Each year in early April, one Montreal Canadiens player is awarded the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy. Generally there is a favourite or two at this stage of the season but there are quite a few players who could conceivably get the nod.
The Habs added some goalie depth on Wednesday morning, announcing the signing of Charlie Lindgren to a two year entry level contract. Lindgren will burn the first year of the deal in 2015-16.
It has been a foregone conclusion for a while but it’s now official, the Habs won’t be making the playoffs. While it’s not yet official for St. John’s, it’s pretty close after they dropped two of three games. Plus, while it may not seem like there are reasons to watch the last couple of weeks, my Final Thought looks at a few things to watch for down the stretch.
The Habs dipped their toes into the college free agent market on Saturday as they inked defenceman Tom Parisi to a two year entry level deal that begins in the 2016-17 season.
While the Habs and IceCaps aren’t heading for the playoffs, the push is on for many of their other prospects. Here’s a look at the players who will be or have already been involved in some postseason action.
The grades for St. John’s defence corps and goalies weren’t the highest after the team struggled in their third quarter of the season. The report card is a bit more promising when it comes to their forwards.
Last week featured one decent game from the Habs but a trio of stinkers as well. Things weren’t much better for the IceCaps as they dropped two of three games to further dampen their postseason hopes. Things are going better for former Hab Devante Smith-Pelly though; he is the focus of my Final Thought.
The Habs went into Sunday’s game looking to put forth a much better effort than they did against Ottawa the night before. They did manage to score a goal but there weren’t many positives after that as they fell to Calgary 4-1.
The IceCaps are now entering the stretch run of their season and are hoping to make a late push for the playoffs. Before they get there though, let’s take a look back at the last quarter of the year with our grades, starting between the pipes and on the blueline.
Home ice is proving to be a boon for the Habs as they picked up a couple more wins at the Bell Centre. Home ice wasn’t so kind to the IceCaps as they split their four games, hurting their playoff push in the process. Speaking of that push, my Final Thought discusses a squandered opportunity to improve their postseason chances.