A Thousand Words

     

Lane Hutson takes on the Lighting. John Mahoney photo published with permission

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Montreal Gazette's John Mahoney could have written the entire contents of the Library at Alexandria. Mahoney has been a newspaper photographer for fifty years, documenting everything from politics to protests to arts and, of course, sports. He was there in New York on 9/11 and when Covid-19 was ravaging Quebec. 

    For Canadiens fans, his best-known photos are those he's taken of the ups and downs, the stars and the duds of their favourite team over all those years. He captured the famous "too-many-men" goal by Yvon Lambert against the Bruins in 1979. He was there at Guy Lafleur's funeral. And these days he's recording the rise of the newest edition of the team and its young stars.

    "I grew up as a Montreal Canadiens fan and then later on as a Montreal Expos fan and an Alouettes fan," Mahoney recalls. "My dad was a big Alouettes fan as well. Once I covered my first couple of sports events, I kind of got hooked on it, you know, being being able to be that close to the players and going to training camps. And those days we were allowed to go in the dressing rooms. It was a bit of a thrill. I was 18 when I started. I was still a kid, so it was a big thrill for me to be able to be in that milieu."

    He says being a fan is partly what led to him becoming a good sports photographer, because that involves knowing the game and anticipating what might happen. Often, however, even though he's got an eye for the action, he doesn't realize he's snapped a keeper until after the moment passes.

    "You only identify it once the game is over pretty much. I guess it's pretty hectic in the in the moment," he explains. "Obviously there are certain scenarios especially during the playoffs, if the game is tied and there's 5 or 6 minutes left, you're pretty sure that the next goal is going to be the winner. So there are some situations where you can sort of predict it."

    "For the most part though, you'll only know once the game is over. You know what the decisive picture is gonna be."

    When you're clicking away all game long, not all the results are going to be meaningful.

    "Sometimes you'll get these really good pictures and they don't mean anything," he says. "They're really nice action pictures, right?  So as photographs, they're fine, but as news photographs, they lose their value because you know the goal that ties the game up at the beginning of the third is a nice picture, but it's eclipsed by the goal that wins the game."

    So what's a winning photo for Mahoney?

    "The context is important. I prefer pictures where the background is clean. I like pictures where you can see faces," he says.

    "Often, and especially shooting hockey in particular, you get these great goal-mouth scrambles where there seems in the moment like there's tons of action going on. But then when it's over, you look at your pictures and all you got is we call it backs and bums, you know."

    

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    Among the biggest changes over Mahoney's 50 years in the business is the quality of the equipment he gets to use.

    "Well, when I started in 1976, we were shooting black and white film," he laughs. "And motor-drive cameras were still fairly new at the time. So you were lucky if your motor-drive might have given you 4 frames a second, maybe 5 frames a second. Now we've got cameras that can shoot 20 frames a second. So that in itself is a is a huge change."

    The newer gear is a lot more forgiving as well, even as it produces more better-quality photos and creates more work for the photographer who has to sift through them after the game.

    "The current generation are just incredible. NHL arena lights are pretty bright. So that allows us to use really high shutter speeds. At the Bell Centre, I shoot at 1-2 thousandth of a second so you're able to freeze a lot of the action that way."

    "So the technology has been huge when it comes to sports photography. Also, when I started, you had to manually focus the camera, so you had to be constantly focusing, trying to keep the action in focus," he recalls. "That was a skill that is lost now because the auto focus on the modern lenses are so good and so accurate that the percentage of really good pictures is much higher than it used to be. When we were shooting film on manual cameras with manual focus, that was a real skill. I get a much higher percentage of sharp and usable frames nowadays than I did back then."

    The Lambert picture is one of Mahoney's favourites from his years of Habs coverage. Also a highlight was probably the most well-known shot of the Canadiens last championship in 1993.

    "Patrick Roy holding the Stanley Cup, celebrating after the last time they won. That's one of the most famous pictures that I shot," he says. "There were several other people that shot that same moment, but mine seems to be the one that has been used more often, and has shown up more often."

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    Although he's five decades into his photography career, Mahoney isn't quite ready to retire. He's enjoying being around the new generation and would like to see another Stanley Cup before he hangs up the camera. These Canadiens play the type of game photogs enjoy; fast-paced with lots of action and expression. And there are certain players that are a dream to shoot.

    "Oh, it's gotta be Cole Caufield. I would say because of the grin," he says. "When he scores or even when one of his teammates scores, he's just so expressive. He's just overjoyed. He seems to really find joy in playing hockey. He really does. It's so fun to watch, too."

