QMJHL names new trophy after Patrick Roy

QMJHL names new trophy after Patrick Roy

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Judy Pitcher

On Sunday September 24, 2023 the QMJHL(Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) announced it was adding a new trophy to be given out at season’s end “The Patrick Roy Trophy”. It’s to be awarded to the ‘Goalie of the Year’ in the QMJHL.

I feel this is a class act by the QMJHL, but also the NHL. He was the former owner, GM and Coach of the Quebec Remparts who just won the Memorial Cup for being the top junior team in Canada. He sold the team after they won.

Patrick Roy won the Stanley Cup 4 times as a player, twice with the Montreal Canadiens and twice with the Colorado Avalanche. However, he never won the Stanley Cup as a coach with the Avalanche.

While in the NHL Roy played in 11 All Star games. During his career he played.1029 games between the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche, of those he won 551, lost 315 and tied 131(there were no OTL at the time). He had a 2.54 GAA and a SV% 0.910.

In 2017-18 he was named one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players.

HONOURS

1985-86 NHL All Rookie Team(1st)

1987-88 NHL All Star Team(2nd)

1988-89 NHL All Star Team(1st)

1988-90 NHL All Star Team(1st)

1990-91 NHL All Star Team(2nd)

1991-92 NHL All Star Team(1st)

2001-2002 NHL All Star Team(1st)

AWARDS

1985-86 NHL Conn Smythe Trophy

1986-87 NHL William M. Jennings Trophy

1988-89 NHL Vezina Trophy

1988-89 NHL William M. Jennings Trophy

1989-90 NHL Vezina Trophy

1991-92 NHL Vezina Trophy

1992-93 NHL Conn Smythe Trophy

2000-2001 NHL Conn Smythe Trophy

2001-2002 NHL William M. Jennings Trophy

SHUTOUTS

1986-87 MTL NHL 1(6th)

1987-88 NHL 3(4th)

1988-89 NHL 4(2nd)

1989-90 NHL 3(2nd)

1990-91 NHL 1

1991-92 NHL 5(1st)

1992-93 NHL 2(9th)

1993-94 NHL 7(1st)

1994-95 MTL/Col NHL 1

1995-96 COL NHL 2

1996-97 NHL 7(2nd)

1997-98 NHL 4

1998-99 NHL 5(8th)

1999-2000 NHL 2

2000-2001 NHL 4

2001-2002 NHL 9(1st)

2002-2003 NHL 5(9th)

TOTAL 66(16th)

1

Patrick Roy won his 1st Memorial Trophy as a coach with the QMJHL Quebec Remparts in 2006.In 2023 he again coached the Remparts to a Memorial Cup win. On the way to an incredible year they also won the Gilles Courteau Trophy(QMJHL Playoff Champions) and the Jean Rougeau Trophy(QMJHL for the most points in the regular season).

Source

Patrick Roy STATS

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/roypa01.html

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Joel Edmundson injured again

Joel Edmundson injured again

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

First of all , I would like to thank Marlene Wall for her excellent editing , a tip of my hat to you Marlene

On Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 , the Washington Capitals announced that Joel Edmundson will miss practice with an upper body injury and will be seeing the teams medical staff .They did say it wasn’t his back that has been injured in the past .

On Wednesday, the Capitals announced that Edmundson had a fractured hand and had a procedure to stabilize the fractured hand , and had a procedure to stabilize the fractured hand , Edmundson is expected to miss four to six weeks .

This isn’t by any means the first time Edmundson has missed significant time due to injuries the past two seasons, while with the HABS he missed many weeks and months due to back injuries . During his entire NHL career that started in 2015-16 season, he always missed games . In the 2018-19 season, he played the most games in one season when he played 69 games . I believe one of the reasons Kent Hughes may have traded Edmundson during the off season was he was healthy then . If you recall Hughes wanted to trade him at deadline but he was on the injury reserve list until roughly two days before the deadline and I can understand teams not wanting to give up assets to take a chance he won’t get injured just before the playoffs when the teams need their best players to be their best players .

The Montreal Canadiens traded Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals on July 1st, 2023 for a third-round pick (originally acquired from Minnesota) and seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft , senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today Montreal will retain 50% of Edmundson ‘s contract .

I do feel Edmundson is jinxed with all the injuries he has suffered in his NHL career. I would like to wish Edmundson a speedy recovery from his injury.

Sources
Injury report Tarik El-Bashir hhtps://Twitter.com/Tarik_El-Bashir

Joel Edmundson games missed https://www.capfriendly.com/players/joel-edmundson

Joel Edmundson traded to Washington Capitals https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/capitals-acquire-joel-edmundson-from-montreal-canadiens

Why are there so many players at HABS training camp ?

