Your Canadiens for March 21, 2012

As usual following a couple of days where I was unable to post, here's a recap of the latest buzz from the Habs' realm.

- The Race for the Bottom Heats Up

Your Montreal Canadiens have been a little too hot as of late, collecting points in each of their last 6 games (3-0-3). Fortunately, some of the teams around them have won a few games as well, and so the Habs haven't gained much ground on the teams ahead. Montreal remains 28th overall in the league, but let's hope some losses are to follow, as you can see in the graphic below that there is quite a logjam going all the way up to 22nd position. Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota are the teams falling the quickest, so it is important to hope they pick up a few points along the way as well.

As for the prizes for the teams that fail hardest, Nail Yakupov was limited to only 42 games this season between the World Juniors and injuries, but still scored 69 points, improving his points-per-game average from 1.55 last season to 1.64. Mikhail Grigorenko finished 8th in QMJHL scoring as a CHL rookie (and 5th in goals with 40), second on his team with 85 points in 59 games. Alex Galchenyuk played only the final two games of the regular season for Sarnia, held off the scoresheet in each. Certainly there will be the eyes of many scouts on him entering the playoffs.

- Bulldogs Sample Three College Players

The Hamilton Bulldogs shuffled up their lineup for the stretch run, releasing two forwards - Joey Haddad and Eric Lampe - from tryout contracts, and signing three others to similar agreements.

Haddad, 23, had interesting size at 6'2", 200 lbs, but managed only a single goal in his 11 games with Hamilton. Lampe, 25, scored two over 13 games.

The three new bodies are Travis Novak, 23, Ryan Flanigan, 23, and Jesse Todd, 25, about whom you can read more in the Bulldogs' official release HERE. None are considered top prospects, so they shouldn't be looked at as much more than roster plugs filling in for injured players in Montreal and Hamilton, but it is still a chance for them to impress and possibly earn an AHL deal for next season if the Canadiens decide more depth is necessary. Flanigan and Novak made their debuts last night, with neither recording a point but the former leading all Dogs' players with 4 shots on goal.

- Injury Updates

When Tomas Kaberle first missed a game last week, it was blamed on the birth of his child. Thus, people became a little skeptical when he didn't quickly re-join the team in the days that followed, with the Habs eventually citing an upper body injury for his absence. Kaberle is one of 6 players to not join the team on their trip to Buffalo for this evening's game.

Raphael Diaz is not expected to return this season. The 26-year old rookie is on schedule in his rehab, but is likely to run out of games remaining before he reaches 100%. Diaz impressed beyond expectations this season, and it will be interesting to see how the Canadiens decide to shape their defense in preparing for next season and where the Swiss native will fit in. He is a capable bottom-pairing player, able to take a shift on a second powerplay unit. If he isn't to play another game this year, his 16 points in 59 games are nothing to scoff at as a starting point.

Similarly, captain Brian Gionta continues to work to get back, but isn't expected to be at 100% before May, meaning his disappointing and frustrating season is at a close. Gionta's 31 games are the fewest he has ever played in an NHL season, while his 15 points are the fewest since his rookie year (11 points in 33 games in 2001-02). He is another case where the Habs' brass will have to consider how he fits into the plan moving forward.

Mathieu Darche continues to skate, though is also not in Buffalo. Travis Moen is expected to resume skating today. A return for either is possible, perhaps even likely for Darche, and with both pending unrestricted free agents this summer, decisions will need to be taken in their cases relatively soon.

Scott Gomez is unlikely to return this season given he remains off-ice with concussion issues. It has been a terribly turbulent season for Gomez who, in addition to his lack of production, has been in and out of the lineup with various different ailments.

- Prospect Report

Joonas Nattinen paced the Hamilton Bulldogs to a 3-1 win yesterday with a goal and an assist. The 21-year old AHL rookie has had a very streaky season, but has scored 7 of his 9 goals on the season in the past 15 games, which hints at a good learning curve and some remaining potential to develop further next year.

CHL playoffs get underway this weekend, which means a wrap on some impressive regular seasons for Canadiens' prospects. With a goal in his final game, Patrick Holland enters the post-seaosn riding a 20-game point streak. He finished his WHL season with 25 goals, 84 assists, and 109 points in 72 games, ranking 6th in league scoring. His Tri-City Americans finished 1st in the Western Conference, meaning a first round matchup against the Everett Silvertips will begin in the coming days.

Brendan Gallagher's Vancouver Giants earned home ice for the first round (also in the WHL's Western Conference) and will face the Spokane Chiefs in the 4th-5th seed matchup. Gallagher finished the season with 41 goals, unable to match last year's 44, but did play 12 fewer games. He hopes for a longer playoff run this season after injury limited his participation to just 4 games last year (in which he still contributed 2 goals).

Finally in the WHL, Darren Dietz and the Saskatoon Blades finished 5th in the East, meaning they will play the Medicine Hat Tigers. Despite being known perhaps more for his rough style of play, Dietz finished 2nd in points amongst Saskatoon defensemen, with 44 points in 72 games.

Over in the OHL, Jarred Tinordi's London Knights finished as the league's top seed, drawing a first round matchup with the Windsor Spitfires. Held off the scoresheet in 6 games last year, Tinordi is still seeking his first OHL playoff point.

In the QMJHL, the two most important clubs for Habs fans are the first and second seeds, and with second seed Shawinigan already assured a Memorial Cup berth as the host, Canadiens fans can hope neither is upset on route to the finals. Nathan Beaulieu's Saint John Sea Dogs won the regular season championship, with Beaulieu finishing 5th on the team in scoring and 12 points ahead of the second most productive d-man. Saint John draws 16th seed Cape Breton in the opener in what should not be a fair fight.

Shawinigan captain Michael Bournival finished the year fourth on his team in scoring due to missed time during the WJC and with injury, but had the top points-per-game average with 56 in 41. Teammate Morgan Ellis was a point-per-game player after being acquired by the Cataractes, ending the year matching Beaulieu with 52 points, the pair tying for 5th in league scoring amongst defensemen. Shawinigan will play the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the first round.

In the NCAA, after being held pointless in North Dakota's opening round 2-game sweep of Bemidji State, Danny Kristo scored a goal and 2 assists over a three game set that saw the Fighting Sioux crowned WCHA Final Five Champions. As such, they earned the top seed for this weekend's NCAA West Regionals (#4 nationally) where they will open against Western Michigan. Kristo's numbers are impressive, but he was outshone by rookie teammate and fellow Hab prospect Mark MacMillan, who is currently on a 6-game point streak over which he has accumulated 3 goals and 7 assists.

Greg Pateryn and Mac Bennett's Michigan Wolverines are the top seed in the Midwest Regional meaning they will play Cornell. Michigan was kind enough to post a link to this chart to show how the final 16 schedule plays out:

http://www.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/files/icehockey-men_d1_2011.pdf

Habs Activate Andrei Markov Off IR

News big enough to warrant posting on a Saturday evening here in Barcelona: this morning, the Montreal Canadiens have activated defenseman Andrei Markov from injured reserve.

Yes, you read that right. No longer is Markov on the team's injured list. This means he can return at any point, possibly as early as tonight! The announcement has excited Canadiens fans around the world who will, undoubtedly, also be holding their breath any time an opposing player skates near the Russian rearguard. He may or may not play this evening, but the news means he can be considered a game-time decision every game from now until he does play.

If he does play this evening, the team is likely to go with 7 defenseman to ease him back into action. And based on comments by Randy Cunneyworth after practice, and later a radio interview given by Pierre Gauthier during today's Hamilton Bulldogs broadcast, it sounds like he will indeed make his debut.

All of this is great news and one can't help but be very happy for a man who has worked so hard to get to this point. Here's a nice video on Markov's 10+ years with the Canadiens:

A Win That Hurt

The Montreal Canadiens had a huge opportunity yesterday evening to take a big step up in the draft rankings ladder. Your 28th ranked Canadiens were up against the 29th place Edmonton Oilers, a team just two points back of them and holding a game in hand. A loss would have meant - at least for now - Montreal falling into the slot giving them a pre-lottery 2nd overall selection.