    "Slafkovsky is very good too. He's quite uninhibited compared to a lot of others. He stands in a very sharp contrast to Nick Suzuki for instance, who's very, very stoic. He will celebrate and he will smile, but he doesn't have the same spontaneity that Slafkovsky or Caufield do." 

    "I love photographing Lane Hutson as well.  He's just so dynamic," he enthuses. "When you do action pictures of him,  his legs are going one way and his arms are going another way or he's jamming on the brakes. So we got a lot of really good pictures of the spray when he does that. He changes direction so often, you know, he plays that sort of that water bug kind of style. The pictures have a lot of tension in them, a lot of action, they're very interesting to look at because they tend to be a little bit more unusual than some of the other players."

    For a guy who loves to shoot action and see faces, taking goalie photos through their masks can be a problem. The Bell Centre gives photographers two options to set up. They can be upstairs with a familiar broadcast view, or they can be ice-level and shoot through the holes in the glass. That's where Mahoney likes to take pictures of Jakub Dobes.

    "Even if there's action going on elsewhere the last 10 seconds or so of the game,  I often will just focus right on him because he will let out a yell and he's expressive at the end of the game, especially if they win. So I have been able to get a few pictures where you can sort of see through the mask and see his expressions."

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    Mahoney says his family and friends are encouraging him to publish a book of his favourite work, but after all those years of  images, narrowing it down to a manageable number is tough.

   "I have to admit that I'm finding it a little daunting," he explains. "There's a lot of magic. There's some volume that you have to get through. At this point there's thousands of pictures and the "keeper" file is only since since around 2001 or so when we switched to digital. So you've gotta go back to the old negatives."

    He says a fellow photographer who's done books before advises him to develop a focus and stick to a particular subject to make it easier to organize. If ever he decides to share his years of Canadiens pictures he can be sure Habs fans will line up to grab a little piece of team history for their very own.

    In an age when traditional newspapers are disappearing, photographers with the skill and experience of John Mahoney are a rare and special breed.

Tick Dach

     

***UPDATE: Now we know the qualifying offer was a two-way, so the hurt feelings and decision to go to arbitration have a more clear explanation. ***

    It couldn't have been an easy decision for Kirby Dach.

    The 25-year-old former third-overall NHL draft pick is at a crossroads in his career. At his age players are either moving into their prime years or still struggling to prove themselves. If the latter, the chances of him succeeding become fewer and fewer as time passes.

    Dach is seven years past his draft and he still has not proven to be the kind of player Kent Hughes wants to lock in for either big term or big money. Of course, his long string of unfortunate injuries (beyond his control) have hampered his career development. Still, when a player has sat out more games than he's laced up, it doesn't give the GM much to work with in evaluating his potential with a team.

    In Hughes' case, that evaluation is all-important. He's built a reputation on knowing when a player has reached peak potential and making the best decision he can for the team and its salary structure. With so much time missing from Dach's resume, Hughes may have thought the best option was to qualify the player at a respectable four million dollars and give him a year to prove he is worth keeping around for a longer term.

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    Dach had other ideas.

    Either he or his agent, Gerry Johannson, or both, think the player's body of work is enough to earn him more than his qualifying offer and elected to go to arbitration. This will not end well.

    Arbitration creates division and bitterness; two things Hughes has no interest in introducing to his tight-knit "family atmosphere." And there's little chance of avoiding that. By its very nature, arbitration is antagonistic. The player has to talk about why he's so great and the team has to talk about why he's not. Hughes will bring up Dach's injury history and his lack of expected production overall. He'll have to tell Dach he's not at the same level as the players...Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov...who are years younger than Dach and already locked in long-term for excellent money. Deep down, Dach may recognize the truth of that, but it will hurt all the same. Even if he wins his arbitration case, the relationship with Hughes won't be the same.

    The thing with Dach is he's been given every opportunity to do well in Montreal. His 6'4" frame, nice hands and good mobility are like catnip for most GMs. It's why Hughes took a flyer on a guy the Blackhawks had already decided wasn't going to live up to his draft hype, and why he gave up a promising young D and two strong draft picks to acquire him.

    Considering his price, you have to think Hughes wanted to either sign him to a reasonable deal to give him one more shot in Montreal or sign him and then package him in a trade. Dach's decision to go to arbitration ties Hughes' hands. If the team wins the arbitration case, he can keep an unhappy Dach for a year, or walk away from him with nothing in return. They can still trade him if they win the case, but the way this plays out could negatively impact his value, especially if he costs more for another team to acquire. It's hard to imagine the Canadiens signing him to a bigger deal, only to retain part of it in a trade.