Why are there so many players at HABS training camp ?

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

I decided to write this article as many people are confused why the HABS (most NHL teams do the same ) send so many players to their training camp. To start training camp the HABS had 72 players attend . First of all for many years the HABS have always had a surplus of players at training camp and I will explain why . For the first few days of training camp, they divide the players sometimes into three or four groups so they can have scrimmages as well as a practice group by group . Then most players although in playing shape still aren’t ready to play in back to back day games . For the HABS this year they divided the players into four groups so they also ensured they had eight goalies, two for each group .

Also this gives the entire hockey operations department a chance to evaluate each player and see where they fit in and for the younger players to see how they developed during the off season and previous seasons if they played on the teams minor league affiliates, yes I said affiliates, as most teams have a AHL and ECHL affiliates.

The teams do have a very good idea who will be sent down to their affiliates and what level but surprises can happen , like players just drafted by the team makes such an excellent impression during camp , the team will keep them with the NHL team.

On Sunday , September 24th, 2023 , the Canadiens have assigned forwards Cedrick Guindon and Florian Xhekaj as well as goaltenders Quentin Miller and Jan Spunar to their respective junior teams The reason these players were sent back to their respective junior team is they still are of age where they can play in junior hockey , if your in that age you have to play in the NHL or be returned to the junior team that had the players rights . Of these players the one I’m most familiar with is Quentin Miller who was the best goaler in the Memorial Cup. Quentin Miller plays for the Quebec Ramparts.

Video of Quentin Miller

Photo of Quentin Miller

Guy Lafleur signs with New York Rangers

Guy Lafleur signs withNew York Rangers

Written and edited by Marlene Wall

Videos uploaded by Fred Arshoff

On September 26th, 1988 , the New York Rangers convinced former Montreal Canadiens star , Guy Lafleur, to come out of retirement and play in the 1988-89 season.This move came less than three weeks after Lafleur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.He became just thesecond player to ever skate in an NHL game after their induction .. Gordie Howe was the first player to do so in 1980 , and Mario Lemieux joined the group in 2000.

Lafleur scored 18 goals and 45 points in his lone season with the Rangers. His comeback lasted two more seasons as he scored another 24 goals and 62 points with the Quebec Nordiques before retiring for good in 1991

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WILLIAM TRUDEAU

WILLIAM TRUDEAU

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

First of all before I dive into the deep end , I would like to thank Marlene Wall for her excellent editing , a tip of my hat to you Marlene .

First of all , I don’t expect Trudeau to make the HABS out of training camp or be the first call-up if the HABS run into injuries on defense but to be the second or third call up if injuries strike .

I watched Trudeau play many games last season on the AHL network and I saw the improvement in him from game to game .

This is Trudeau’s second year in the HABS organization, his contract is until the end of the 2024-25 season. . Trudeau was the HABS 4th round draft choice in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, he was the 113th overall player to be chosen in that draft . It was Kent Hughes that drafted and signed Trudeau. Trudeau is a left shot defenseman . He is 6′ tall (182cm) and weighs 190lbs (86kg) . What makes Trudeau a bit more valuable to the HABS than other teams , unless a team comes to Quebec City , is that Trudeau is from Varennes , Quebec, Canada

Trudeau climbed up the HABS depth chart last season , he started as a 3rd pairing defenseman but at the end of the season he was either the first or second pairing defenseman and also played on the Laval Rockets power play.

So far at the the HABS prospect games and the HABS training camp , , om what I have read .

Trudeau is expected to be a leader on the Laval Rockets defense this season, with the loss of Corey Schueneman as a free agent to the Colorado Avalanche and, Mattais Norlinder is expected to return to play in Europe, but at this time is still at the HABS training camp . The only other defenseman who does have more experience is Nicolas Beaudin . still at the HABS training camp . The only other defenseman who does have more experience is Nicolas Beaudin . The HABS acquired Nicolas Beaudin in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for Cam Hillis on October 26th, 2022. There also might be Justin Barron as he is waiver exempt to be returned to the Laval Rocket.

