Monday Habs Headlines: Ivan Demidov says Montreal’s struggles are understandable

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

Ivan Demidov likes what he’s seeing from Lane Hutson, and says it’s understandable that one of the youngest teams in the NHL would struggle. [RG.org]
Jake Evans is making it his mission to get pucks to Cole Caufield at five-on-five today. [La Presse]
Josh Anderson thinks maybe an early afternoon game will be the shake-up the Canadiens need. [Le Devoir]
The Canadiens currently rank last in the NHL standings. “Obviously, it’s not where we want to be, but that doesn’t mean you stop, that you feel sorry for yourself,” Brendan Gallagher stated. “We have to find solutions.” [Journal de Montreal]
The top players don’t seem to realize just how poorly they’re playing. [The Athletic]
Carey Price’s letter to Shea Weber. [NHL.com]
Looking back at Weber’s hockey career. [NHL.com]
A third shutout on Sunday in his eighth start has risen Jacob Fowler’s save percentage to .950 on the season. [Journal de Montreal]

Around the league and elsewhere

Kirill Kaprizov doesn’t want to be sitting at home watching when the playoffs begin this year. [NHL.com]
The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Nashville Predators. [Sportsnet]
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass, who are dealing with an upper-body issue and concussion, respectively. [NHL.com]
Eric Lindros believes Wayne Gretzky’s goals record will fall this season. [NHL.com]

Kent Hughes needs to put on his former agent hat and have a talk with his former client Martin St Louis and have a heart to heart discussion about hiring a seasoned consigliere.

St Louis needs to practice what he has preached about getting his players help to make them better.

Hughes has to sell MSL on the benefits that he has received having Jeff Gorton at his side.

Talented hockey players become better through skill coaches and motivational experts. Coaches become better by learning the ropes from those with more experience.

There is no shame in getting help. Martin St Louis is acting like he does not want to ask for directions when driving. I get it. But if something is broken, and it is, you need to suck it up and fix it. Choosing otherwise is not an admirable trait.

The greatest of coaches and GMs surround themselves with the best and brightest of people. Being an awesome coach is not a one man job. It requires a team. St Louis, the ultimate of team player, knows this. It’s Hughes’ job to gently sway his stubborn “client” on this matter. Failing to do so will undermine all the good that both of these quality men have achieved to date.

“There is no shame in getting help. Martin St Louis is acting like he does not want to ask for directions when driving. I get it. But if something is broken, and it is, you need to suck it up and fix it. Choosing otherwise is not an admirable trait.”

I’m not trying to be snarky, here. My question is sincere. Do we really know how St Louis feels about having an experienced former head coach to support him behind the bench?

Is it possible that Hughes has looked for somebody but couldn’t find the right fit? Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anyone who has been successful as an NHL coach, who is available and doesn’t belong to the old school of thought about how to coach such a young and inexperienced roster.

I don’t think Vincent can play that role. He has less NHL head coaching experience than St Louis (by the way, I’ve always loved what Vincent brings to a team. Going back to when he was head coach of the Moose, I argued that the Habs should steal him away from the Jets organization ).

Tags: Montreal’s news