    Hughes does not like taking those kinds of losses on investment and it may indicate he was blindsided by Dach's choice.

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    If Dach wins his case (although it's difficult to imagine what kind of convincing argument he can make since he's got 51 career goals which Cole Caufield matched in a single season), it would force Hughes to either pay him or trade him. Since Hughes manages his cap very carefully, one can imagine paying an extra couple of million to retain Dach isn't in his plan. So at this point, it looks like Dach will be moved whether he wins or loses his case.

    That's what likely made this a tough choice for him.

    He appears to be liked by his teammates and likes them in return. He's not been a vocal distraction through all his struggles. He's been part of something special as part of the renewed Canadiens team, playing for a coach other players name as a reason why they'd sign with Montreal. That's a lot to give up for the sake of a bigger paycheck.

    Yet, the crossroad remains. He knows he's got fewer years left to make the money he'll need to support his family and his lifestyle for the rest of his days. He knows his injury history is troubling and he has no idea if it will end his career in a year or two. He had a relatively healthy playoff, so this may seem to him the best opportunity he's going to get to start banking for his future. Seeing some of the ridiculous contracts others are signing this summer probably reinforces his belief that this is his opportunity.

    There's still a chance the two sides can reconcile and avoid arbitration with a compromise deal. 

    At this point, though, Dach has made his choice for better or for worse.

 

Big Money, Big Risk

    

    In July of 2002, Bobby Holik signed a contract extension with the New York Rangers. The forward's compensation of nine million dollars a year came right before the NHL introduced its first salary cap after the 2005 lockout. Holik's deal soon proved unsustainable within the new pay structure and New York bought him out when the league reopened for business. Critics pointed to him as the poster child for crazy signings and why there needed to be a cap in the first place.

    "I thought I was worth the money, but maybe on a different team or a team that played a different style," he recalls years later. "As soon as the lockout ended, I knew it was coming because the Rangers weren't heading in the direction that would make me a valuable player to them."

    "Ever since the salary has been published, that's all the people and the reporters think about. They don't think of you as an athlete who's dedicated his life to a career in which he's being the best he can be. It's, 'he's making this much money...is he worth it or is he not?'  That's the biggest negative of published salary. Unfortunately, people always forget the money was voluntarily given them by the general managers or the owners of the team."

    For a while after the introduction of the cap most GMs tried to be careful and not throw the budget away on one or two guys. Now, however, the salary cap is slated to rise significantly in the next three years and managers are back to spending like they've got the back-door keys to Fort Knox. Holik says that's going to resurrect some of the problems players of his generation faced.

    "The system is set up so if the GM or owner makes a mistake, the players will pay for it," Holik explains. "That's the way it is. The GM signs a player that doesn't fit the system, he doesn't do his homework, but he's just available, it's easy for them. It's not their money. It's somebody else's money. We'll just throw 40 million dollars at him and see what happens when the season starts. If it doesn't work out, two years into the seven year deal, it's ah...just send him to the minors."

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    Wade Redden knows that first hand.

    After the 2005 lockout, the Ottawa Senators had to make a tough decision. In order to stay within the newly-established cap, they could only sign one of its star defencemen: Redden or Zdeno Chara. They chose Redden and Chara decamped to Boston.

    Redden signed a new deal, making him the highest-paid Senator as well as providing him with a no-movement clause. When Redden vetoed a trade to Edmonton, then a second move to San Jose, Ottawa decided to cut him loose and the Rangers swooped in, shedding money. New York gave him $39-million over six years but Redden's play couldn't keep up with expectations. He got sent to the AHL, becoming the highest-paid player in the league's history.

    "It wasn't easy. It's happened to a number of guys now in the last number of years. It's unfortunate," Redden recalls. "For me, I tried to approach the game the same way. I wasn't happy about it, but I went down and tried to work my way back to the NHL. You have to keep playing hockey and you're still making a lot of money, so you have to approach it the same way."

    He says he just tried to make the best of it, but it was disappointing.

    "I just tried to find the joy in it again and that's how I approached it. The AHL has a lot of young guys, and there was a great bunch of kids in Hartford when I went there. I kind of fed off their enthusiasm and that made the transition easier. I didn't want to sit and pout and sulk the whole time. That wasn't going to get me anywhere either."

