Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens have signed second round pick from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft Sebastian Collberg to an entry level deal. Collberg finished his season in Sweden before coming over to Montreal to rehab a concussion, then joined the Ha...
The Montreal Canadiens have signed second round pick from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft Sebastian Collberg to an entry level deal. Collberg finished his season in Sweden before coming over to Montreal to rehab a concussion, then joined the Hamilton Bulldogs for the final weekend of their AHL schedule. Collberg is a ridiculously skilled young winger who can play both sides but shoots right. Collberg distinguished himself well everywhere he played this season, from the Allsvenskan to the Elisterien, despite limited ice time in the top league. He notched a point per game for Sweden in the World Junior Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal, losing out to Alex Galchenyuk's American team. PRESS RELEASE MONTREAL- Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday the signing of forward Sebastian Collberg to a three-year contract (2013-14 to 2015-16). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In 35 games with the Frölunda Indians in the Elitserien (Sweden) this season, Collberg totaled nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) and six penalty minutes. The 5'11'' and 181 lbs right winger also appeared in 15 games with Örebro HK in the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden), notching eight points (6 goals, 2 helpers) and two penalty minutes. Collberg completed his season in Hamilton taking part in two games with the Bulldogs. Collberg, 19, suited up for Team Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship presented in Ufa, Russia, guiding the Swedish squad to the silver medal. He completed the tournament with six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in six games, ranking tied for first on the team in goals and points. A native of Mariestad, Sweden, Collberg was selected in the second round, 33rd overall by the Canadiens at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He took part in the second half of the Canadiens' Development Camp in June 2012. A second announcement game in the form of making the signing of Swedish defenseman Magnus Nygren official, with a press release of his own. It's unknown if either Swedish prospect will be joining the club in either Hamilton or Montreal this coming season, but it's certainly become more likely now. PRESS RELEASE MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday the signing of defenseman Magnus Nygren to a two-year contract (2013-14 and 2014-15). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In 51 games with the Karlstad Färjestad in the Elitserien (Sweden) this season, Nygren raked up 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists). He led the league defensemen in goals, and was tied for fourth among all Elitserien rearguards in points. He served 49 penalty minutes and displayed a +11 plus/minus differential. Nygren was named Elitserien best defenseman at the end of the season earning the Salming Trophy. He added four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 10 playoff contests. Nygren, 22, notched 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists) in 132 games since making his professional debut with Färjestad back in 2009-10. The 6'01'' and 191 lbs rearguard served 63 penalty minutes. A native of Karlstad, Sweden, Nygren was selected in the fourth round, 113th overall by the Canadiens at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He took part in the second half of the Canadiens' Development Camp in July 2011. The Canadiens also took today to announce that Alexei Emelin has finally undergone reconstructive surgery to both his ACL and MCL, with a recovery time of 6 months. That recovery time would put his prospective return date as late November, early December, which is a huge blow to the Canadiens to begin next year. Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP
36 minutes ago
We asked you what your playoff superstitions were as the first round began, and as a reward everyone who shared was entered to win a copy of Robert Lefebvre's new book "Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room". Chosen by random dr...
We asked you what your playoff superstitions were as the first round began, and as a reward everyone who shared was entered to win a copy of Robert Lefebvre's new book "Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room". Chosen by random draw, the winner of the contest is the gif-master, Scott Matla. I will mail the book out to Scott as soon as he emails me an address to send it to. Congrats Scott! Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP
about 2 hours ago
At the World Championships in Sweden, P.K. Subban ended up joining Team Canada for a game, Raphael Diaz’ Swiss team captured silver, and Alex Galchenyuk copped a bronze with the Americans. On the home front, Michel Therrien was snu...
At the World Championships in Sweden, P.K. Subban ended up joining Team Canada for a game, Raphael Diaz’ Swiss team captured silver, and Alex Galchenyuk copped a bronze with the Americans. On the home front, Michel Therrien was snubbed as a coach of the year candidate, which I disagree with, and Toronto’s Mikhail Grabovski has admitted he bit Max Pacioretty on the arm during the Feb. 9 Habs-Leafs tilt. Good thing it was the arm and not Max’s hand, Grabovski. Pretty sure I saw Max reach down into his pants, adjust his jock strap, and scratch himself, just seconds before the bite. And yesterday I gave B.C. Ferries a letter informing them I’m retiring on June 8.
about 5 hours ago
MONTREAL – With a great season of hockey in the bank and a new northeast division banner to add to the collection, we took a look at a few current Habs who won titles, hoisted trophies and became champions long before taking their first ...
