Welcome to the 6th episode of Canadiens Time. It’s Wednesday before the draft so this episode is going to rapidly become totally obsolete so let’s get going. First stop big news from Carey Price land. There was an article by Blain Potvin talking about how there’s was news that Carey Price is expected to be back for the season and that affects so much and is part of <> the noted this starts a bunch of offseason dominos. He goes into greater detail but certainly this affects Jake Allen whether Allen can be traded or not traded. It affects the salary cap because obviously Price has over ten million dollars that needs to be accounted for in the salary cap, and there’s more detail in the piece <> playing Pop and put together so I urge you to read that but it should serve as a relief to Canadiens fans to have Carey Price back manning the pipes.

Of course the draft it’s finally here. It seems like it’s been forever and finally it can get over with and we can move on with our lives and thank goodness but there was some good graft…graft there was some good draft previews that came up in the podcast world.

Locked on Canadians 649 had Jerome Berube the director of scouting HockeyProspects.com who talked QMJHL prospects including Noah Warren and just I just just listening to the episode just to go through all the detail. Nothing I want to summarize here but he did also mention that he believes it’s really hard to teach hockey sense and this has been an ongoing debate with you know Martin st. Louis has been talking about trying to teach that to Veterans and so it’s just it’s just interesting little tidbit there. On Locked on Canadiens 650 Scott Matla and Laura Saba noted that while they want Shane Wight to get picked if he doesn’t get picked they trust the organization even if they were to say draft Juraj Slafkovský. Also they there was a very interesting discussion of trading up for a second pick to get a defenseman and that’s been a theme that’s been seen elsewhere weather interesting to be seen whether Montreal will try to get one of those two blue chippers that is floating up there in the top 10.

Habs and Habs unfiltered had Gavin Chaisson of Recruit Scouting on and this was a really great episode. Just a ton of detail on a ton of prospects. Just I’m surprised they got through just so many so I really suggest listening to that if you have time before the draft and just a few notes from that great episode they found their overall consensus was Shane Wright was going to go first. They found Wright to be a very mature player.

Um an interesting little point was do they did find that where is if Cooley or Slafkovský was drafted they could spend another year outside the pros developing where is Wright has to go right to the pros. Um that’s just an interesting note there by Chaisson and in his opinion the top 16 in the draft is absolutely loaded so just some interesting notes from that great episode.

The Build had some bold draft predictions and I’m not going to recount them all. I urge you to go listen to episode 18 of The Build. Ian Boisvert has made some made some points. I will share one though in that Boisvert believes that Montreal is going to try to get a pick in the top 10 and is going to try to get one of the two Defenders either Šimon Nemec or David Jiříček though it may be difficult because those those two defenders have a chance to be a one in the league so and the Canadiens could sure use more defense so that’s a bold prediction by Boisvert and we’ll see what comes about that.

Trege Wilson had an interesting piece. 3 moves the Canadian won’t make at the 2022 draft,and I won’t spoil what they are I just suggest taking a look before the draft happens.

Jimmy Murphy of Montreal Hockey Now talked about the press conference that the Kent Hughes had and mentioned that the Hughes has said likely they’ll be drafting first

overall but he won’t promise that and so they’re they’re sort of the ideas Hughes is saying he’ll still entertain offers which I mean logically why would he shut the door on that and also they did admit at the press conference there they going to pick Wright, Slafkovský, or Cooley which I mean yeah I mean that’s not surprising either and in the press conference he was talked about how they’re trying to pick how the player projects as opposed to how he is now which I mean also logical when you think about it but but also intended to just interesting point to think about.

Turning away from the draft per se though it’s still weaved into the draft is what the Canadiens might do trading wise and Blain Potvin noted that the Canadiens’ salary cap issues are going to force a trade and that’s even more so going to be the case now that you have Carey Price back coming to the team.

And Potvin’s article gets into the nitty gritty of why the Canadians need to make some deals to allow them to get the flexibility they need and that’s not even we’re not even talking about you know going after like big-name free agents not about that they need to make flexibility so they can even sign RFAs so I urge you take a look at that article which is well-done. That’s for the hockey writers.