Sources

William Trudeau info ;

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/william-trudeau

HABS acquire Nicolas Beaudin :

https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/canadiens-acquire-nicolas-beaudin-from-blackhawks.336823570

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HABS new line : Nick Suzuki , Cole Caufield and Emil Heineman

HABS new line : Nick Suzuki , Cole Caufield and Emil Heineman

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

Cover photo merge by Marlene Wall

First of all before I dive into this article , I would like to thank Marlene Wall very much for her excellent editing , and merging of the photos to make the cover photo a tip of my hat to you Marlene

DISCLAIMER

This article was written on Friday , September 22nd, 2023 , thus doesn’t take into account anything that happened afterward

To be very honest , I expected Suzuki and Caufield to have either Kirby Dach or Josh Anderson based on how well Dach and Anderson played with Suzuki and Caufield. I fully understand Martin St. Louis idea of putting Emil Heineman with Suzuki and Caufield during training camp and preseason games , this is the time to experiment and see what works I’m very sure St. Louis read the reports and saw videos of Heineman play last season. without losing any meaningful games . Heineman is supposed to be a very good passer and with proven goal scorer , it’s an excellent idea to have someone who can set them up.

Another added bonus by keeping them as a line is they are all young and will gain even more chemistry to play together for many years to help the HABS hopefully win a Stanley Cup. It’s also very good not to use all your eggs in the same basket so by spreading out the scoring power will help the team

I haven’t gone nor do I plan on going to any of the teams scrimmages or practices or preseason games , but from what I read , Suzuki , Caufield and Heineman have played very well together in scrimmages the team has had on Thursday and Friday.

What I would like to see is the teams Red vs White game on Sunday , September 24th, 2023 in the afternoon is to keep the line together as well as on the game on Monday, September 25th, to see what they can do.

For those of you who don’t know Emil Heineman, here is some information on him .

Emil was born November 16th, 2001(age 21) in Leksand , Sweden

He is 6’1″ , 185lbs (185cm , 83kg)

He is a left hand shot and he plays left wing

He is on the second year of his three year ELC (entry level contract) that pays him $897,500 , this was a Kent Hughes signing

In the 2022-23 season in 11 games with the Laval Rocket during the regular season had 7 goals and 2 assists for 9 points and was a +5 and had 6 minutes in penalties. He hasn’t played a game in the NHL yet

Heineman was a 2nd round 43rd overall player drafted in the NHL Entry Draft in 2020 by the Florida Panthers. The HABS acquired Emil Heineman in the Tyler Toffoli trade with the Calgary Flames

Source

Videoshttps://www.capfriendly.com/players/emil-heineman

Videos

WHAT CHRIS WILDMAN’S INJURY MEANS

WHAT CHRIS WILDMAN’S INJURY MEANS

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

Before diving into this article , I would like to thank Marlene Wall for her editing , a tip of my hat to you Marlene.

On Thursday, September 21st, 2023 , the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Chris Wildman would be out indefinitely with a back injury,

This will leave the HABS with eight (8) defensemen fighting for seven (7) jobs , personally I didn’t see Wildman being a starter on defense if he made the team. His production was down and he was supposed to be a powerplay specialist but didn’t put in any numbers when he played in the power play .

I think the starting defense will be Mike Matheson , David Savard , Kaiden Guhle , Jordan Harris , Arber Xhekaj and Jonathan Kovacevic , pairings will be determined. I see the newly acquired Gustav Lidstrom and Justin Barron fighting it out for the role of the seventh (7th) defenseman . If it means being a seventh (7th) defenseman and not playing much , I feel it would be better to send Barron back to the Laval Rockets where he can play top minutes and continue his development and if injuries hit the HABS defense , Barron can be called up and be in playing shape

I don’t expect general manager Kent Hughes to place Chris Wildman on the LTIR for salary relief as he is making $762,500 in salary and that is the NHL minimum salary, it doesn’t make sense to use up one of the three spots allowed . One is being used forCarey Price and that makes sense as he is making $10,500,000.

I admit Chris was according to many sources a very good teammate and liked to help the younger defenseman , his place on the ice won’t hurt the team , if anything , it will improve as the younger defenseman will get more playing time .

I would like to wish Chris Wildman a very speedy recovery as back injuries can be very painful and cause you lots of problems long term .

Happy birthday Mike Richer

Happy birthday Mike Richer

Writtten and edited by Marlene Wall

Videos uploaded by Fred Arshoff

This day in hockey history, September 22nd 1966, Mike Richter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..He played his entire career in New York, and holds the Rangers’ team records for games played, wins and wins in a single season. It was Richter who was in net when New York won the Stanley Cup in 1994, ending a drought that stretched back to 1940.

Yet for one day in 2002, Richter was a member of the Edmonton Oilers. By curious coincidence, the player the Oilers traded to add Richter to their team was Corey Potter – the long-time Rangers farmhand who only broke through as an NHL’er with the Oilers in 2011-12.