On this night, it was not to be. Still, a 5-3 victory brought with it lots of positives, notably Max Pacioretty's 2 markers that now give him 30 on the season and 8 points in his past 4 games - amazing considering where he was one year ago. Lars Eller scored his 3rd goal in 5 games, now at 15 on the year. P.K. Subban's 3-point evening meant that - despite his horribly slow start to the season offensively - he has hit the 30-point plateau for a second consecutive year. All good signs moving forward.

The win hurt in another way than the overall standings as well, as breakout center David Desharnais left the game with an undisclosed lower body injury. As few as the Canadiens' successes have been this season, the little man has undoubtedly been a big part in them. While I wish him all the best in a speedy recovery, if he is to miss some action (even if it's only a few days as expected), it actually may not be the worst news for the team. Some reasons why:

1) It will benefit the Canadiens to have a weakened roster

Yes, this is me again toeing the Tanker line. Losses don't feel good in the short term, but the more points squandered between now and April, the better we'll feel at the Entry Draft in June. No Desharnais means less offense and thus likely/hopefully fewer wins, improving the team's selection.

2) It provides a chance for Lars Eller

The Canadiens will soon have to decide exactly what kind of player Lars Eller is and can be. Is he a two-way third line center? Does he have the needed offense to regularly play in the top 6? Should he be shifted to the wing? Desharnais regularly played over 20 minutes a night this season, meaning there will be lots of extra ice to redistribute, and Eller may benefit from it with some better wingers.

3) It sets a stage for Scott Gomez

Of course, Eller alone can't take on all of Desharnais's minutes plus his own, so the injury should also mean an increased role for the much-maligned Scott Gomez. This season has been about more than just Gomez's salary; it has become debatable if the team may simply be better off without him at any price. But he actually looked quite good last night, recording an assist and finishing a +1 in 16:16 of action, more than he'd played in any of the previous 4 outings. Most Habs fans expect the team to rid themselves of his deal this summer through an amnesty buyout clause in a new CBA; but what if no such clause is included? There is no guarantee teams will have any sort of a window to shed financial burdens, and if not, the Habs' brass will need to find another answer. Could a strong final 14 games encourage another team to take him off the Canadiens' hands in return for another (but lesser) big salary? A long short, perhaps, but we can only hope that someone would believe he turned corner and just needs a change of scenery.

So it was just one win, and nothing is "all for naught." Fans will still get a payoff at the draft for sitting through this season of horrors, provided there is no hot streak over the final 14 encounters (and there is no real reason to expect one). The next 3 games see Montreal do battle with Vancouver (fighting for 1st in the West), Buffalo (fighting for a playoff spot), and Ottawa (fighting for playoff positioning), so their spot in the East's basement appears reasonably safe.

Andrei Markov Cleared for Contact

There was surprising good news out of Montreal Canadiens practice this morning. Confused journalists witnessed defenseman Andrei Markov lead the team out on to the ice, wearing a standard white jersey just like the other healthy defensemen. Gone was his burgundy sweater that signifed "no contact."

Some journalists were quick to quip, "They must have accidentally forgotten the burgundy jersey when doing laundry," or "Maybe he's been wearing it for so long that the colour has faded completely away."

But Markov proved them wrong, practicing alongside fellow Russian rearguard Alexei Emelin on a regular pairing. No, Markov didn't participate in every one of today's drills, but it's still a huge step forward for the man who has yet to play a game in 2011-12. Following practice, Markov confirmed the suspicions, indicating that he'd been given a green light to test contact in practice. We still don't have a specific timetable for his return, but he stated confidently that he will be back this season. It seems, for once, the rhetoric "he's progressing well," which has been fed to us ever since July is finally true.

This is an interesting issue as many Hab fans have expressed their concern over him returning to play "meaningless" games down the stretch, with the Canadiens sure to miss the playoffs. "Why not just hold him out till next year?" many have wondered. If - and only if - Markov is 100% healthy, then I would be strongly in favour of getting him into as much game action as possible over the final weeks of the season. If the knee is going to give out again, it won't make a difference whether it's this March or next September. What is more important is that The General of the team's powerplay gets into some game action now to begin to rebuild his confidence on the ice. Playing a few games will help to show him anything he may have lost in his time off so that he can work on it over the summer, while keeping him motivated in his rehab.

Plus, we can all admit, in what has been a horribly painful season, watching Markov back on the ice will be a small pleasant treat for Canadiens fans.

Your Canadiens for March 5, 2012

First, let me apologize for the lack of posts on Thursday and Friday. As some of you know, I am presently studying in Barcelona, Spain, and my schedule got in the way of the Blog. But we're back up this week!

We'll start the week with recapping some things we missed during our brief outage.

Morgan Ellis signs with Canadiens

On Friday, the Habs announced the signing of defenseman Morgan Ellis to a 3-year entry-level contract. Ellis, who will turn 20 on April 30th, plays with fellow Habs prospect Michael Bournival on the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes, hosts of this year's Memorial Cup. Ellis was traded there this season from the team he captained, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, as the Cataractes stocked up on talent in preparation for the Cup. He plays regularly with top prospect Brandon Gormley on the club's top pairing. The 6'2", 196 lbs right-handed blueliner joins Bournival, Brendan Gallagher, and Jarred Tinordi as Junior prospects already signed and expected to join the Hamilton Bulldogs next season.

Ellis has obliterated his previous career highs offensively this season, scoring 14 goals and 49 points in 56 games. Further, since joining the Cataractes, he has improved his +/- to a +21 rating on the season, a huge turnaround from his -27 last year. The negatives are a much bigger reflection on the weak team he played for rather than his own play, as he is considered a strong two-way player, even capable of dishing out heavy hits. While much of the talk has centered around two first round picks likely headed for Steeltown next year in Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu, look for Ellis and still-to-be-signed college senior Greg Pateryn to make noise with the 'Dogs as underrated d-men with NHL potential.

Ellis's deal will pay him a total of $1.92M over three seasons, signing bonus included, plus a possible games-played bonus clause, meaning an estimated annual cap hit of $640,000 should his play earn him a call-up to Montreal during that timeframe. If you want to pre-order your Ellis jersey, keep in mind that while he wore number 85 in training camp this past Fall, he may change that prior to playing his first actual game.

Coincidentally, I had posted a couple of videos of Ellis back on February 16. Check them out here: http://www.yourcanadiens.info/2012/02/player-spotlight-morgan-ellis.html.

The Injury Situation

Yes, Saturday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs is one even pro-tankers like myself wanted the Canadiens to win (I will NEVER hope for a loss to the Leafs. EVER. Though the loss definitely helped push the Habs towards securing that lottery selection.). But Montreal entered the game severely undermanned, with injuries to Scott Gomez and Aaron Palushaj necessitating the call-ups of truly the only other NHL-ready forwards in the system in Louis Leblanc and Andreas Engqvist (debatable in his case).

Fortunately, the injury situation has improved a little since then, with Engqvist able to be returned to the Bulldogs (at least for now), and even an update on Travis Moen who - in the words of LMFAO - worked out off-ice after many feared supposed concussion-like symptoms may have ended his season. The uncertainty surrounding Moen's health and return may have been one of the reasons for his not being dealt on deadline day given his pending unrestricted free agency, but if and when he does return, it will be interesting to see when Pierre Gauthier (or his eventual replacements) initiates contract talks with Moen's agent about remaining in Montreal.

**Updates from today's practice: Andrei Markov was the first player on the ice and instead of his usual non-contact burgundy jersey, he was wearing the same white colour as the other d-men. He then practiced on a regular pairing with Alexei Emelin, though he did sit out some of the drills. Hopefully we find out more at practice's conclusion; stay tuned for details. Mike Blunden returned to practice for the first time since being hurt. He and Aaron Palushaj had non-contact jerseys on amongst the forwards. Raphael Diaz was yet another player returned to practice from injury on D.**

At the prospect level, 2011 selection Olivier Archambault has resumed skating. Archambault was having a somewhat disappointing third season in the QMJHL, even though he had increased his point-per-game average from .81 to .87. A concussion has limited the 5'10" winger to 41 games this year, out since mid-January. Combined with recent returns to the line-up for Gabriel Dumont in Hamilton and Steve Quailer in the NCAA, there is some positive late-season news amongst the system's hopefuls.

On the other hand, defenseman Jarred Tinordi was injured in a game on Friday night, tweaking a knee that had previously bothered him and causing him to be held out of action both Saturday and Sunday. Tinordi is having a strong season for the OHL's London Knights, but has suffered a few bumps and bruises along the way, playing in 43 of London's 62 games (though that also accounts for time missed during the World Junior Championships).