    And if he had a chance to do it over again?

    "If they're going to give you the money, you have to take it, then go out and play as hard as you can. Obviously, you look at where you'll fit in, where the team is, where you want to be and how much money is on the table. You have to follow your heart. You can't overthink it too much, but if it feels right, take the money."

    In the end, Redden did get to play 29 more games in the NHL before his career ended, but it wasn't the way he wanted to go out.

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    This year, for the first time in a while, NHL general managers have significant new money to spend. Bowen Byram isn't a bad defenceman, but signing for $12.5-million per season for six years in Chicago could easily land him in the Holik/Redden Hall of Cap Fame. What will Hawks management do if his play falls off three years into this deal and they're stuck with an immovable contract no other team will touch? When you consider Lane Hutson is making less than nine million and Byram is nowhere near Hutson's caliber, it's not hard to tell the crazy days of free agency are back. 

    In Montreal, Kent Hughes has decided not to throw his money away just to fill a hole that could be filled in other ways as long as he's got a stable full of young colts to pay. It's probably better for him and for the players that he's playing the long game in cap management.

    Looking back, Wade Redden says his playing days were tough after signing his big Rangers' deal, but now he's got a different perspective.

    "There's a lot of factors, depending on where you are, what your personality is, what kind of team it is, what the money is," he says. "It is a big part of it. We have agents to help guide us and give us advice, and they kind of have a different perspective. When you're playing, you don't look that far down the road, but money's a big part of it. I look back now and I'm glad I have the independence I do and made the money I did."

    As for Bobby Holik:

    "Every time you step on the ice, it could be the last time you play forever," he states. "There's so many possibilities that's your last shift, your last practice. Every single time. So players, when they're presented a contract, they don't think "Oh, if I sign this, I'll be in the minors in two years." They think they have an opportunity to sign the contract and never worry about money again. Nobody really asks the players what they go through day to day. I don't regret any of my decisions. I loved New  York, but unfortunately, it was the wrong time for me to be there. I gave them my best. I didn't work out, so I moved on."

    "We're human beings, and we don't ask if we're the best fit. We have families and lives. We are just part of the business. We're part of the big machine. We're not more than that. GMs use you and when they don't need you, they get rid of you. To be successful, you have to have the love and passion. But if you're doing it for a long time, you have to be mentally tough and separate you the person from you the business."

    As long as Hughes in in charge in Montreal, Canadiens players can hope for better than that.

    

The Lost First

    

     On NHL draft day, 2022, things were looking good for the Montreal Canadiens. Their season had been dreadful, but the result of winning the draft lottery meant they had a shot at a player around whom they might restructure the rebuild Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton had been hired to deliver. It was a stellar first draft for them.

    Juraj Slafkovsky was far from a slam-dunk at first overall when Shane Wright seemed to have a lock on that honour. Four years later, Slaf gets better all the time and has figured out how to use his big frame to produce points and drive the first line. He cracked the thirty goal plateau this year and put up 12 points in 19 playoff games. Meanwhile, Wright has struggled to adapt to the NHL game and has a total of 36 career goals.

    The second round was probably even better for Montreal, taking Lane Hutson with the 62nd-overall pick. Just about every re-draft concocted by pundits has Slafkovsky/Hutson as the top two. Owen Beck at 33 and Adam Engstrom in the third round aren't at that level, but they've both played NHL games and are useful assets for the trade market. 

    Then, there's Filip Mesar. The Canadiens had two first-rounders in 2022 and Mesar was the second, chosen at 26th. It was a thrill for Slafkovsky who grew up with Mesar and was delighted he'd get to play pro hockey with his old buddy. It hasn't panned out that way though. While Slafkovsky got the kid-glove treatment with entry to the NHL at just 18, Mesar has languished in Laval. He's a lot smaller than his countryman and he's been told he'll have to learn to play a tougher game if he wants a shot at making the Habs' roster. This season, he put up just 27 points (nine goals) in 71 games for the Rocket, becoming a healthy scratch more than once.

    That's not going to cut it on a steadily improving Canadiens team.

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    Complicating things for Mesar are the forwards chosen in the drafts after him. Big Florian Xhekaj came along in 2023 and offers a toughness Hughes wants to see in the Habs bottom six. Then 2024 brought elite forwards Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage, both in the first round. Last season it was Alexander Zharovsky. Tonight, Hughes will try to add another piece to his rebuilding roster, pushing Mesar farther down the depth chart.