It’s an odd story, and it goes back to an odd but well-intentioned rule the NHL put in place to help small-market teams like Edmonton.

The way the rule worked was that teams which lost more Group III unrestricted free agents than they signed could be awarded compensatory picks after the first round to help off-set the loss. Sometimes, this worked well – for example, when Bill Guerin left the Boston Bruins in the summer of 2002 to sign in Dallas, Boston got the 45th overall pick in the 2003 Draft as compensation. That picked turned out to be Patrice Bergeron. In this way, teams that didn’t have the ability to hang on to their free agents still got something in exchange.

A byproduct of the rule is illustrated by another pick in the same draft. In 2002, Ed Belfour was slated for unrestricted free agency, and Dallas planned to replace him with Marty Turco. Unfortunately, the Stars couldn’t get compensation for losing Belfour because they were going to sign other players – most notably Bill Guerin, but they also inked Philippe Boucher, Scott Young and Aaron Downey. But rather than simply losing Belfour and getting nothing, Dallas did something common at the time: they dealt Belfour and a prospect to Nashville for a draft pick and another prospect. Nashville,, a team that couldn’t afford free agents, got the 49th overall pick in exchange for Belfour. They used that pick on Shea Weber.

, a team that couldn’t afford free agents, got the 49th overall pick in exchange for Belfour. They used that pick on Shea Weber. July of 2002, signing Bobby Holik to one of the most ridiculous contracts in league history (he earned $9.6 million in the deal’s first year, during which time he would record 35 points) and added a bunch of others besides.Since they weren’t getting a draft pick for Mike Richter, general manager Glen Sather and his old protégé in Edmonton, Kevin Lowe, worked out a deal to swap Richter for “future considerations.”

On June 30, Mike Richter officially became a member of the Edmonton Oilers. On July 1, he became an unrestricted free agent. On July 4, he signed a contract with his new team – the New York Rangers.

The way the Edmonton/New York deal worked was that the Oilers would collect the compensatory draft pick for losing Richter, and in exchange deal a lower draft pick to the Rangers. Richter stayed in New York, the Rangers got a free draft pick, and Edmonton moved up in the draft.

In the end, it was a creative play but the payoff wasn’t especially good. The pick the Oilers received was early in the third round in 2003 – the 72nd overall selection. They spent it on Mikhail Zhukov, who has gone on to enjoy a career as a depth player in the KHL. The pick the Rangers ended up with was the Oilers’ fourth-rounder, a pick they used to draft overage defenceman Corey Potter. Potter would play eight games for the Rangers and another for Pittsburgh before signing with the Oilers in the summer of 2011. In Edmonton, his old New York coach Tom Renney was able to find some space for him, and Potter spent his first full season in the NHL.

It was actually the second time something of this nature happened to Richter. Nashville claimed him from New York in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft with the same idea in mind – the NHL awarded the Predators the 52nd overall pick in 1999 as a result. That pick was used on Adam Hall, who has played 565 career NHL games and counting.

The NHL’s a weird little league. It’s a league where both a rich team and a poor team can be rewarded for the rich team re-signing one of its players. It’s a league where a forgotten draft pick traded away nearly a decade earlier can emerge for the first time on the blue line of the team that dealt the pick in the first place. It’s a league where Mike Richter, career New York Ranger, was once a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

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HABS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT JUST IMPROVED

HABS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT JUST IMPROVED

Written by Fred Arshoff

Edited by Marlene Wall

On Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 , Paul Byron officially signed his retirement papers as an active hockey player in the NHL, this didn’t surprise me at all . I don’t think Byron was unemployed for more than a minute as the HABS announced Byron will serve as a Player Development Consultant with the Canadiens following 12 seasons in the NHL.

I feel the reason it is one year is so Byron can see if he likes that type of work and how his hips are. Also this will give Kent Hughes a chance to see how Byron works with the younger prospects. Some former players don’t make good coaches or hockey executives. Personally I see Byron working very well and helping the young forward prospects as he was a team leader in the HABS dressing room until he missed last season due to his hip surgery.

