Credit: ESPN)

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Eight straight games without any points, including the seven games played in 2025, is the longest dry spell of his entire season. And it’s not even close: his longest streaks of this kind were three games.

However, he had already gone eight games without scoring earlier in the season. But he had assists during that time.

This reminds us that a player like Evans, as complete as he is, was playing above his head offensively. His shooting percentage (his number of goals relative to his number of shots) was 31.3% after the game against Tampa Bay.

This means that in his first 36 games, he was scoring more than three times for every 10 shots.

But since then? He has taken 11 shots in the last eight games and his percentage has dropped to 22.7% this season. We’re talking about less than one in four shots being successful, which is a significant difference in a season.

I’m not saying Evans is a bad player and I still believe the CH should find common ground with him. But what I’m saying is that nature prevails and he needs to be signed at the right price.

In brief

– Do you like it or not?

– He is good, that one.

– Worth reading.

4 matches, 4 goals and 4 victories for Jakub Dobes: a historical pace

This season, the Canadiens are quite fortunate in terms of rookies.

Of course, there’s Lane Hutson, whose on-ice prowess is well documented. Everyone – or almost everyone – knows that he is already a top defender in Montreal.

There is also Emil Heineman. Yes, he will miss a few weeks of action after being hit by a car in Salt Lake City, but he remains one of the most productive rookies in the Bettman circuit as I write these lines.

And now, we can add Jakub Dobes to the list. And this, despite the small sample size.

In four games, the goalie has four wins against major teams (Panthers, Avalanche, Capitals, and Stars) and has only given up four goals total. He is truly dominant.

Martin St-Louis, at this point, can send him against any NHL team.

A feat like this (four games, four wins, four goals) for a goalie making his first steps in the NHL is a pace that is simply historic. In the last 60 years, only three guys have done it before.

Only four goals in his first four games in the NHL wearing the colors of the Montreal Canadiens, the biggest franchise in hockey, has never been seen before for a goalie.

So we can say this: Cayden who?

Dobes’ average of 0.98, his save percentage of .963 (meaning he stops 24 out of 25 pucks), and his shutout show us that he wasn’t joking when he said he was ready for the NHL.

Yesterday, after the game, Dobes said that he really wanted to be recalled and that he worked hard in Laval. Clearly, it worked.

We must never forget that the development of a young player is never linear (Juraj Slafkovsky is a good example) and that the goalie could/should have rough patches along the way.

But at this moment, with the way he is playing and because he is helping the Canadiens win, it is hard to imagine a world where this competitor would return to Laval by the end of the season. However, he must not take anything for granted because things can change quickly, but…

In brief

– Larry Robinson is impressed by Martin St-Louis.

– Hmm…

– Still.

– A must-read.

– Zach Werenski is loved in Columbus.

The CH will continue to win: Martin St-Louis does not intend to shave his beard.

This morning, I received a call. It was from my friend Tankathon.

Basically, he told me he noticed I was talking less about him during the summer, once the draft was over… but he felt I was neglecting him a bit too much this season compared to previous campaigns.

So I had no choice but to tell him that this season, aside from the Canadiens’ results, I didn’t really have a choice but to leave him aside.

(Credit: Tankathon)

The results speak for themselves: if the season ended today, the Canadiens would be lined up to draft 16th overall. Winning the lottery (1.1% chance of that happening) would give the Habs the sixth overall pick in the next draft. #Unlikely

And all this is due to the fact that the CH is one point behind the Bruins and the last playoff spot. The CH has a better points percentage than the Bruins, who have two more games played this season.

(Credit: NHL.com)

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The fact that the Canadiens are the team of the moment in the NHL – let’s not be afraid of words – means that the climb in the standings is simply spectacular. Nothing less.

Let’s say it was hard to predict such a surge at the beginning of December.

Just yesterday, the Canadiens defeated one of the good teams in the NHL, the Stars. This was done on the road, without Emil Heineman and with Michael Pezzetta, who is increasingly running on borrowed time.

One wonders if the coach has celebrated like that again…

via GIPHY

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There is therefore only one logical explanation for discussing the Canadiens’ surge: Martin St-Louis’s beard.

The mix beard, as my father calls it, has been around for a few weeks. And for a few weeks, the Montreal Canadiens have been winning games as if there was no tomorrow.

Coincidence? Probably not.

And on this subject, after the 3-1 victory against Dallas, St-Louis was asked if he was superstitious and if he planned to shave soon. And rest assured: no, he does not plan to shave in the short term.

 

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