    Hughes hasn't made too many errors in evaluating talent, but Mesar is one of them. He just hasn't been able to put his prodigious skill to use the way he'd like because of injuries, streakiness and his lack of mass (he weighs about the same as Hutson, but of course is most definitely not Hutson.) Now he finds himself slipping down the depth chart with every draft. He's not big enough or tough enough for a bottom-six role and he's got way too much competition for the top six.

    Hughes is well-known for having a keen eye for recognizing, before anyone else, when a player's development has peaked. He may have reached that point with Mesar by now and could try to sell him off as a reclamation project to a team with a need for an offensive-minded forward.

    Any way you look at it, though, his future probably isn't in Montreal. It's probably just a matter of time before the Habs cut bait on him and Hughes will have to act smartly to get whatever return he can now, because in every year Mesar doesn't make it his value drops. 

    It may be at the draft table tonight, or sometime over the summer, but you have to think Hughes is quietly looking for a new home for his former first-rounder. Especially because he's got a do-over with the 28th pick this year and a chance to recoup the value Mesar was supposed to bring.

    A team can't hit a homerun on every draft pick, but the Canadiens of the past have proven what happens when their first-round picks end up being busts. Those players have the best shot of making the pros and generally becoming the cornerstones for their teams. Franchises invest a lot of time, patience and money developing their high draft picks, so when one of them doesn't measure up, the team loses in more ways than one.

    In Mesar's case, he came with the draft and we'll see tonight if he leaves with it as well.

    

At What Price the Hall

   

    Once upon a time, when someone was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was because he was an outstanding player in every way. Trophies, big numbers, Stanley Cups, legendary performances; those things used to define a Hall of Famer.

    Former Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood has three Cups and two Jennings trophies for the top save percentage in the league. He's the only goalie in NHL history with more than 400 wins and fewer than 250 losses. He's not in the Hall of Fame.

    Andy Moog won three Cups with the '80s Oilers, as well as a Jennings, but was overshadowed by his tandem-mate, Grant Fuhr. He was not inducted into the Hall either.

    Mike Richter brought the Rangers back as Cup champions in 1994, 54 years after their last title. He had a career save percentage over .900 and GAA under three. He's not in the Hall of Fame.

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    As of today, June 22, 2026, Carey Price is a Hall of Famer. He was a good goaltender. He won a Vezina and a Hart trophy. He made some game-saving plays. He also made some boneheaded ones and he never won a Stanley Cup. If you compare his resume with those goalies who were inducted before him, it doesn't really hold up. 

    It feels like the standards of the Hall have been relaxed in the age of NHL parity. Teams don't win multiple Cups in a decade the way the Habs, Oilers and Islanders did. The opportunities for good players on mediocre teams to excel on awards day used to be limited, but now those chances are readily available. What used to be judged on how much a player's team benefited from having him in the lineup is now a celebration of the individual.

    Price was the best player on a legendary team down on its luck during his career. His team exploits are negligible because the rest of the players just weren't up to scratch, but his personal triumphs outstrip what he did for the team as a whole. His elevation is emblematic of the shift in qualification for accolades. 

    One could even make the argument that Price's HoF credentials were plumped up by the team that drafted him high in the first round, protected him when his play was subpar and traded away Jaroslav Halak when he looked to be edging in on Price's "thoroughbred" status. Yet, when the playoff torch needed a bearer, Halak carried it...not Price.

    If the standards of the Hall have changed, however, so have those of the Canadiens. Getting into the Hall of Fame without winning a championship wouldn't cut it for the current players. They...like Cole Caufield who thought scoring empty-net goals wasn't fair...expect more from themselves. They aim to win their honours fair and square and they want to deserve them. 

    The league and the Hall may accept the individual achievements of players, but these Canadiens are all about team and the ultimate team prize is the Stanley Cup. You have to think that would trump any individual awards up for grabs for most of them. We saw it when Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki won the Lady Byng and Selke trophies respectively this year and immediately gave credit to their teammates who helped get them to that level. Even Lane Hutson gave credit for his Calder win last year to his fellows. None of them were thinking "This might get me into the Hall of Fame," because they're expecting to bring home the big prize in the next few years.

    In Price's case, there were few team honours to celebrate during his time in the NHL, so his personal achievements are his career highlights. You have to think the next generation of Habs wants more.

