However this isn’t concerning the nickname initially given to Edward Lalonde, who dominated hockey with the Canadiens by the early 1900s. It’s about Derek ‘Newsy’ Lalonde bringing a wealth of expertise to Martin St. Louis’ bench.
Lalonde began as an assistant coach at Ferris State College in 2003 and have become one on the College of Denver in 2006. He climbed as much as head coach of the USHL’s Inexperienced Bay Gamblers in 2011, then to move coach of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye in 2014, then to move coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild in 2016 earlier than becoming a member of Jon Cooper in Tampa from 2018 by 2022.
Lalonde gained two Stanley Cups with the Lightning after which took over the Detroit Purple Wings’ bench for two-and-a-half seasons earlier than spending this previous one subsequent to Craig Berube on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ bench. And now, after he was relieved of his duties by Toronto on Tuesday, he’s coming to Montreal to take over the function Trevor Letowski had been occupying since 2021.
Count on the Canadiens to announce the change in brief order. It’s occurring partially as a result of Letwoski, who initially served as Dominique Ducharme’s assistant earlier than turning into St. Louis’ consigliere in February of 2022, needs to spend extra time together with his household.
The Canadiens intend to maintain Letowski within the group in some capability, they usually’re thrilled to be bringing Lalonde into the fold.
It’s unclear at this level what the phrases are of Lalonde’s take care of the Canadiens, however St. Louis and assistants Stephane Robidas and Alex Burrows all have contracts set to run out on the finish of this coming season.
Extensions for them are probably coming between now and the beginning of the common season.
“When you’re holding an ace, play it.”
That’s how one agent we spoke with over the weekend categorized the character of enterprise within the NHL as of late.
It was additionally a line we thought utilized completely to Kirby Dach’s state of affairs with the Canadiens.
Not that we’d recommend the Canadiens had been dealt an ace when Dach performed lower than 60 video games final season and fewer than 180 over the past three mixed. They might’ve most popular he play in every one he was eligible to play in, for his growth to comply with a linear curve reasonably than the up-and-mostly-down one it’s been on since he tore each the ACL and MCL in his proper knee within the fall of 2023.
However as a result of these accidents restricted Dach to only two video games that season — and since subsequent ones suffered saved him out of 25 video games in 2024-25 and 45 video games this previous season — the Canadiens obtained an ace in contract negotiations and performed it, tendering Dach his $4-million qualifying provide as a two-way contract that comes with a league-minimum wage within the AHL.
As a substitute of signing it straight away, Dach performed his strongest card, submitting for arbitration previous to Sunday’s deadline.
No arduous emotions on both facet, simply enterprise.
It’s probably — although not assured — to be resolved earlier than ever getting in entrance of an arbiter.
That Dach has till July 15 to signal his qualifying provide will forestall each events from having it drag, which was one of many causes Dach filed for arbitration.
The opposite was that the 25-year-old should do every thing he can to guard himself from being simply buried within the minors in crucial 12 months of his profession so far — his final one as a restricted free agent.
Now, it’s not as if the Canadiens provided Dach that two-way deal simply to bury him within the minors. They clearly simply need a contract for him that offers them extra flexibility to both maintain him or commerce him.
Each these choices are on the desk proper now, because the Canadiens proceed to seek for methods to optimize their roster.
Within the meantime, there looks as if an apparent compromise to be made right here by each side: Dach agrees to a decrease greenback determine in change for a one-way contract, and the ugly enterprise of going by with arbitration is prevented.
We’d anticipate that’s the place this goes, although we will’t assure it.
Good enterprise accomplished with Jakub Dobes
We predicted it could take longer for Dobes than it could for Ivan Demidov to have his contract prolonged, however we’d be mendacity if we stated we thought it could simply be in the future longer.
The 25-year-old, six-foot-four goaltender was a 12 months away from turning into a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and a ripe goal for a proposal sheet, so we figured he would possibly use that standing — coupled with a efficiency that noticed him close to the highest of the NHL in objectives saved above anticipated from final commerce deadline by the primary three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — to extract as a lot as he might out of the Canadiens.
Making them wait a bit longer probably would’ve served that intention.
However when the Canadiens largely pushed apart Dobes’ restricted expertise of simply 78 NHL video games (common season and post-season mixed) and provided him $16.05 million unfold over three seasons, he properly signed on July 2.
We are saying “properly” as a result of Dobes absolutely is aware of he has robust competitors round him. For now, it even consists of Samuel Montembeault, who wrote a cautionary story only one season into his personal three-year, $9.45-million contract with the Canadiens.
Montembeault’s speedy fall from grace — from fifth in objectives saved above anticipated in 2024-25 to third-string goaltender in 2025-26 — confirmed Dobes simply how briskly issues can change. And 21-year-old Jacob Fowler’s speedy ascent up the Canadiens’ pipeline was one other reminder of that.
So yeah, Dobes was clever to safe the bag as soon as it was positioned in entrance of him.
It was good enterprise from the Canadiens to do it straight away, too, as a result of the worth on the proficient goaltender wasn’t more likely to go down with time.
Michael Hage ought to do what’s finest for Michael Hage
That’s the message to the participant from the Canadiens, and it’s completely the fitting one to be sending at this stage of his growth.
Hage, who was taken 21st general within the 2024 draft, simply turned 20 in April. He’s spent the final two seasons on the College of Michigan, and if he really believes that’s the very best place for him for yet another, it’s precisely the place he ought to stay come fall.
Simply forgive us for questioning whether or not returning to high school is your best option for his growth at this stage.
Don’t get us incorrect; we’re not suggesting it could be unhealthy for his growth. We’d by no means argue in opposition to gaining extra schooling or expertise in faculty, and we don’t have a single objection to the reasoning Hage supplied for his determination after we spoke with him at Canadiens growth camp final week.
“I believe the largest factor is over the previous two years, how a lot I really feel I’ve grown and developed as a participant and individual,” he stated. “That was a giant motive for me going again, attempting to play in each state of affairs, being a frontrunner and simply ending what I began. I actually do need to win at Michigan; that place means the world to me. So, that was a giant a part of why.”
That’s as sound because it will get.
Hage including that he sees himself as a centre and saying that returning to high school will allow him to play in some conditions he was sheltered from final season to raised put together him for the rigours of the function on the skilled degree was fully well-reasoned, too.
Nonetheless, we predict it’s good that the very very first thing Hage stated earlier than all of that was that it’s his determination to return to high school “for now,” leaving the door open for him to vary his thoughts between now and when he should report back to Michigan.
As a result of the door to an impression function with the Canadiens is vast open to him proper now and he seems bodily able to step by it and seize that function.
That Hage might do it with a nurturer like St. Louis on the helm — and with Canadiens director of growth Adam Nicholas proper there to supervise his each step, and with Demidov as a linemate — is one thing he ought to strongly contemplate earlier than finalizing his determination. As a result of it’s arduous to think about something can be higher for his growth than that.
However once more, returning to Michigan gained’t stunt Hage’s growth. And if the draw to compete for a nationwide championship and the Hobey Baker Award is that a lot stronger for Hage, then that’s the place he belongs for now.
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