Stéphane Waite told Price he had to be more serious on….

Carey Price had some great years in Montreal.

He was one of the NHL’s most dominant goaltenders for a full decade…

And that’s why he’s seen as something of a “legend” by many in town.

But early in his career, things were a little more complicated.

We’ve often heard in the past that he lacked a little maturity… And that the Jaroslav Halak episode made him lose his cool at times.

This can be normal for a younger player.

That said, after Stéphane Waite took over as goalkeeping coach, Price changed. He became calmer in front of the net, and his preparation was better.

This was because Stéphane Waite suggested he be more serious on game days, as reported in a Journal de Montréal article (Renaud Lavoie):

With the Habs, he had also suggested to Carey Price that he show a little more seriousness around the team on game day, and it proved to be the right approach again, as the Habs goalie seriously took his game up a notch as soon as he arrived. – Renaud Lavoie

It’s not just talk because Waite arrived with the Habs in the summer of 2013… And Price was dominant afterwards :

 

 

Tyler Toffoli’s stay in Montreal was short-lived, but he made his mark.

For his important goals (especially in the 2021 playoffs), his charisma and his leadership, he left his mark on Montreal. The feeling is reciprocal, since he and his wife have not stopped praising the metropolis in recent years.

So I’m here to confirm that Toffoli will be signing in Montreal in July.

No kidding, it’s interesting to know that the forward still has the Habs in his heart. Is the jersey for him? Is it for a family member? I have no idea.

A native of Scarborough, Toffoli came to cheer on his childhood baseball team and visit family. It’s not because he’s going to sign in Toronto… I could be wrong, because you get the feeling that Canada is very important to the family. The 32-year-old has already played for four of the seven Canadian teams (Flames, Canadiens, Canucks and Jets).

He could potentially play for a fifth Canadian team this summer. That would be pretty special.
In 79 games this season with the Devils and Jets, Toffoli collected 55 points, including 33 goals. We can expect him to sign a nice contract, though.

 

 

The 20-year-old winger was named Player of the Game for Slovakia

MONTREAL – The 2024 IIHF World Championship kicked off on Friday in Czechia.

Five members of the Canadiens organization – Cole Caufield (USA), Kaiden Guhle (CAN), Oliver Kapanen (FIN), Vinzenz Rohrer (AUT), and Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK) – are taking part in this year’s annual tournament.

Here’s a recap of all the action on Day 1:

SLOVAKIA 4 – 6 GERMANY

Following a pair of costly penalties in the second period, Slovakia managed to even the score by finding the back of the net twice in the span of 2:03. Slafkovsky’s pressure on German goaltender Philipp Grubauer earned him an assist on his country’s first goal.

In the third stanza, the Canadiens winger set up Libor Hudacek by grabbing the puck along the boards and sending it over to his teammate in the slot.

Named Slovakia’s player of the game, Slafkovsky ranked third in ice time on the team (20:01), and finished the contest with two assists, six shots on goal and a plus-2 differential.

Neither squad could solve Czech goaltender Lukas Dostal nor Finnish netminder Harri Sateri through 60 minutes of play. Overtime didn’t yield a winner either, so the game was decided in a shootout with the host nation coming out on top in a 1-0 win in front of their fans.

Kapanen did partake in the shootout but couldn’t solve Dostal. He logged 15:47 of ice time and a shot on goal.

SWEDEN 5 – 2 UNITED STATES

The Swedes jumped to 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the second period, but the Americans scored twice to bring them within a goal. Ultimately, the US couldn’t make a comeback and dropped a 5-2 decision in their opening game of the tournament.

Caufield was held off the scoresheet. He was limited to two shots and a minus-2 differential in 16:25 of play.

What’s next

Fans will have to wait until Saturday to watch Guhle and Canada in action. They will meet with Great Britain at 6:20 a.m. ET (so early!).

Rohrer’s Austria will face Denmark at 10:20 a.m. ET, while Caufield and the United States will play their second game of the tournament at 2:20 p.m. ET against Germany.