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    Shea Weber is a Hall of Famer as well, but his resume is even thinner than Price's. He was a good, solid, versatile defenceman, but ten years from now, who'll remember him? Price might last longer in the collective hockey fan memory, but eventually, he too will fade into history. Those future fans who visit the Hall will see his plaque and wonder why he's there.

    Without the hype around the Habs and the dearth of quality Team Canada goalies through the 2000s, Price would probably not have the image recognition it takes to get into today's Hall. If he'd been up for admission twenty years ago, he might have had to wait a few years, or not get in at all.

    Celebrity has replaced performance in some ways these days. 

    Legends aren't what they used to be.

    Still Carey Price will now have a jacket and ring to confirm he belongs in the ranks of the elite. Even if the standards have slipped, getting into the Hall of Fame still counts for something. It won't make up for the Cup he and Weber ruined their bodies to chase, but maybe it'll provide a little consolation.

 

The Moments

    

     The 2025-26 NHL playoffs were a wild ride for your boys in bleu, blanc et rouge. The charged atmosphere at the Bell Centre, the excitement and youth of the players determined to push farther than they did last year and the absolute fun they offered for the whole season made this year one for the scrapbook. (As opposed to the many seasons since the last Cup that were more suited for the scrap heap.)

    You know how it is when you go on vacation or plan a big event? Your senses are like a kaleidoscope; swirling and colourful, composing a series of pictures you hold in your memory and draw down whenever you think of that vacation or event in the future. Nobody's pictures of this playoff run will be exactly the same, but the feeling they create is what joins us together as fans.

    So, for what it's worth, here are ten of the top moments to remember from this post-season:

10. Alex Newhook. The pride of St.John's, Newfoundland has shown he can put the puck in the net and moves with blazing speed but nobody really expected he'd end up being one of the heroes of the post-season for Montreal. However, with two Game Seven series winners...one in OT...Newhook proved there's some jam in his game, and he can be a clutch player. If Kent Hughes was wondering whether the deal he made for Newhook was a good one, he got some assurances from the player this spring.

9. Hutson Assists Dobes. This moment stood out because its originality and quick thinking were absolutely emblematic of Lane Hutson's game. There was Jakub Dobes in Game Seven against Buffalo, stretched out in a half split, desperately trying to hold his skate tight to the post as a couple of big Sabres hacked away at him. Hutson, recognizing Dobes was having trouble, smartly dropped down into the net behind his goalie and used both hands to push Dobes' pad and help him close the gap between skate and post. It was a unique and savvy play by a young player who's earning those descriptors anew in every game.

8. Slafkovsky Hatty. Juraj Slafkovsky was the first overall pick in the 2022 draft and was booed by some unhappy critics at the Bell Centre who wanted Shane Wright instead. Slafkovsky told everyone that day that he hoped people would like him eventually. He's been working on developing the power forward game Hughes had envisioned before committing to him, and his breakout party came in Game One of the first round against Tampa. His three power play goals, including the OT winner, marked the first time in Habs history a player has done that on the road. Slafkovsky served notice he's growing into his size and skill and and at just 22, he's already a force. Shane who?

7. Dobes Being Dobes. Jacob Fowler has been touted as the Habs goalie of the future and at 21 years of age, there's nothing to say he won't be the starter when it's time for the Canadiens to compete for a Cup. Dobes, however, has made it known the job will not be Fowler's by anointing. Dobes is one of the biggest reasons the Canadiens got as far as they did in the post season, and he did it with inimical style and humour. When he went to the wrong net in his first playoff OT, it was funny. When he play-fought with Arber Xhekaj in the crease after a win, and when he stood at centre ice wide-eyed and smiling as the Bell Centre crowd screamed his name it was entertaining. And when he gave an interview, he was spectacularly honest. He also proved he's nobody's patsy and will defend his space as needed.

6. The Wolf Hat. It was silly, it was (probably) smelly and it wasn't pretty, but it was an important talisman binding the group together. The message that the team was as tight as a wolf pack was one coach Marty St.Louis pushed all season and the players bought into it wholeheartedly.

5. Gallagher's Goal. It's never easy to see a player whose entire career you've witnessed coming down the other side of the pro hockey hill. It was very tough for him to be a healthy scratch. He's a proud player who's been a leader and contributor for more than a decade, but he tried to stay positive for the sake of his young teammates on an important playoff run. So when he finally got the call to suit up, he was more than ready. The last goal of Gallagher's Canadiens career in Game Five against Tampa opened the scoring and led to a critical win. The only ones happier for him were his teammates.

