Montreal Canadiens

With the Rangers on the brink of a 4 game sweep, John Tortorella's idea was to scratch the absurdly overpaid Brad Richards. So when Boston wins tonight, does is it Richards who's bought out this summer, or is Torts finally fired? It's an interesting scenario, but my bet is on firing the coach. Firing the coach is a minimal cost, buying out a guy who's only in the second year of a 9 year contract is risky business. At 8, the Red Wings look to put a stranglehold on the struggling Presidents' Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks. Jonathan Toews is still pulling a Joe Thornton offensively, and although the last game was closer than the second one, the Hawks are having trouble solving Jimmy Howard. It should be a great couple early games tonight. Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP

Saskatoon Blades blueliner Dalton Thrower lays out Taylor Leier in the first period of last night’s final round-robin game. The league is currently reviewing the play. Video: xXxCrosby87Xx on YouTube by Kathy K., Associate Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine MONTREAL, QC—The Saskatoon Blades and Canadiens’ prospects Darren Dietz and Dalton Thrower will have  to play four games in five nights and win every one from here on out if they want to claim the right to call themselves the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup Champions. The Portland Winterhawks moved on to Friday’s semi-final game by beating the host team 4-2 last night. With three quick goals in the third period, the Winterhawks erased the 1-1 tie between the two teams in a little over six minutes of play. Despite making 30 saves and even assisting on Josh Nicholls’ goal some time later, Andrey Makarov was not enough to shut down Portland’s offense this time. He could get another chance, but he has to beat London first. The Knights were just the latest victims of the QMJHL powerhouse, as their last game was a 9-2 loss against the Halifax Mooseheads. They last faced Saskatoon in the tournament’s opening game and defeated them by the count of 3-2. The tiebreaker game determines who will move on up to the semi-finals against the Winterhawks. From there, the Mooseheads will battle the winner of that game for the championship. Thrower threw a hit on Portland’s Taylor Leier in the first period. He was not penalized on the play, however still faces a possible suspension. That decision has yet to be handed down and should be revealed this afternoon. Coverage of tonight’s tiebreaker gets underway at 8:00 p.m. EST tonight, on both Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

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MONTREAL – While the 2012-13 campaign may have been relatively short, there was certainly no shortage of spectacular plays to keep fans on the edge of their seats. Like the last six seasons, you are once again invited to vote for the Play of th...

Very soon it’s throw everything storage, close up shop, hop into the car with Luci, Gaston, and maybe Teesha the cat, and drive 2300 miles to Montreal, where I’ll be working at Classic Auctions, which many of you know is the biggest and best historical hockey auction house on the planet. This gig could last just a month, or many years. It’s been in the works for months, but it was difficult for both sides because of the distance. But in the end, they decided to give me a chance, and I’m honoured and excited. Classic Auctions has been around for 19 years, and is legendary for the rare, high-end items it deals with in their auctions. They sold Paul Henderson’s ’72 Summit Series game eight jersey for 1.2 million, and their lots have always blown my mind – stuff from the Rocket, Bobby Orr, Lord Stanley, Howie Morenz, the 1972 Summit Series, Georges Vezina, Jean Beliveau, and on and on and on. It’s always amazed me, the things that end up at this Montreal-based company. I still didn’t know if I had this job when I sent my letter to my company saying I was retiring, and Luci and I had already planned to drive across Canada, even if the job didn’t come about. But it did come about. A new adventure. Holy smokes. If you want to check out some of their auctions, past and present, and see some of the most amazing hockey memorabilia, just click here – Classic Auctions and have a look around.

The Senators won the a game they should have lost in regulation on a lucky last second tying goal, sound familiar? Well this one was a legal goal so it's less familiar. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will try once more to grab their 3rd win in the series as the Penguins attempt to move closer to the conference finals. Daniel Alfredsson and a newly healthy Jason Spezza will ineffectually attempt to stop this. Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP

MONTREAL – Lars Eller hit his stride during the 2012-13 campaign, and he certainly has the statistics to prove it. Over the course of the season, the young Dane experienced far more highs than lows. Foreseeing Eller’s emergence as a bonified o...

Alexei Emelin underwent surgery on his left knee and apparently is lost for the next six months, which brings it to about the end of November before he’s up and at ‘em again. However long it takes, as long as he’s 100% when he does come back. I wonder if this tough hombre would throw himself in front of a steamrolling Milan Lucic if he could do it all over again. I’m thinking that he might, as bad an idea as it might be. Emelin plays a physical game to say the least, and he might not be wearing the CH or any other big league jersey if he didn’t play this type of game. I love Emelin’s game. It’s hard-core, lay your body in and pack a wallop. It’s the way select, rugged rearguards have played since players decided 100 years ago that a great way to slow someone down is to imitate a brick wall. I’m surprised Don Cherry doesn’t talk more about this guy. Has he at all? Emelin should be one guy Cherry should appreciate, with the ruggedness that he brings to the table. Instead, the old bugger goes on about ballet star Nazem Kadri. To put yourself in front of a large, hard-skating Milan Lucic rumbling down the side showed some serious guts that I, for one, don’t have. And you have to know that players around the league, after they’d seen the collision on the news, gained a whole new level of respect for this 28-year old Russian tank. It was a big-league play that went bad, and only because Lucic had built up a full set of steam. Don’t forget, Lucic may be 6’4″, 220 pounds, but Emelin isn’t exactly Woody Allen. He’s right up there at 6’2″, 223, so I’m sure Lucic felt the impact as well. Random Note: Happy belated birthdays to two Montreal Canadiens players who would’ve celebrated birthdays in May if they weren’t dead. Like George Brown, who would’ve been 100 on May 17. And Fred Coriveau, who would’ve been only 85 on May 15th. These boys once wore the sweater of the Montreal Canadiens, which is a damn fine accomplishment. George played 79 regular season games in the 1930s, and Fred suited up for three games during the 1953-54 season.

The Boston Bruins have a chance to grab a 3-0 lead in the series against the New York Rangers tonight, all but assuring a conference finals appearance. Things are getting weird too, with John Tortorella saying Brad Marchand is the best player in the series, and Marchand being humble and saying he hasn't been playing that well. Marchand, being humble. Of course right after the mic was turned off Marchand proceeded to complain about the Rangers diving for three hours. Rumours surfaced today that if Torts doesn't pull off a conference finals birth this year, he's done like dinner as Slats goes into job preservation mode. Should be a good game, starting at 7:30pm on TSN and RDS. Follow @AndrewBerkshire Follow @HabsEOTP

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