Still on the subject of injuries, though he isn't a Hab YET, upcoming 2012 first rounder Alex Galchenyuk is expected to make his season debut in the coming weeks. Galchenyuk, an American-born 6'1" center of Russian heritage, entered the season as a possible top 5 pick. He remains widely considered a top 10 prospect, even though a knee injury suffered during training camp means he has yet to play a game in 2011-12. If the Canadiens plan to address the organizational need for a premiere scoring center with size through the draft, they should be keeping a close eye on Galchenyuk as he returns to action with the Sarnia Sting where he plays alongside top prospect Nail Yakupov. It is not an uncommon belief that had Galchenyuk remained healthy, he might have challenged Mikhail Grigorenko as the most commonly projected number 2 pick candidate. Having to pick between Grigorenko and Galchenyuk may be a good potential problem for the Habs in June, but they'll need to do plenty of homework between now and then.

Race to the Bottom Update

As of today, the Canadiens remain 28th overall in the National Hockey League, with their position helped by a New York Islanders victory against the New Jersey Devils yesterday to give them some win breathing room.

This Thursday's game against the Edmonton Oilers will clearly have major implications on the pre-lottery determination of 2nd and 3rd overall selections.

Prospect Update

Another busy and successful weekend for some junior-aged Hab prospects. We'll begin in the WHL, where Patrick Holland - the forward acquired in the Mike Cammalleri trade - has continued a monster streak. With two assists on Friday, one on Saturday, and another one on Sunday, the 6'0" winger is riding a 13-game point streak, over which he has amassed an incredible 31 points.

Nathan Beaulieu was named the QMJHL's second star for the month of February. Beaulieu scored points in all but one of Saint John's games in the month, totaling 2 goals and 15 assists in 10 contests. He has continued his hot play into March, with consecutive 2 point efforts in his two games this weekend. Beaulieu has already set career highs in assists (40) and points (51), and is just one off of his previous in goals with 11, and all of this in just 49 games! He is one of only two d-men in the Q to have a points-per-game average above 1.

Danny Kristo scored 2 goals on Friday night and then added 2 assists on Saturday to pass his previous career highs in both categories in 6 fewer games. Kristo has scored 17 goals and 40 points in 35 games on the year. The University of North Dakota's playoffs begin next week as favourites against Bemidji State, though the two teams split their regular season matchup. Though Kristo has one more year of college eligibility remaining, I am hopeful that the Canadiens will sign him when his season comes to a close so that he may join the group in Hamilton next Fall.

Are you tired of hearing about Brendan Gallagher yet? Didn't think so, and nor is he done putting up impressive numbers. With two goals on the weekend, he has reached the 40-marker plateau for the third consecutive time in his WHL career. His previous best was 44 in 66 games, while it took him only 48 games to hit 40 this season. Since he missed time for the World Juniors, Gallagher has only 6 games remaining in the regular season to set a new best, but I wouldn't put it past the 5'8" fireball. He added 2 assists to his point total over three games this weekend as well, now giving him 75 in 49 matches.

Despite the aforementioned plethora of call-ups, the Hamilton Bulldogs rode Eric Lampe's 2nd goal in 8 games since being signed to a try-out contract by the 'Dogs and 25 saves by Nathan Lawson to beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 1-0 last night. Unfortunately, if you haven't been following, the Bulldogs are stuck in 14th place in their conference, a distant 7 points from a playoff position. Thus, they are likely to join the Habs on the sidelines when the playoffs get underway.

That's Your Canadiens recap for today. Over to new content tomorrow!

What Went Wrong With Travis Moen?

Riddle me this one, Habs fans: what the heck has happened with Travis Moen?!

With 9 goals in 48 games, Moen was well expected to shatter his previous season-high of 11. Though the 6'2", 215 lbs winger is no longer as willing a combatant as in his younger days, he still provides some size and toughness on a third or fourth line. In short, he was having a great season on a team where few players could say as much.

As the Canadiens were stuck near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, it was widely expected that Moen, a pending unrestricted free agent, would find a new address by the late February NHL trade deadline. A proven playoff performer as a key cog during Anaheim's Stanley Cup conquest, there was likely to be quite a market of contending teams interested in acquiring his service. In fact, the price for renting him might be (or have been) as high as a 2nd round pick.

But then, in a January 21st game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Moen was sidelined with an upper body injury. He would eventually be placed on injured reserve in early February.

On February 5th, Aaron Palushaj, in Montreal on a call-up from Hamilton, played perhaps his best NHL game to date, recording his first NHL point against the Winnipeg Jets. Here's where it gets strange: on the 6th, he was sent back to the Bulldogs, even though it didn't appear any injured players were quite ready to return to fill-in for him. At the morning skate that day, Moen rejoined his teammates for practice, but wore an off-coloured non-contact jersey. Strangely, Randy Cunneyworth would only pronounce him a game-time decision. Surely he wouldn't be rushed back into the line-up against the Pittsburgh Penguins for little reason after not even testing his injury in practice, right?

Wrong. Moen played that night, registering 19 shifts (well below his season average) and 14:08 of ice time. He survived the night, and would even play 25 shifts and 19:29 2 nights later against the New York Islanders. Yet, along the way, he suffered some form of a setback, which is all the team will tell us. He's back on the disabled list, not practicing, and with no timetable for a return to action. If he doesn't return soon, his value will be minimized when the deadline hits in 12 days time, even can even be moved at all.

Was this another incident of mismanagement by the Canadiens front office and/or coaching staff? Certainly there have been plenty of indictable offenses this season, looking at the way a number of issues were handled; the Andrei Markov saga, the firing of Perry Pearn, the dismissal of Jacques Martin, the Randy Cunneyworth press conference, the pulling of Mike Cammalleri from a game, and so on and so forth. We'll never know if Moen came back too soon and/or if that was the cause of this "new" injury, but certainly him returning to the lineup before taking a full speed practice isn't standard protocol. He still had 3 weeks to be "shown off" before the deadline, so there was no need to rush him back. If he came back too soon, there may be a tangible cost to this gaff, being whatever return he would have fetched in a trade. Of course, if he isn't moved by the deadline, there is still a chance that he is re-signed prior to July 1st, thus retaining the asset, but the best thing for the team at this point would likely have been to pick up an extra selection for this June.

Your Canadiens for February 7, 2012

I haven't recapped general Habs news in a while, so a few bits and notes as the Canadiens prepare to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening.

-Yesterday, the Canadiens sent forwards Aaron Palushaj and Ryan White down to the Hamilton Bulldogs. For White, this is just a conditioning stint, representing a final step in his long-awaited return to the line-up from a groin injury and sports hernia. The Bulldogs have a game tomorrow morning at 10 AM, which should be White's first match of the season assuming he has received sufficient clearance. Palushaj being sent down is a little surprising since he played a strong game on Sunday, even recording his first NHL point. More surprising is that after the move, there remain only 10 healthy forwards (plus swingman Yannick Weber) in Montreal. Is there another move on the horizon? Will we see a surprising return from Mike Blunden, Petteri Nokelainen, or Travis Moen? Moen and/or Blunden could be back in the line-up within the week, though I'd be surprised if any of the three dressed against Pittsburgh.

- If you missed it: Sunday also marked the one year anniversary of Scott Gomez's last regular or post-season goal. He did score 3 during this year's pre-season (and I'm sure he has scored some in practice), but it didn't stop fans on Sunday from singing him a chorus of Happy Birthday at various points of the game.

- Nathan Beaulieu was the hottest Canadiens' prospect this past weekend, putting up back to back 2 assist performances. With 34 points in 39 games, he is back on pace to eclipse the 45 points he produced in each of the last two seasons.

Just as productive was Patrick Holland, the prospect acquired from Calgary in the Mike Cammalleri trade. The 6'00, 175 lbs 20-year old has shattered his previous season's product by scoring 71 points through 51 games (62 pts in 71 games last year). He currently ranks 8th in WHL scoring, but is no bluechipper. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the quicker game at the next level next season.

Hab prospect and London Knights captain Jarred Tinordi is a +31 this season while logging huge minutes for the CHL's top club. His +/- rating is tied for best in the Ontario Hockey League.