4. Hutson's Shot. Hutson has faced a lot of doubt in his young career. First he was too small to make the NHL at all. Then he was too offensively-minded and allegedly didn't play strong enough defence. Then he was okay on defence, but his shot was lacking. Well, not anymore. Hutson said he'd spend last summer working on his shot and boy, did he ever! Game Three OT against Tampa, the puck came to Hutson on the blue line and he absolutely wired it for the winner. Hutson may have arrived last September, but his shot arrived on April 24, 2026.

3. Dobes Pie. This was a silly little moment after Dobes stood on his head to close out the Tampa series. Sam Montembeault, who lost his job to Dobes this year and hadn't played since March, surprised Dobes with a post-game shaving cream pie to the face. And while it was silly, it also said a lot about the guys who only got to watch the games from the press box. That even the scratches were part of the team shenanigans was good for the morale of the whole group.

2. The Church. The Montreal fans got some flack for being crazily over-the-top in showing their love for their team, but you have to admire the Catholic church that hosted watch parties for fans. And the guy who changed the name of his restaurant to Dobes. And the 20-thousand-plus who stood outside to watch every home game and inside for every road one. Yes, Montreal fans are devoted, loud and likely a little bit crazy, but they make the Canadiens' experience different than what most other teams offer.

1. Josh Anderson. When these playoffs come to mind in the future, Josh Anderson will loom large. Very large. As in Powerhorse large. The value to a team of a player who can flip a mental switch and ramp up his game to a whole new level is immeasurable. Anderson was everywhere all post-season long. He hit everything that moved (and some that didn't...including the goal post how many times?) He scored important goals and killed penalties. He was a force and if young Florian Xhekaj wants to make an impact in the NHL, he can learn a lot from Mr.Anderson.

Honourable mention: The Aftermath. Although the players were hard on themselves during some tough losses this season, they're not letting the self-flagellation continue into the offseason. With players going to concerts and sports events together, even hanging out with St.Louis, they're nurturing the spirit they'll need when they come back next year and push to go farther than they did this season. When kids like Ivan Demidov and Alexander Zharovsky (where's Hutson and who hogtied him?) are already on the ice before June is even over, they're showing they want to be part of that climb too. The future is arriving way more quickly than we could have imagined and it is good.

Draft Day is Coming

     

    Every year, on NHL draft day, young men in new suits sit anxiously with their parents in stiff-backed arena seats, waiting for older men in more expensive suits to decide their fates. Some wait for hours before hearing their names called. Some leave in tears of disappointment. The first-rounders have been wined and dined, measured and tested, and their wait is a short one. They're the kids with the highest chance of making the pros. They're also the ones who'll forever carry the "bust" label if they don't get there. Watching at home, Terry Ryan has flashbacks.

     The draft, for him, isn't just a great memory. It's the highlight of his pro hockey career, even if it didn't work out the way he'd hoped it would.
    "A lot of people would say it's a whirlwind and they don't remember," he smiles. "I remember every second of it. I remember walking down out of my seat. The first thing I did was look over at my buddy, my linemate, Daymond Langkow, who had just gone fifth overall to Tampa Bay. I was walking up to the podium (as the eighth overall pick) and we made eye contact and nothing was really said. We were just smiling, and it was a really weird moment."

    "It was kind of like a baseball player getting drafted and going to the Yankees. I think if I'd gone to the Nashville Predators, or to Columbus...not to knock those teams, but...it wouldn't have...I didn't have time that day to accept that I was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens."

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    Ryan knew he was going to go high in the first round. His stock had been rising fast during his draft year. It was, he recalls, a perfect season. He had 110 points in 70 games, and most of the pro teams were knocking on his door.
    "I know I could have played my whole career in the NHL," he reflects now. "All those scouts weren't wrong. At the same time, I also know everything has to go right. There's a bit of luck in this. There's a lot of injuries in hockey. If you get injured in your draft year, you're behind the eight-ball right away. You have to be put with good players. You have to be in the right environment. Your schooling has to be going right. All those things went right in my draft year."
    The Bruins, choosing ninth overall, had been in contact. They assured Ryan they'd pick him in the first round. Other teams called too. The Washington Capitals flew him and some other prospects down south and put them through three hours of I.Q. tests and physical training. The Oilers flew them back up north and tested them again. There was no question Ryan would become the highest-ever NHL draft pick from Newfoundland. The only thing left to wonder about on draft day was how high he'd go, and which team would own him.
    He never dreamed he'd be chosen by his favourite NHL team, and, even as a cocky kid minutes away from hearing his name called, had no reason to think the Habs were his destiny.
    "I was in the elevator on the way to my seat with my dad and a couple of more, and Doug Robinson, who was the head scout for Montreal. Montreal was one of the only teams that didn't interview me at all. Nothing. So, I didn't really expect to talk to them. San Jose was picking twelfth and they told me they were picking me," Ryan remembers. 