I had very strong feelings in the past few weeks that Byron was going to be doing some type of work with the HABS in Hockey Operationsthe as there were signs like when the players started to skate informally at Brossard , Byron was there skating with them , then he was working with Sam Montembeault taking shots on him , as well when the HABS said Logan Mailloux would be living with Byron in Byron’s home in Brossard . For more Mailloux , please see my article at https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2023/09/15/Logan

I originally thought when Byron was on LTIR last season due to his hip problems , the HABS should hire him in the Hockey operations department, but more of a scout due to his hips as I thought it would be to hard for him to skate with the players on the ice . I recalled when Guy Carbonneau was the HABS head coach , he delegated part of the on ice activities to his assistant coaches due to his hip problems that also forced him to retire . Perhaps Byron’s hip problems isn’t as severe as Carbonneau’s was or that Byron being younger can endure more .

Having Byron work with the young prospects is a great thing , he worked hard to make it into the NHL and never took a day off . I’m sure when working with the young prospects, he will inform them how much hard work helps their development.Also Byron is a forward , the two full-time player development personal headed by Rob Ramage and there is Francois Boullion both were former NHL defensemen , I’m sure a former NHL forward would be best to work with the young forward prospects. Also Marie Philip-Poulin works in the HABS player development but part time as she still plays woman’s hockey and once the Montreal PWHL team in December starts, she will be too occupied to work with the young prospects. Now is a great time to have two excellent forwards work with the young forward prospects, and both Byron and Poulin are known to the young players and they know they bring a wealth of knowledge to share with them to help them fully develop .

I’m sure Byron will be doing a lot of work especially with Joshua Roy , Riley Kidney and Owen Beck , the highly regarded prospects who will be starting their professional hockey career although Beck played one game with the HABS last season when the HABS were on the road and suffered an injury and couldn’t get a forward from the Laval Rocket up in time for the game .

With the HABS now having two former NHL defenseman, one former NHL forward and PWHL team Canada forward (Golden Girl) Marie Philip-Poulin , I see the HABS prospects getting the best possible help they can to have long successful NHL careers . In hockey development the HABS aren’t second to any team,.

Happy Birthday to Howie Morenz

Happy Birthday to Howie Morenz

Written and edited by Marlene Wall

Videos uploaded by Fred Arshoff

Happy Birthday to Howie Morenz “The Straftord Streak” born September 21st 1902. Howie was “The Babe Ruth of Hockey”

During a 1975 playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, there were some spectacular rushes by Sabres star Gilbert Perreault. Montreal broadcaster Dick Irvin asked who was a faster skater, Morenz or Perreault? Play by play announcer Danny Gallivan conceded the honor to Perreault then added “But you’ve got to remember that Morenz is 80 years old !”

Morenz played center for three NHL teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. He was one of the most dominant players in the league and set several league scoring records.

Morenz played for 14 seasons in the NHL and was one of the leagues first stars. He played on three Stanley Cup chamion teams in Montreal.He led the Canadiens in goals scored and points scored for seven straight seasons and. finished in the top 10 leading scorers ten times.

Morenz won the Hart Trophy as MVP three times and led the league in goals once and won two scoring titles. All star teams weren’t introduced to the NHL until 1931 when Morenz’s career was near the end otherwise he would have been a frequent and recurring all star.

Morenz also inspired the growth of the NHL into the United States. When Charles Adams saw him play during the 1924 Stanley Cup finals, he decided he wanted a team for his hometown of Boston That summer the NHL granted Adams his own franchise, the Boston Bruins.

The owner of Madison Square Garden, boxing promoter Tex Rickard, Morenz play and added an ice rink to the Garden for the NHL New York Americans. Rickard eventually acquired his own franchise, known as Tex’s Rangers – the New York Rangers.

Morenz’s daughter Marlene married Canadiens star Bernie Geoffrion, who was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Their son Dan was Howie Morenz’s grandson, and he played for the Canadiens in 1979-80. Dan’s son, Blake Geoffrion,played with the University of Wisconsin and won the Hobey Baker Award as best collegiate player in 2010. He was chosen in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, he made his debut with the Predators in 2011, becoming the first fourth-generation NHL player. Blake was traded to Montreal in 2012, meaning that all four generations of the Morenz-Geoffrion family have played within the Canadiens organization.

Montreal in 2012, meaning that all four generations of the Morenz-Geoffrion family have played within the Canadiens organization. Geoffrion’s number on the night of his death on March 11, 2006, the team recognized the link between the two men. As Geoffrion’s banner was being raised to the rafters, Morenz’ banner was lowered halfway to the ice. Once Geoffrion’s banner reached Morenz’ banner, the two were raised together.

After his death, the Canadiens retired his jersey number, the first time the team had done so for any player. When the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in 1945, Morenz was one of the original nine inductees.In 1950, the Canadian Press named him the best ice hockey player of the first half of the 20th century, and in 2017 the NHL included him on their list of the 100 greatest players in league history.

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