- The play of Habs' prospect defenseman Morgan Ellis since being traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes earned him the Prospect of the Month title from website Hockey's Future. Read about that here: http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/13732/hockeys_future_prospect_of_the_month_january2012/

- This bit comes from last week, but if you missed it, there was talk of the Habs possible relocating their AHL affiliate from Hamilton to Laval. The news got out there as Laval announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art arena. The update to this story is that, like what happened with Quebec City, the federal government refused to fund the project. A week ago Saturday, Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he would press Ottawa on the issue, but the availability of federal funding for the project remains unlikely.

Your Canadiens for January 3, 2012

As the Canadiens prepare to begin a month filled primarily with home games Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, coach Randy Cunneyworth has shuffled his deck at practice, coming up with the following lines:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Andrei Kostitsyn

Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Mike Blunden

Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Louis Leblanc

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Alexei Emelin - Raphael Diaz

Hal Gill - Tomas Kaberle

Strange to see that Mike Blunden remains in the top 9, likely to get big minutes for a second straight game. The top 6 has a new look, but the only change, truly, is flipping Andrei Kostitsyn and Erik Cole. Expect them to swap back if these units don't work out.

On defense, these duos are probably the best the Habs can ice until Andrei Markov returns. Josh Gorges and P.K. Subban have been used as the top pairing for most of the year, while Alexei Emelin and Raphael Diaz have developed nice chemistry and continue to develop as legitimate NHL defenders. Emelin also gets to play on his natural left side where he has been best. Finally, the bottom pairing includes a penalty killing specialist in Hal Gill and a powerplay guy in Tomas Kaberle. The pair is likely to get limited minutes 5-on-5, but when they do get ice time, Gill can cover for where Kaberle lacks defensively.

- Returning to practice today for the first time since his injury was captain Brian Gionta. He skated hard and was not wearing a "no contact" jersey, but was only alternating in for wingers on the fourth line, indicating he may not be ready to return just yet. If he handles this step well, however, Saturday would not be impossible.

- Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Bournival, and their Team Canada 'mates will take on Team Russia in the World Junior Championships semi-finals at 9PM Eastern this evening. Russia advanced to the Semis after topping the Czech Republic in overtime in a classic goaltender's dual yesterday. Beaulieu should be in the line-up despite taking a puck to the face on Saturday night against the United States, resulting in these less-than-flattering photos being Tweeted by his teammates Devante Smith-Pelly and Jonathan Huberdeau:

Your Canadiens for January 2, 2012

A busy off-day for the Habs in Brossard this morning. Here are your top stories:

- A day after signing his 6 year contract extension, Habs Josh Gorges had to play intermediary at practice this morning has tempers flared up. After Mike Cammalleri exchanged some unfriendly words with P.K. Subban, Subban and Tomas Plekanec swapped a few shoves, nearly coming to blows. Gorges got in the middle and broke things up, and as always when this sort of thing occurs, their teammates laughed it off after practice, explaining that everyone wants to win and this sort of thing occurs when a team is struggling. It's not the first time, however, that things have gotten heated between Subban and Cammalleri/Plekanec. It may simply be a case of Subban's #AlwaysOn personality/intensity and constant chirping being tolerable when the team is hot, but unbearable when things aren't going as well.

- Pierre Gauthier addressed the media today for his annual mid-season report. Some key highlights were the repetition that Andrei Markov won't be back before the All-Star break, that Gauthier hasn't given up on the season and will explore all options to improve performance on the ice, that he apologizes for offending some by naming a unilingual Anglophone as the interim Canadiens' head coach, and that Brian Gionta will return to the line-up before Scott Gomez. Some quotes from Mr. Gauthier:

On Josh Gorges: "We're happy he accepted our offer, and thanks to him. It was an extension of discussions we had this summer, but we wanted to wait to see how his knee would hold up. His case was different than Andrei Markov's, given that he was an RFA whereas Markov was a UFA, and Mr. Gorges needed multiple parts of his knee repaired vs. Markov's problem being a single ligament."

On other UFA/RFA: "Each case is different and evaluated over the course of the season. We have no rules about when we can speak to any of our own players. We have every intention of keeping Carey Price and P.K. Subban with the team for a long time."

On Andrei Markov's health: "He is doing well and his rehab is progressing. I wouldn't expect him to play before the All-Star break. His procedure in December was just an arthroscopic surgery to clean up debris from a previous surgery and remove some scar tissue."

On Randy Cunneyworth and the language issue: "I'm sorry for offending anyone by naming a unilingual interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. For the coach to be able to speak French is something that is important to us, but we felt we needed to make the best move and that we had the best candidate within the organization. As Geoff Molson said, language will be a strong consideration for us when we hire a permanent head coach at season's end (whether that means Mr. Cunneyworth taking French lessons or hiring a French-speaker). We handed Mr. Cunneyworth a very difficult schedule. We hoped for better results, but we are seeing changes in the way the team competes on-ice."

On the balance of the 2011-12 season: "Our objective is to start winning and to play better hockey. 11 of our next 15 games are at home, so we hope to use this stand to turn the direction of our season around. Our fans deserve better. Our team needs to find solutions to reward the great support and dedication of our fans. We always have to be trying to improve on every level, whether it's conditioning, prospect development, through trades, or anything else. Everyone has to look in the mirror: players, coaches, and administration. We're all motivated by daily competition and focus on what we can control."

On why the team is where it is: "You have to look at injuries in a certain way. Because of the players out of the line-up, we're playing well below the salary cap, in the bottom 10 teams in the league. But still, 6 of those 10 teams are in playoff positions, so we can't blame it only on injuries. There are other problems. Every game, we're missing key veterans, but we also have veterans playing who aren't performing well. There is a trickle down effect. Too much is being asked of young players. We can't put them in this situation where they're depended on to pick up the slack. It leads to individual breakdowns."

On solutions to the current situation: "3 main areas. One is that we need reinforcement now, which could be from injured players returning to the line-up. Two is that we need improvement in our play as a team. Everybody needs to be all-in. It's a team game and we have to find a certain cohesion to play effective hockey. And third is that, as coaches and managers, we need to do our share. We'll explore all avenues to improve."

On the big contracts and salary cap moving forward: "Cap constraints are things you manage in the off-season. Everything is planned. We'll have the resources available to keep good young players. Having good players signed for several years is a good thing."

That was the gist of it. Biggest concern to me? It focused mainly on what the team can do to fix things and win now, with no mentions of building for the future. We just need to hope that whatever band-aid deal the team looks at to improve the situation, it doesn't involve taking on lengthy contracts and won't require the trading of top prospects or draft picks.

- After taking a puck to the face against Team USA, Habs prospect Nathan Beaulieu was at practice with Team Canada today. The defenseman will wear a full face shield.

- A report indicates that the Montreal Canadiens lead the NHL in ticket revenues per game.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/1109400--for-nhl-the-cash-is-in-canada?bn=1

That, combined with the high percentages of salaries being paid by insurance this season, means the Molson family should be making a pretty penny, playoffs or not.

Your Canadiens for December 13, 2011

Updates from a reasonably busy morning in the hockey world:

- Travis Moen was back at practice this morning after taking a therapy day yesterday. He will play tonight.

- As I mentioned yesterday, Scott Gomez suffered some form of setback in his training. He was not on the ice this morning, and nor was Brian Gionta, still considered out indefinitely, at least a week.

- Chris Campoli practiced alongside Raphael Diaz on the second powerplay unit this morning. He will return to the line-up on a pairing with Tomas Kaberle, meaning Alexei Emelin will be a healthy scratch. Thus, this marks Campoli's regular season Bell Centre debut, since he was injured in the season opener in Toronto. I look forward to seeing what he'll bring to the table, as I thought he looked quite solid in his 1 preseason game and first half in Toronto.

It should be noted that despite being dressed on Saturday, Weber received no powerplay time. The Canadiens really only used 3 d-men on the PP: Tomas Kaberle, P.K. Subban, and Diaz.

Now about Emelin being a scratch... I'm sure anyone that reads this site is well aware of my take on the issue. I think this roster move is beyond excusable on the part of Jacques Martin. Yes, Emelin is young, and he does take risks that lead to occasional errors. Admittedly, he is far worse on the right side (where he would play when paired with Kaberle) than he is on the left. But there is no doubt that he brings a crucial set of tools that the Canadiens do not have anywhere else in their roster. His size, toughness, and physicality are important on a team full of small puck-movers. Emelin won't develop and continue to improve by sitting in the stands. He can be an important part of Montreal's future, and MUST play. Let's hope this is just part of a rotation to give Campoli some action, and that we'll see Emelin dressed again on Thursday.