MONTREAL – With a great season of hockey in the bank and a new northeast division banner to add to the collection, we took a look at a few current Habs who won titles, hoisted trophies and became champions long before taking their first strides in...
about 7 hours ago
Prior to the season, I wrote this piece which featured a list of things I thought would need to go right for the Canadiens to be successful this season, and a list of factors that could could derail their efforts. Now that the season is ...
Prior to the season, I wrote this piece which featured a list of things I thought would need to go right for the Canadiens to be successful this season, and a list of factors that could could derail their efforts. Now that the season is over and our site is back at full strength, let's see how accurate the lists were. Potential Pitfalls 1. Andrei Markov re-injures his knee, or his ankle, or any other part of his body, and misses most of the season. To the surprise of many, Markov was able to suit up for all 48 of the Canadiens' regular season games, as well as all 5 in the playoffs, and was a key contributor both at even strength and in particular on the powerplay. 2. After promising rookie seasons, both Alexei Emelin and Raphael Diaz fail to fill top four roles, and the lack of a big-name signing on defense comes back to haunt Bergevin. Both Emelin and Diaz impressed this year, but both suffered key injuries that exposed the team's lack of high calibre depth on the back end. In the end, the lack of a big-name signing on defense did come back to haunt Bergevin a little bit. Although it leaves more cap flexibility going forward. 3. Michel Therrien refuses to adapt to the new NHL, and management's strange obsession with replacement-level "toughness" translates into a lack of scoring, as the team loses its speed-based advantage that was the key to its success in past seasons. Therrien was very much a question mark going in, but he was all we could have asked for and more. That doesn't mean he was a perfect coach by any means, but if you consider that the Canadiens' worst possession club of the decade came under his reign, being a top team in that aspect of the game is impressive enough alone. What we thought of as Bergevin and Therrien's obsession with toughness ended up being an obsession with capable 4th line depth, which turned out to be key in dealing with injuries and matching up with the depth of teams like the Bruins. 4. Therrien follows in the footsteps of his predecessors in relegating Eller to a mostly defensive role, failing to allocate him powerplay time or giving him linemates that properly complement his skillset. It's safe to say that the first week of the season had us worried. But ultimately Therrien seemed to recognize Eller's importance, at least more than his predecessors. One way to put this is to say that Eller left his coach no choice but to play him. The young centerman, however, still averaged less ice time than he should be getting, particularly on the powerplay, but was the team's best forward down the stretch and we would expect that he will be relied upon as a top-minutes tough-competition center going forward. 5. David Desharnais is unable to replicate his success from last season, as his unsustainably high shooting percentage regresses to the mean, and/or Erik Cole, now 34, is held back by nagging injuries and tired legs, and the team's first line from last year fails to find success. Well these things really did happen, and if it wasn't for a) proactive trading from Bergevin and b) the progression of young players like Gallagher and Galchenyuk, an ineffective Desharnais and Cole likely would have derailed the season. Carey Price is lost for an extended period of time to injury. This one is obvious. Notice how I didn't write "Carey Price regresses into to a below-average NHL goalie". Who would have thought that was a possibility? Necessary Positives for a Good Season At least one of Rene Bourque or Tomas Kaberle lives up to his contract. For Bourque, this would mean at least 13 goals, 10 assists in a top-6 role. For Kaberle, this would mean at least 25 points, and a consistent presence in the top-6 and on the second powerplay. Well Tomas Kaberle was never really given this opportunity, but boy did Rene Bourque impress. My presumption in setting the 23-point threshold was that he would play in all 48 games, and his pace (13 points in 27 regular season ga
about 8 hours ago
The Red Wings and Blackhawks split two 4-1 wins in Chicago to begin the series, which was a bit of a surprise for the heavily favoured Hawks. It seems though, that the aging Red Wings aren't done yet, keeping the powerhouse Hawks to jus...