And of course the star of offseason trade talk is Jeff Petry and but has been talked about this the now of course what happened recently is Ryan McDonagh got traded for not very much to the Nashville Predators and that led some to say well does this mean the market has collapsed on Jeff Petry and no that’s not the case as Marco. Marco D’Amico explained for Montreal Hockey Now this…these trades are very different and the the contract was different, more expensive and it lasts longer and Petry has a 15-team no-trade clause McDonagh had a full no-trade clause and so the Canadiens have much more flexibility in what they can do and also as Laura Saba pointed out on Locked On Canadiens 651 they’re not just going to trade to trade him. Their trade has to make sense for them and as is the point has been made the trade is there they’re honoring a trade that is a trade is a trade request it so that they can wait until they they think they can wait till they they they need to make the trade um the and the and Ian Boisvert of The Build also believes he’ll be traded and its when not if but also thought about the timing and there’s a signing bonus issue which Boisvert got into over whether the signing bonus gets paid as when free agency opens and the teams might be waiting for that to be paid so they don’t have to take on that salary so and Boisvert also concurred with D’Amico’s explanation so that I mean basicly concurred as in delivered his own explanation which aligns with it so that’s Petry.

There’s also been a trade chatter according to D’Amico for Christian Dvorak and though Boisvert expects him to be on the roster but believes there could be there could be things that make sense to trade him but it doesn’t expect us to give him up for you know nothing and the Habby Hour crew on their fine program added that that just just as a as a piece of trivia just noted that the classical music composer has it is pronounced Dvorjak though Dvorak is correct because door Dvorak was born in the United States so but Dvorjak is how you pronounce the music composer so keep that in mind.

Turning to Jake Allen. So now Jake Allen is is in spotlight comes on to him that Marco D’Amico reported that there’s a rumor of interest in Jake Allen. Though Ken McMillan reported there’s a rumor that the habs are not interested in trading Jake Allen and but as Boisvert noted on his podcast that and I quote “you said in public I don’t want to trade that player then he traded that player” and and then his reasoning was because he got something worth more so and that it happened several times in last season so you know very very good point made by Boisvert in that if if the right deal comes along practically anyone is is not safe out of Canadiens except probably Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield & Carey Price. You think although

maybe even Carey Price isn’t safe at this point. Great great little gray low point on Mike Hoffman. Boisvert is an aside said “I wish I could forget Mike Hoffman” and I agree.

Some non-Canadiens news but some momentum momentous additions that we it’s just been a great few days for just a little bit of widening of the breaking up of the old white men’s club in hockey as a Jessica Campbell became the Assistant Coach on the AHL’s Firebirds, Emily Engel-Natzke became video coordinator on the Capitals. Doctor Hayley wickenheiser is now Assistant GM of the Maple Leafs. Kate Madigan is Assistant GM of the Devils and Doctor Mike Grier’s the first black GM in NHL history so that’s just some great news.

In other news the preseason calendar came out and four games are going to be played against Ottawa I don’t have a lot to say about this but in in Beth’s words of the Habby Hour “it’s going to be disgusting” and she also knows Arber Xhekaj is going to cause some trouble so look forward to that and aside from the preseason calendar the full calendar came out today. Haven’t had a chance to really go over it yet so I don’t have like any analysis of it but there will be games and they’ll play them.

As also as a side the Habby Hour crew was looking into is especially Beth was looking into some of the rules and situation going on in Russia with some players and the military exemptions for hockey and that led to some shenanigans and it was just delightful so I urge you to go listen to that podcast all the time.

And more transaction news Ken McMillan reported that the Canadiens have signed Xavier Simoneau I hope I got that right to a minor league deal and this is what this will allow is that while he cannot go up to the Canadiens this year it does allow that this is one more year that he is under team control it does not count against the 50 NHL contracts Montreal has and it means that it’s one more year before they have to use the entry-level contract on him so that was all very well explained by Ken McMillan. And lastly a Marco D’Amico reports that the Canadiens are interested in Colin White if he gets bought out by the Ottawa Senators so that just keep an eye on that could be an addition that the Canadiens could use but then again maybe other teams will be also be interested in Mr. White
<>so risk this included this episode onward to the draft we go have a good night