- Speaking of the powerplay, the top unit at practice was:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Tomas Kaberle - P.K. Subban

While Kostitsyn brings some size, it's interesting that neither of the team's powerforwards (Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole) are on the top unit. They flank David Desharnais on the 2nd unit, just as they do at even strength.

- Updates from Team Canada World Junior Championships Selection Camp: None of Nathan Beaulieu, Brendan Gallagher, or Michael Bournival collected points in yesterday's 2-0 Team Red win. Few players have done much to separate themselves from the pack so far, as both sides have failed to generate offense. Bournival was solid, but mostly unnoticeable, while Gallagher was noticed for bad reasons, taking two offensive zone penalties and being on the receiving end of two large hits. Beaulieu had a few good shifts on the powerplay, patrolling the blueline well, but failed to produce.

Still, as expected, all three survived the first wave of cuts, which included Mark McNeill, Zack Phillips, Matthew Dumba, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Michael Ferland, Max Reinhart, and Brenden Kichton. With 31 skaters remaining in camp for 13 forward and 7 defensemen spots, the pressure remains on both Beaulieu and Bournival to impress tonight. Gallagher's spot is seemingly the safest of the three, likely penciled into a third or fourth line role.

A good article on Gallagher published last night can be found here:

http://www.mindentimes.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3402122#.TudxNxRusPg.facebook

- Another good prospect article today is this feature from the AHL about community work done by the injured Brendon Nash and Hunter Bishop:

http://theahl.com/bishop-nash-scoring-points-off-the-ice-p174893

Your Canadiens for December 5, 2011

Thinking today might be a relatively mundane day in the Habs' realm, I thought I might be able to wait till tomorrow for this update. But there is enough hot button news to put this out this evening.

- Most notably, minutes ago, it was revealed that the National Hockey League has agreed on a realignment of its divisions for the 2012-13 hockey season. Gone is the current divisional structure, replaced with simply 4 larger imbalanced conferences - two of 8 teams, and two of 7. They are composed as follows:

East (7): Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers

East / Atlantic (7): New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils

Central (8): Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild

West (8): Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche

For the Canadiens, the new schedule will see them play a home-and-home against all non-conference teams (meaning each team will visit the Bell Centre at least once a year), and then have 6 games against each club in their new conference (3 at home and 3 on the road).

For the playoffs, the first two rounds will be played strictly within conference. The top 4 teams from each conference make the post-season, with the first round being 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, and then the winners facing off in round 2.

Per commissioner Gary Bettman, no official decision has been taken on the seeding of the final 4 for the semi-finals and finals, but it is likely that the remaining 4 teams will be seeded based on regular season standings, meaning it is possible for two teams from eastern North America or two from western North America to face-off in the Stanley Cup Finals.

This is pretty drastic, and there is certain to be a lot of opinion and discussion to go around over the coming days, weeks, and months. My initial reaction is not to like the imbalance, which essentially provides easier post-season berths to the teams in the 2 Eastern conferences. But I don't necessarily hate it. I'm willing to give it a chance.

- Elsewhere, USA Hockey announced the preliminary roster for their World Junior Championship squad. Amongst the 9 defenseman on the list is the Habs' Jarred Tinordi. He would appear to be a near-lock for the squad at this point as part of a shutdown pair, and his name has been thrown around as a possible team captain, given that he fills that role presently for the London Knights, and previously wore the C for the U.S. Under-18 team.

- Tomas Plekanec missed practice today, but have no fear! It wasn't due to an injury. He and his wife Lucia Vondrackova welcomed a son, Matthias, to the world. Congratulations to the happy parents!

- Filling in temporarily for Plekanec at practice was Andreas Engqvist, rehabbed from his recent injury. Later in the day, the Canadiens officially assigned Engqvist to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

- Also in practice, wearing a normal contact jersey for the first time, was defenseman Chris Campoli. With Andrei Markov out another few weeks, Campoli's near return to the line-up is a welcome piece of news to Habs fans and the Canadiens' powerplay. Jaroslav Spacek also practiced with the team, but in a non-contact jersey, while Ryan White skated on his own and then spoke briefly with reporters in the dressing room. Other than Plekanec, the only Hab not to skate today was Scott Gomez.

- On the Andrei Markov front, he underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee in Florida today. Though Pierre Gauthier initially stated the expected recovery time would be 3 weeks, the team revised this estimation to something more realistic today, offering a prognosis of 4-6 weeks. Did Gauthier float the 3 week number just to minimize criticism when face-to-face with reporters?!

- Lastly, there is a bit of a public dispute going on between Max Pacioretty and Brendan Shanahan. Pacioretty spoke out disagreeing with Shanahan's decision to suspend him for 3 games, claiming that Shanahan had compared his hit to Matt Cooke's on Marc Savard. Shanahan disputed this claim on the Team 990, saying that not only had he not compared it to that hit, but he went out of this way to explain that he wasn't drawing that comparison. This line is a little tough to follow; if he wasn't comparing the hit, why bring it up at all?! By saying that he explicitly stated he wasn't drawing a comparison there, it means he must have at least mentioned it! And Pacioretty agrees, as he repeated today that he feels the comparison was made, and made unfairly. He and his agent preferred to compare the hit to Ryan Malone on Chris Campoli, a dirty hit which went undisciplined by Shanahan.

Your Canadiens for December 4, 2011

A solid effort and big win yesterday for the Montreal Canadiens over the Los Angeles Kings means things are likely to continue to hold steady for now. Jacques Martin lives to fight another day, and with both Bobby Ryan and Jarome Iginla seemingly off the trade market, there are no rumoured imminent transactions. But lots has gone on today and yesterday in the Habs' world, so here's a recap:

- Yesterday, Pierre Gauthier provided an update on the health of Andrei Markov. As much as he tried to frame it positively, with good news of Markov's repaired tendons holding strong, the reason the rearguard had disappeared from the team's entourage was made abundantly clear. Some time in the next few days, Markov will undergo a round of arthroscopic knee surgery to remove some debris from his knee area that had been causing significant swelling and pain. This is a relatively minor surgery, but it will still mean at least another three weeks on the shelf for the Russian who had hoped to start playing as recently as the California trip. I've written plenty on the Markov debacle, so I need not remind anyone how frustrated this makes Habs fans. Why on earth was a 3-year deal necessary this summer when his health was clearly still a big question mark?! Why was there no back-up plan in place given Markov's health? Sure, some of these young defenseman would have to get a chance at some point, but they've been thrown to the wolves with a lack of veterans to soak up tough minutes when they struggle.

- This morning, the Canadiens announced that Aaron Palushaj has been sent to the Hamilton Bulldogs. The 'Dogs have struggled mightily this season, with a win last night putting them at just 7-12-2 (last place in the Western Conference), so getting back a top AHL scorer like Palushaj should be a big boost. This is also great news for Louis Leblanc, who impressed sufficiently to pass Palushaj in the depth chart (at least for now). While it is no guarantee that Leblanc will stick around with Max Pacioretty returning from his 3-game suspension, it is still a good sign for the 20-year old pro rookie. To show the logjam at forward that may mean a return to top AHL minutes for Leblanc, here's a look at the depth chart:

Cammalleri - Plekanec - Gionta

Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole

Moen - Eller - Kostitsyn

Darche - Nokelainen - Leblanc

While Louis could see some ice time (even taking shifts in place of, say, Travis Moen on occasion), he may be better off building strength in the American League and eventually returning for a permanent third line job when there is a spot for him. In the short-term, though, having Leblanc over Palushaj improves the club's bottom 6.

- Speaking of the Bulldogs, Nathan Lawson made 23 saves as Hamilton beat the Rochester Americans 3-2. Mike Blunden and Mark Mitera scored first period goals, with Gabriel Dumont, Phil DeSimone, and Brian Willsie picking up assists. Joonas Nattinen had the winner, snapping a 2-2 tie at 9:16 of the third period unassisted. For Nattinen, it was just his second goal of the season, but both have been game winners.

