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“Bite Me” AM Skate – Canucks, Habs, Leafs, Flames

Published

2 years ago

November 29, 2021

Brady Tkachuk of the Senators, who the Vancouver Canucks will see in two nights, and Brendan Lemieux of the Kings tussle.

Quick turnaround for the Vancouver Canucks as they prepare to take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre this evening, coming off Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. Remarkably, these two struggling, some have called dysfunctional franchises have almost identical records in starting out their seasons in disastrous fashion.

The Canadiens sit at 6-15-and-2 and 14 points, good for 3rd worst in the east, while the Vancouver Canucks dwell at 6-14-and-2, also 14 points, putting them next-to-last overall in the west. Before we ponder Monday’s match-up, let’s take a look at that Habs front office while we go for a twirl …

Bergevin Bounced

Marc Bergevin was fired as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, and former Boston Bruins interim GM and later New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton was hired as the executive vice president of hockey operations. Habs owner Geoff Molson issued the following statement:

“On behalf of myself and the organization, I wish to thank Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins (Assistant GM) and Paul Wilson (Sr VP of Communications) for their passion and engagement towards our club over the last years.”

Molson addressed the media after the team’s morning skate today (Monday). “It’s a lot for one person. If I could go back a couple years, and know what I know today, I would have complemented [Bergevin] with another person,” Molson said.

Jon Still at Montreal Hockey Now tells it like it is about the Bergevin tenure.

Leafs Nation Tickled

Uh oh. We have some bad news for you if you hate the Leafs. They’ve won seven road games in a row and sit atop the Atlantic Division with 33 points. Auston Matthews scored his tenth goal of the season in Sunday’s 5-1 victory over the Ducks in Anaheim.

Scott Cullen from Toronto Hockey Now has all the tantalizing tidbits.

Teething Lemieux

Brendan Lemieux of the Los Angeles Kings will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for biting Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk. The incident occurred during the third period of their game in LA on Saturday. Tkachuk called Lemieux a “brick head”, among other things, after the game. Lemieux could face a half dozen or more games in suspension during the in-person (zoom) hearing.

Later that evening, Brady’s brother Matthew Tkachuk discussed the incident and his own contract situation with the Calgary Flames on an “After Hours” interview on Hockey Night in Canada. Calgary Hockey Now’s Steve Macfarlane catches you up on the conversation and the story on contract talks with the Flames.

The Vancouver Canucks wrap up their five-game road trip at the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.

Enjoy the Hockey Action !!