    "So, anyway, in the elevator, the draft was just starting and I was actually late to my seat. Doug Robinson said "Congrats on a good year. Western Hockey League power forward. I like to see that." I said, "Thanks Mr.Robinson. I think a lot of your organization." And on the way off the elevator he said, "Congrats on a good Memorial Cup." 

    "And I said, "Jeez, I didn't play in the Memorial Cup." So, I went a little closer to try and get a read on him, and I said, "Okay, Mr.Robinson, I'll see you." And he said, "Okay, thanks Shane." So, fifteen minutes before they drafted me, the Canadiens thought I was Shane Doan, by appearance."

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    The team got the name right when the Canadiens staff took the podium to announce the eighth overall pick. Terry Ryan was overwhelmed. He'd been taken by his favourite team in the first round, and life couldn't have been better. He says now, that's as good as it got. 

    Ryan spent the next year back in junior where he had a decent season, despite some injury problems. During the following campaign, the second after his draft, he finally got the phone call of his dreams and made his NHL debut. It didn't work out the way dreams are supposed to.
    "The guys who drafted me got fired," he recalls. "I was a long shot for them. I wasn't the best skater. I had a lot of character. And I could score. But the times I was called up, it was because someone was hurt, it wasn't because they wanted me." 

    "I got maybe three shifts a game. In the minors, I was rookie of the year. I had 20 goals, I lead the league in fights. Everything I was doing in the minors was, if not on pace, then above expectations from what anybody thought."

    At the NHL level, Ryan ran into head coach Michel Therrien and they didn't get along.

    "Years later, I look back and I'm not as bitter as I was. At the time, I was pretty upset. I was getting called up, getting one shift and I'd fight Tie Domi. I'd do it. I'd fight these guys because I wanted to make the most of my opportunity. There were over ten games in the NHL when I didn't even get one shift, and they don't even count as a game played. That happens to a lot of people."

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    After the first few games in the NHL, injuries struck. First, concussions, then a busted ankle. Frustrated at never getting a real shot with the Canadiens, Ryan took his agent, Mike Barnett's, advice and sat out training camp. He never played in the NHL again. He's not bitter now, but getting past the feeling of being a disappointment to himself and his family was a long trip down a bumpy road.
    "It was hard at first," Ryan admits. "It's a long story. I got to see the world from the other side for a while, and it was wild. I was the biggest prospect in Newfoundland. I was talked about as the best player on the island. I had all those things going for me."

    "When I got hurt, I felt like I let the whole province down. It took a while. I got divorced the same year I was told I couldn't play anymore. I put on sixty pounds and went on a reality show and lost it. It was a long, long, long story. It was hard to deal with, but at the same time, my dad, who played pro hockey, said, "Hey, you could have got injured when you were 14 or 15. But you played in the NHL. You played for the Canadiens.""
    That's what matters to Ryan now. He regrets skipping that last training camp, but he's come to terms with the way his NHL career panned out...or didn't. And he's still a Habs fan.
    "Recently, in the last couple of years, I've flown up and gone to the Habs games, and you're reminded when you go to the building. There's six or seven hundred names there outside. The players. I was one of them. When you think about it like that, it's kind of mind blowing," he muses.
    "One thing I would tell young players is there's so much more than the NHL. There's so many opportunities, and the small percentage that make the NHL...they're to be commended and looked up to. But there are a lot of avenues that young players can take. I look at my whole experience as "Wow! This all happened to me!" And I can't believe it," Ryan marvels now, decades after he became a first rounder. "The draft ended up being the highlight of my career. That and my first NHL game. Those things still happened and they were still great."
    These days, Ryan does some acting, podcasting and stand-up comedy. He's a father and also the author of "Tales of a First Round Nothing," his autobiography. The book's title is tongue-in-cheek because Ryan knows a lot of fans write him off as a failure.

    However, when Terry Ryan watches the draft now, he can still feel those teenage emotions; the hope, trepidation and wonder of it all. The thing he feels most now is quiet satisfaction. His NHL career was short...only eight games...but in the big picture, he knows he made it after all.