- A player I expected and hoped would join the Bulldogs once the Canadiens' back end was healthy, Raphael Diaz, seems to be making a strong case to stay in Montreal. I can't say I quite understand it - I'm not sure what he has done so well to deserve such a favoured status - but he played over 24 minutes yesterday (2nd to Josh Gorges) including over 4 minutes of penalty kill time. It's not that I dislike Diaz. I think he has definitely passed Yannick Weber in the depth chart, making Weber expendable and a likely trade chip. But while Diaz is a reasonable puck-mover with a half-decent point shot, he suffers from similar defensive zone issues to Weber, being on the small and soft side. To me, with the likes of Chris Campoli, Jaroslav Spacek, and eventually Andrei Markov returning, Diaz's skillls won't be needed in Montreal this season. I'm scared, however, that it will be Alexei Emelin - the unique physical presence on the Montreal back end - that sits once two injured veterans are ready for game action. The only explanation I have is that Emelin is a riskier player, while Diaz plays a safer "unnoticeable" game that Jacques Martin loves. It is the risk factor, however, that gives Emelin so much greater potential than the young Swiss.

- At the prospect level yesterday, Nathan Beaulieu (8th) and Michael Bournival (13th) each had goals as their teams faced off. Beaulieu's marker was the overtime game winner, while Bournival's was his 13th in just his 14th game. Jarred Tinordi added another assist to his record, now at 7 in 18 games. Tinordi finished the night a +2 and also fought, taking 11 minutes in penalties as he was called for an instigator. Danny Kristo, playing the second of back-to-back games in Alaska, picked up a goal and an assist and is now at 19 points in 16 games.

Your Canadiens for November 25, 2011

REMINDER: Due to American Thanksgiving, today's Philadelphia Flyers - Montreal Canadiens game begins at 3:00 PM EST. If you can't watch the game then, RDS is replaying it in its entirety at 6:30 PM EST.

- The Habs will be without Scott Gomez (insert Thanksgiving joke here) for today's game. He is day-to-day with a lower body injury and did not practice yesterday. Though they did practice, neither Andrei Kostitsyn nor Andrei Markov is ready to return, and since no one was called up from Hamilton, the Canadiens will dress 7 defensemen (including Frederic St. Denis).

- Carey Price will get the start in goal for Montreal. It is unlikely Peter Budaj will start at home against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, so we shall see how Price holds up for back-to-back games.

- Jaromir Jagr and Chris Pronger will miss this game due to injury and illness respectively. Good timing for the Canadiens!

- A Russian news source yesterday reported that Alexander Avtsin's agent indicated the player was promised by the Canadiens to play at least 10 games for the Habs this season (source: http://www.sovsport.ru/news/text-item/494436).

The source is the same that broke the Andrei Kostitsyn - Jacques Martin story from this summer. Avtsin was considered a highly intriguing prospect when he was signed a year ago, bringing the always coveted mix of size and skill to the table. He struggled to get ice time in the American Hockey League as one of the AHL's youngest players (starting the season at age 19) last year. This season, after a slow start, he seems to have possibly turned a corner, having the most productive stretch of his North American career the last little bit, playing notably on a top line with Louis Leblanc and Phil DeSimone.

He'll need to keep consistently playing well to deserve that call-up to the NHL, or else the Habs will basically have to determine whether he's in the long-term plans or not. If the answer is yes or maybe, they'll need to give him a look to keep him happy. Of course, there is no North American source making this claim "official," but it would make sense when combined with the report that Avtsin was "disappointed" when cut from Habs camp this Fall (it's not like anyone expected him to have a shot at making the club anyway!).

- Hockey Canada will announce the list of players invite to Team Canada's final evaluation camp for the World Junior Championship Monday morning. Canadiens prospects Brendan Gallagher and Michael Bournival are shoe-ins for invites, while Nathan Beaulieu should be on the camp roster as well, though he faces the toughest road ahead to make the actual squad.

- With no NHL games yesterday, it was a quiet night for Habs fans. But check out today/tonight's schedule; in addition to the Canadiens game, virtually every Hab prospect in North America is in action! Brendan Gallagher's Vancouver Giants, Nathan Beaulieu's Saint John Sea Dogs, Jarred Tinordi's London Knights, Michael Bournival's Shawinigan Cataractes, Morgan Ellis's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Danny Kristo's UND, Mac Bennett and Greg Pateryn's Michigan Wolverines, Darren Dietz's Saskatoon Blades, plus the Hamilton Bulldogs (and more!) all have games tonight! A busy night of scoreboard watching no doubt.

- Want to meet P.K. Subban? Let's be honest, who doesn't?! The Habs defenseman will be signing autographs at the Best Buy Quartier DIX30 in Brossard this Sunday, November 27th, at 2:00 PM.

The Curious Case of Andrei Markov

After much speculation at yesterday's morning skate, official word got out this morning that defenseman Andrei Markov has received medical clearance for contact in practice. While this isn't a timetable for a return to game action (which Jacques Martin previously said wouldn't be before early December's California trip), it is an important step in his recovery.

Let's use this occasion to look back and see what exactly has gone on the past while in the strange saga of Mr. Markov, which has taken enough twists and turns to be a television soap opera.

June 1998 - Andrei Markov was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 6th round of the 1998 NHL entry draft. He had only recently made a shift from playing center to his now familiar spot on the blueline during the 1996-97 season with Voskresensk Khimik of the Russian league. With the pick directly before Markov, the Ottawa Senators selected Chris Neil, while earlier in the 6th round, with another of their picks, the Habs had taken Gordie Dwyer. Also notable is that, just 9 picks after Markov, the Detroit Red Wings stole Pavel Datsyuk. Some pretty good players for 6th round picks! (also taken that round were Trent Hunter, Niko Kapanen, Antero Niittymaki, and Ales Kotalik)

October 2000 - Markov crossed the ocean for the 2000-01 season and had an immediate impact with the Canadiens, spending only 14 games with the AHL's Quebec Citadelles while playing 63 for the Habs in scoring 23 points as a rookie.

2001 - 2007 - Markov played big minutes for the Canadiens (with the lockout season in the middle spent back in Russia) and, for those, who forget, was quite healthy and durable. In fact, he did not play fewer than 67 games in any of those years.

May 2007 - For the first time in his career, Markov had the chance to become an unrestricted free agent. Instead, he chose to re-sign with the Canadiens ahead of time, inking a 4-year, $23M deal ($5.75M cap hit). In the first year of his deal (07-08), Markov would set a new career high with 58 points, only to better that the following season (08-09) by netting 64. All seemed good with Markov and the Habs, as the blueliner was establishing himself as a top 10 d-man league-wide.

April 2009 - The Canadiens were looking like they just might be able to salvage a disastrous Centennial season as a late-season hot streak prevented the club from slipping out of a playoff spot. But the straw that broke the camel's back was a hit on Markov by Mikhail Grabovski late in a 6-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 4th that injured his left knee. The Canadiens folded in four straight games in the first round, before opting to completely overhaul their roster that summer. Markov, however, remained part of the team's core.

October 2009 - As the team looked to turn to a new chapter with a new leadership group in place, the unthinkable happened. Their top defenseman, in his return to action in the season opener on October 1, had his left ankle slashed on Carey Price's skate in a freak accident and required surgery which was initially predicted to keep him out till February. This game was again against the Leafs, which had many believing Markov was cursed versus them.

December 2009 - The General showed he could be a quick healer in suiting up with his teammates again on December 19, scoring 2 of the Canadiens' tallies in a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders.

April 2010 - The Canadiens were just starting out on what would turn out to be a fairytale run to the Eastern Conference finals when, in an April 30 second round game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a hit by Matt Cooke would cause damage requiring surgery on Markov's right knee.

October 2010 - Markov wasn't ready for the following season's opener, but got back in the line-up by October 30th. Many questioned if it was perhaps too soon, as he didn't have the same immediate impact as in his previous return from injury.

November 2010 - Just 7 games into his return, in a blowout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Markov collided awkwardly with 'Canes captain Eric Staal and slid into the boards, twisting his knee below him. You could instantly see it on his face. It was bad. Markov was fully aware of what had just happened and was incredibly frustrated by it. The right knee hadn't held up, and it would be back to the surgeon's table.