The Red Wings and Blackhawks split two 4-1 wins in Chicago to begin the series, which was a bit of a surprise for the heavily favoured Hawks. It seems though, that the aging Red Wings aren't done yet, keeping the powerhouse Hawks to just 20 shots in their own barn. The Blackhawks are still waiting on Jonathan Toews' scoring to show up, as the young phenom has just 3 assists in 7 playoff games. Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP
about 21 hours ago
par Sophie Lamote, Rédactrice, Le Magazine All Habs MONTRÉAL, QC — L’eau a coulé sous les ponts, les feuilles ont continué à bourgeonner, certaines se sont même faites avaler toutes crues par des nounours affamés que l’on croyait d...
par Sophie Lamote, Rédactrice, Le Magazine All Habs MONTRÉAL, QC — L’eau a coulé sous les ponts, les feuilles ont continué à bourgeonner, certaines se sont même faites avaler toutes crues par des nounours affamés que l’on croyait déjà expédiés directement sur le terrain de golf ontarien le plus proche. Les bébés ont continué à naître, les vieillards à mourir, bref la Terre a continué de suivre son axe de rotation bien trop naturellement… Et nous – partisans du Bleu Blanc Rouge – avons dû faire face à une profonde solitude, une triste évidence… L’été va sembler bien long sans notre bien-aimée équipe chérie. Bien sûr, malgré une défaite à laquelle nous, fans peut-être un peu trop optimistes, nous ne nous attendions pas, nous sommes devenus soudainement plus confiants. Et avec raison. De la 15e place l’an passé à la 2e cette année, ce n’est pas juste la fierté qui nous habite aujourd’hui. Nous pouvons indiscutablement discerner clairement un avenir plus rose dans l’amphithéâtre du Centre Bell. Il faut rester réaliste, garder les pieds sur terre. Mais avec un Marc Bergevin, un Michel Therrien, un Alex Galchenyuk, un Brendan Gallagher et j’en passe au sein de notre équipe, nous nous devons d’être confiants en tant que fans! Nous nous devons d’être derrière notre équipe qui comprend maintenant des éléments qui constitueront dans un lendemain plus ou moins rapproché des éléments clés dans la Victoire. Quoiqu’il en soit et à défaut de pouvoir encore vous parler des performances playoffesques de nos Canadiens, Hockey girl, je suis, Hockey girl je resterai, avec ou sans gilet des Habs sur le dos. Pouvoir encore admirer sous un soleil printanier montréalais des mâles tireurs de pucks – même s’ils ne sont plus de la bonne couleur met un certain baume sur le cœur de nous tous, partisans du CH qui sommes quelque peu restés sur notre faim. Pour sustenter notre obsession, nous continuerons donc à jeter ici et là un regard soutenu sur l’impressionnant Sid the Kid! Nous prolongerons le plaisir en portant notre attention sur l’éblouissant Jonathan Quick ou autre Craig Anderson. Nous ne pourrons que nous extasier devant l’efficace Patrick Sharp. En tant qu’obsessif-ve du hockey, c’est plus fort que nous, nous ne pourrons pas vraiment nous en défaire… tant que la Coupe Stanley ne sera pas soulevée par un quelconque capitaine tout sourire, qui ne sera tristement et incontestablement pas cette année Brian Gionta, nous ne pourrons assurément pas faire notre deuil! Pour la simple raison, que chaque arrêt de Tuukka Rask, chaque mise en échec de Chris Neil, chaque lancer-frapper de Dan Boyle nous rappellera à tour de rôle que l’on s’ennuie irrémédiablement encore plus de Carey,  Brandon et PK. Le camp d’entraînement nous paraît soudainement encore bien loin avant de pouvoir ressentir notre cœur tatoué du logo CH rebondir frénétiquement dans notre poitrine. Quoi qu’il en soit, la fièvre du hockey, on l’a dans le sang ou on ne l’a pas! On a bien beau ne plus pouvoir s’électriser pour nos favoris, les jeux magiques de Malkin, Bergeron ou Couture ne peuvent pas nous laisser totalement indifférents. Les batailles féroces de gardiens survoltés par l’enjeu non plus. Tout cela est bien trop beau! Une vraie magie, un spectacle exaltant pour les yeux! Je vous avoue que j’ai ressenti un léger pincement au cœur hier lorsque Colin Greening a marqué son but victorieux, propulsant les Sens dans un 4e match où ils se voyaient déjà faire face à l’élimination. Délicatement rancunière, j’aurais aimé que les Penguins explosent cruellement et sadiquement cette équipe rouge et noir qui a détruite les espoirs de tout un peuple tricolore! Mais comme je ne suis pas foncièrement méchante et que je veux gagner mon pool, une défaite en 5 m’irait très bien et pourrait tout simplement ajouter une certaine saveur à un ciel sans nuage. Puisque les méchants Sens ont éliminé mes gentils Habs, je ne demanderai donc rien de moins au petit Jésus du hockey qu’une finale Pittsbur
about 24 hours ago
By Dan Kramer, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine MONTREAL, QC – Though the wounds of a playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators are still relatively fresh, anyone with an objective point of view can say that 2013 was a good year for the...