June 2011 - After playing only those 7 games during the 2010-11 season, Markov was again set to become a UFA. The Canadiens had a big decision to make on a guy who had been loyal throughout his career and was one of the best at his position when healthy. There were no d-men of Markov's calibre available to replace him on the free agent market, and so management put their faith in the Canadian-citizen-by-choice by awarding him a generous 3 year deal at his same previous cap hit ($5.75M / year).

"We look forward to having him back in our line-up for the start of the upcoming season," read the final sentence of general manager Pierre Gauthier's press release. (source: http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566596)

Risky, no doubt. Three years at that kind of money is a lot to offer someone who had played only 52 regular season games over the prior two seasons combined. But they couldn't really be gambling here, I told myself. Who should know better about Markov's health than the Habs' brass and trainers?! If they feel confident enough to make this investment, they must be certain he will be fully recovered and ready to go in no time!

September 2011 - As training camp rolled around, the rumours and stories began to fly. Had he suffered a setback requiring his knee be drained late in August? Was it because he hadn't been rehabbing it hard enough? Or had he been training too hard? One story indicated that he had returned to Russia for a few weeks vacation and the club was shocked upon his return that he hadn't kept up with his rehab schedule while away. He then began doubling up the intensity of his workouts in Montreal to make up for the lost time, which resulted in the development of water in his knee. Of course, this is rumour at best, but it is a story that fits reasonably well with all the public evidence we have.

Markov was skating with the team when camp began, but then he seemed to fall slightly off the radar. Next think you know, Chris Campoli was signed. Gauthier was quick to tell reporters that Campoli had absolutely nothing to do with Markov's health.

"He's (Markov) progressing very well," Gauthier said on September 26th. "The knee is in very good health. He keeps moving along in his rehabilitation. We'll see if he'll be quite ready or not (for the season opener), but he shouldn't miss too many games." (source: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=376815)

Won't miss many games, huh? Well that's comforting, but then why had the team been insisting he was healthy? Or were they? Four days later, on September 30th, head coach Jacques Martin was quoted as saying, "Markov's rehab is going well. He's skating on his own and continues to work on building his strength. We knew from the start he wouldn't be ready for the start of the season, so it's on schedule." (source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2011/09/30/habs_camp/)

It's not hard to understand, then, why some perceive a rift between Pierre Gauthier and Jacques Martin. Their statements seem quite contradictory. The team seems to want to cover up that they perhaps err'ed in judgment or didn't do their due-diligence sufficiently with regards to Markov's health.

October 2011 - Still following? So Markov is doing well, and won't miss many games. But where did he go? Suddenly no one could find him around the rink. His progress appeared stalled. Had he stopped skating? Then we got this leak courtesy of blogger Big T on the Habs: a photo of Markov waiting at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport, his right leg elevated as he sits in a chair, waiting to board a plane to Florida. (source: http://bigthabs.blogspot.com/2011/10/andrei-markov-update.html)

Indeed, on October 12th, Martin confirmed Markov had flown to Florida to meet with his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews. The nature of the meetings was unclear; would Markov require a follow-up procedure? Was it just for observation and to receive a green light? Concerns continued to mount when what was initially announced as a one-week stay was extended to nearly two full weeks in the Sunshine State. There was talk amongst some of possible discontent between Markov and the organization, or some other strange issues at work. Rumour-monger bloggers were quick to put out stories suggesting that Markov's next game in the NHL would only be following a trade to another club. Questions were raised about neighbours observing his house being frequently inhabited both now and throughout long stretches of summer. Were things less rosy than the team wanted all to believe?

November 2011 - But then, almost miraculously, things seemed to get back on track. Upon returning to Montreal, Markov was back on the ice, starting with just 15 minute sessions but working his way back up to contactless practices with the team. Though there is no specific timeframe for his return, even with his today (November 22) being cleared for contact, the club has suggested it won't be before early December's California road trip. By that time, he will have missed nearly 1/3 of the season, which - while it's not like anything is lost just yet - certainly doesn't constitute "not many games."

But of course, it couldn't be that simple. A chronicle as convoluted as this requires at least one more twist before he can get back on the ice. And that seems to have come, as there has been a confirmation that Markov's Candiac home is on the market for a price tag of $1.5M. (source: http://25stanley.com/a-vendre-1-5m-pour-la-maison-dandrei-markov-a-candiac.html) It seems he and his common law partner have split, and thus he no longer felt the need to retain the home he shared with her and their two kids. An understandable situation for anyone going through such a time in their personal life, but certainly it hasn't stopped the internet Hab fan gossipers and rumour mongers from suggesting the house is being sold because he wants out of Montreal.

As Habs fans, we can all hope that Mr. Markov will be back in the line-up as soon as possible. He is the type of player that can take a bubble squad and turn them into true contenders. But most importantly, it is crucial that when he does return, he is fully healed and will be able to play the vast majority of the team's games over this season and the next two. If not, for the team to be competitive, they will need their young blueliners to mature awfully quickly and/or seek a real replacement for a true number 1 d-man.

EPILOGUE UPDATES AS OF DECEMBER 1:

November 30 2011 - The day many expected Markov to return to the line-up, for a game against the Anaheim Ducks in sunny California. That week, Markov had spent practice on a regular top 6 pairing with Alexei Emelin, and even lined up on the team's top powerplay unit beside P.K. Subban. There was a little worry when he skipped out on some contact in the corner drills, but then, something completely unpredictable. There we were on game day, with the whole team taking to the ice in the morning, and no Markov. A "therapy day" was the excuse Jacques Martin gave. Of course, no sign of Markov for that evening's game.

December 1 2011 - The next morning, in getting ready for the second half of a back-to-back, this one against the San Jose Sharks, only the injured and suspended players took to the ice in the morning. But along with Max Pacioretty, Chris Campoli, Jaroslav Spacek, and Andreas Engqvist was no Andrei Markov. Is this a good sign? Is he a healthy player who thus got the morning off? Or was he unable to lace up his skates for a second straight day? Perhaps we'll know more come game time.

And then this: Montreal reporter JF Chaumont confirms the team has stated Andrei Markov is not with the club in San Jose. The Habs obviously wanting to torment their fanbase did not elaborate as to where Markov is, or why he isn't with the group.

It would later be revealed that Markov stayed in Anaheim and headed to L.A. to meet with doctors while the team traveled to San Jose. Given that the Habs' next game was back in Los Angeles, the move made some sense. However, reporters Brian Wilde and Martin McGuire revealed a story prior to game time that in fact, Markov was having trouble pivoting to one side, and thus again had to take a step back in his recovery. He was to be off the ice for at least the next 5 days.

Your Canadiens for November 21, 2011

While the attention of the rest of the league is on the much-anticipated return to action of Sidney Crosby this evening, Habs fans have a big game of their own to watch. After ending the New York Rangers' 7-game win streak on Saturday night, the team will have a chance to put a stop to Boston's 8-game run this evening.

- Your Montreal Canadiens for tonight:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Travis Moen - Scott Gomez - Lars Eller

Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Aaron Palushaj

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Frederic St. Denis - Yannick Weber

Alexei Emelin - Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

- Carey Price was today named the NHL's first star of the week for a second time this season. Despite Peter Budaj getting a start mid-week, Price put up a 2-0-1 record with a .972 save percentage and a 0.67 goals against average. His last two starts have represent the first time in his young career that he has recorded back-to-back shutouts, with his current streak at 127 minutes. Congratulations Carey!

- Tonight marks the 100th game of P.K. Subban's career. The young blueliner has stepped up his game in the wake of injuries after a slow start to the season.

- Hal Gill, released from hospital on Friday, rejoined his teammates for practice for the first time this morning, but will not play tonight. His return shouldn't be far away, however.

- Gill skated in practice with Andrei Markov, who was wearing the same white-coloured jersey as his teammates. This led to speculation that he may have received medical clearance for contact in practice, but it was later clarified that he has yet to get that green light. It is expected that it may come later this week, though. There is still no specific timeline for Markov's return, but Jacques Martin had mentioned it won't be before the California road trip which is in early December.

- Chris Campoli and Andrei Kostitsyn also skated this morning, but with a team trainer as opposed to their mates. While Campoli being a ways off is hardly news, it seems Kostitsyn isn't progressing as quickly as many had hoped for.

- Turning our attention to the prospect ranks...

After a great game with a goal and 3 assists on Friday night, Brendan Gallagher was held off the scoresheet Saturday and then collected an assist on Sundy, now giving him 36 points in 21 games, but falling off the 50-goals-in-50-games track for the first time, stuck at 19.

Fellow WHL'er Darren Dietz scored a goal yesterday, giving him 15 points in 24 games and a team best +18 rating.

Despite finishing the night a +2, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu had a 6-game point streak broken yesterday. Montreal's first round pick last June has 20 points and is a +17 in 23 games.

Michael Bournival has played three games since returning from injury. He was twice held off the scoresheet (and finishing a -2 on both of those occasions), but Saturday night he picked up 2 goals, to now give him 12 in 10 games played.

Danny Kristo was held off the scoresheet for a second consecutive weekend (with a bye weekend in between), cooling off after a rocket start. He is now back at the 1 point-per-game mark with 12 points in 12 games.

Also in the NCAA, Mac Bennett scored his 3rd goal of the season, passing the 2 he notched last year. In his rookie season, the defenseman put up 12 points in 32 games, while now as a sophomore he has 10 in just 14 contests.

Your Canadiens for November 16, 2011

Updates prior to tonight's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

- Hal Gill is expected to again be out of action tonight with a bad virus.

- Jaroslav Spacek was hurt against the Buffalo Sabres and will not play tonight. To replace him, the Canadiens called up defenseman Frederic St. Denis from the Hamilton Bulldogs. St. Denis, 25, had a solid training camp and is considered amongst Hamilton's best two-way blueliners. Most recently, the 5'11" rearguard had a goal and an assist in Sunday's win over Binghamton. But it certainly goes to show how little NHL-ready depth is presently available to Montreal. Who would have imagined that the team would have to play a game with all of Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz, Alexei Emelin, and St. Denis amongst the top 6 d-men. Even when you add P.K. Subban and Josh Gorges to round the group out, the total NHL experience of the lot is just 579 games played.

While this is far from an ideal situation, I'm quite curious to see how St. Denis will look. Neither Emelin nor Diaz has been "ripping it up" lately. So if St. Denis can play solid, mistake-free hockey, there may even be an opportunity for him to pass one or the other of the two rookies in the depth chart. Unlikely, sure, but at this point I'l ready to look at anything that might help the team's often confused play in its own end.

Per my Habs historian projects, in making his NHL debut, St. Denis will tonight become the 799th player to play for the Canadiens in a regular season game in the team's history. Wonder who # 800 will be!

- Andrei Kostitsyn is not practicing with the team, and thus is expected to miss another game this evening. The Canadiens should, however, get Mike Cammalleri back after he missed Monday night's game.

- Also in Monday's game, Andreas Engqvist seemed to suffer a minor injury that will keep him out of action. Though, realistically, he would likely have been sat to make room for Cammalleri's return in any case.

- Andrei Markov joined the team for their light practice yesterday, wearing a non-contact jersey of course. He even stayed around to share a few words with journalists afterwards with his usual dry humour. Still no timetable for his return, though.

- Tonight's game will be a big one for Erik Cole, a forward who after a slowish first few games now makes up an important part of Montreal's most productive line of late with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. Despite a brief stint in Edmonton (and excluding the lockout), Cole had played for the Hurricanes in every one of his 9 NHL seasons prior to this one, and thus will be facing off against many good friends.

It's also a big one for Lars Eller, who will be participating in his 100th NHL game.

- Down in the AHL, the Hamilton Bulldogs lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Peoria Rivermen last night. With an injury to Garrett Stafford and the call-up of St. Denis, the 'Dogs recalled both Olivier Dame-Malka and T.J. Fast from the ECHL. Dame-Malka, in his second AHL game this season, recorded his first AHL point, assisting on a Philip DeSimone goal. Michael Blunden had the other tally for Hamilton, while Dany Masse was the only one of 5 shooters able to beat Ben Bishop during the shootout.

- Sticking with prospects, highly-touted Michael Bournival returned to the line-up from injury for the Shawninigan Cataractes - the team he captains - last night. Bournival was held off the scoresheet and finished a -2 in a 5-1 loss, playing only his 8th game of the season after missing about a month of action. In those 8 games, Bournival has tallied 10 goals and 13 points.

Your Canadiens for November 14, 2011

Here's your state of the organization update on the eve of a big divisional contest against the Buffalo Sabres.

- Expected / Probable Lines for tonight:

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Travis Moen - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Scott Gomez - Lars Eller - Aaron Palushaj

Andreas Engqvist - Petteri Nokelainen - Mathieu Darche

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Jaroslav Spacek - Yannick Weber

Alexei Emelin - Raphael Diaz

Carey Price

BUFFALO SABRES

Thomas Vanek - Luke Adam - Jason Pominville

Ville Leino - Derek Roy - Drew Stafford

Nathan Gerbe - Paul Gaustad - Brad Boyes

Cody McCormick - Matt Ellis - Patrick Kaleta

Marc-Andre Gragnani - Christian Ehrhoff

Mike - Andrej Sekera

Jordan Leopold - Robyn Regehr

Jhonas Enroth

- Hal Gill is sick, missed the morning skate, and will not play for Montreal tonight.

- I shudder looking at that inexperienced bottom pairing, but at least Gill's absence lets Alexei Emelin play on his natural left side.

- Mike Cammalleri did participate in the morning skate, but will not play tonight. It seems his knee or leg is still bothering him.

- To replace Cammalleri, the Canadiens announced that Andreas Engqvist has been called up from Hamilton this afternoon.

-Andrei Kostitsyn was not at the team's morning skate today, but another injured player was back. And that player? Andrei Markov! Of course, he was wearing a non-contact jersey, but it's still a big step to see him re-join his teammates for a skate. In theory he should re-join them for practice before long, and if that's the case, he could be back in the line-up before the end of the month.

- For the Sabres, Ryan Miller is out tonight after suffering a concussion on the much-talked about Milan Lucic hit Saturday night. The league announced today that Lucic would not be suspended for the hit, so expect an angry Sabres group this evening.

- Also sitting for Buffalo tonight is towering defenseman Tyler Myers. Coach Lindy Ruff has been unhappy with the play of his blueliner (signed to a huge deal this summer, as you'll recall) and is trying to send a message with this move (not unlike Jacques Martin did with P.K. Subban last season).

- Amongst prospects, the weekend was a big one for a few members of the Canadiens organization, so here's a breakdown:

Nathan Beaulieu, after a somewhat disappointing Subway Super Series (despite a beautiful shootout goal), has a goal and 3 assists in his last 2 games. That helps to get him back on track from a disappointing start statistically, giving him 17 points and a +14 rating in 20 games. Beaulieu's lack of production overall is not a huge area of concern, but this combined with his sometimes shaky play in his own end mean he is farther away from the NHL than some might think. Don't get me wrong; great prospect. But not ready yet.

Brendan Gallagher, after being held off the scoresheet for a rare time on Wednesday, had a good weekend with back-to-back goal and assist, 2 point games. Gallagher's stats are definitely eye-catching with 18 goals and 31 points in just 18 games. His 18 goals rank him 5th in the WHL, while everyone ahead of him has played either 3 or 4 more games than he has. He also ranks 7th overall in points and is 6 ahead of his closest teammate. Gallagher will be part of the Team WHL that takes on Russia as the Subway Super Series continues on Wednesday night.

Another WHL prospect who is hot is defenseman Darren Dietz. Though he was left off the Super Series roster, Dietz is tied for the Saskatoon lead in points amongst d-men with the undersized Connor Cox and first round pick Duncan Siemens with 14 through 22 games. Dietz, a big and tough blueliner, is also tied with Cox to lead the team as a +19 (tied for third-best league-wide). A 5th round draft pick this past June, Dietz looks like an early candidate as a late-round steal.

Lastly, the Hamilton Bulldogs snapped out of a funk yesterday in downing the Binghamton Senators 5 to 2. Alexander Avtsin led the way with his best game as a Bulldog, contributing 3 assists en route to being named the first star. Avtsin also scored a goal earlier this week, so Habs fans can cross the fingers that maybe... just maybe... the ultra talented Russian winger has turned a corner in his development. After a strong first game, Louis Leblanc had fallen off the map a bit in settling into AHL-level play, but he scored his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season yesterday, the last of which was a nice breakaway deke. Also scoring for Hamilton were Brian Willsie, Frederic St. Denis, and Andreas Engqvist. Robert Mayer got the win in goal.