By Dan Kramer, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine MONTREAL, QC – Though the wounds of a playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators are still relatively fresh, anyone with an objective point of view can say that 2013 was a good year for the Montreal Canadiens. A team that had finished 15th in the Eastern Conference the prior season played above all expectations, winning the regular season Northeast Division crown before sputtering out in the first round of the post-season. It was supposed to be a development season, a year for some of the organization’s young players to gain experience, while veterans tried to re-gain their timing from off-years or injury problems, playing themselves into or out of the organization’s future plans. Yet from the first day of training camp, one got the feeling that this wouldn’t be sufficient for the new management and coaching staffs at the team’s helm. “No excuses,” they said. No keeping at an arm’s length from the players, referring to each as Mr. so-and-so, while nary being spotted outside of games and practices. Bergevin and Therrien have reason to look satisfied with their first year together; but there remains work to be done (PHOTO: PIERRE-PAUL POULIN/QMI Agency) No, this group was going to ensure the Montreal Canadiens were playing – and living – like professional athletes, so that they would be ready to perform at the height of their potential on any given day. And if they weren’t? This staff quickly showed it didn’t have patience to sit through a repeat of 2011-12, jettisoning bodies (and contracts) it deemed dead weight. That’s exactly how it worked for most of the season. Fans and members of the media alike aren’t wrong to point to this revamped a culture as a major catalyst in the team’s remarkable turnaround. It is almost certainly what earned Marc Bergevin a nod as a nominee for General Manager of the Year. However, even when the team was winning, and receiving significant contributions from pillars of the future in Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk, there were some troubling inconsistencies. Certainly the men in hockey operations did their best to uphold their mantra, but anyone perceiving them as flawless is looking through unrealistic rose-coloured glasses. Thus, while most are busy singing their praises – and I’m not saying they’re wrong to do so – below is a more critical look at GM Bergevin’s rookie season and Michel Therrien‘s return to the Habs’ bench. MARC BERGEVIN – BRINGING CLASSY BACK I don’t known that Marc Bergevin and Pierre Gauthier have anything in common outside of the line in their biography that says they General Manager’ed the Montreal Canadiens. Right from the start, it was evident that Bergevin was ushering in a new era of work ethic and accountability, important elements missing from 2011-12′s 15th-place-in-the-East team. A coach like Michel Therrien (more on him below) and a player like Brandon Prust were key additions to embody this changing of styles, and with a few other minor tweaks, we were off to the races. The concept of no one player being bigger than the team was put to the test with the holdout of P.K. Subban, but Bergevin wouldn’t flinch. Subban’s side eventually gave in to a two-year deal which was of tremendous value to the Canadiens. Then when Erik Cole - arguably the team’s best player in 2011-12 – was slow out of the gates and showed few signs of waking up, his contract was shipped out in return for the more productive Michael Ryder. In keeping with his mantra of building through the draft, Bergevin also gave chances to younger players, ensuring there were roster spots for Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher out of training camp, and then providing auditions to Greg Pateryn, Jarred Tinordi, and Nathan Beaulieu when injuries created vacancies on the blueline. Without
1 day ago
Once again a stick tap to Dr. Habs, who dug up this video of Brendan Gallagher as a young lad.
Once again a stick tap to Dr. Habs, who dug up this video of Brendan Gallagher as a young lad.
1 day ago
A Free Webcast Database is Finally Here Visit 411Webcast.com for all you free webinar needs. They have a webinar database in over 10 different categories and you can sign up to them for free. Why not take advantage of this great serv...
A Free Webcast Database is Finally Here Visit 411Webcast.com for all you free webinar needs. They have a webinar database in over 10 different categories and you can sign up to them for free. Why not take advantage of this great service and learn something new from the comfort of your home. Whether it's something as simple as using Word or Excel or something more complicated like how to learn Cisco networking 411webcast.com has something for you. Visit 411webcast.com today!
1 day ago