December 3, 2025
Tuesday night was a rivalry night for the Montreal Canadiens with the Ottawa Senators in town. The Habs delivered a poor defensive effort and the result was a 5-2 loss.
Here are some things I noticed.
Slaf is breaking out.
Juraj Slafkovsky is growing game by game. He’s looking more and more like the player the Habs scouts saw at the 2022 Olympics. He’s confidently claiming his place as an essential member of the Canadiens core.
I love the chemistry he has with Demidov. It seems the more visible Slaf is on that line, the more invisible Kapanen is becoming. Is it just me?
Bolduc is iffy on the top line.
He hasn’t been awful but I don’t love him there. That line is missing what Slaf did for them.
Gally is on the struggle bus.
The slow down is real. I mean, he’s probably missing the linemates he was supposed to be with this season, but that body has travelled hard NHL miles and it’s showing. How many times have we seen Gally shaking his head on the bench following a mugging that wasn’t called?
You have to wonder if he’s running out of reinventions.
The D group is on the same bus.
They’re missing a true top four guy. Maybe Guhle helps that when he’s back.
The St. Louis Blues scouts were scouting again.
The rumour mill has the Habs and Blues as trade partners, and of course you take that with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, scouts from St. Louis have been hovering around for a while now, and it’s not for the game they have coming up. You simply don’t scout one opponent this persistently for a regular season game.
So who are they watching? Who has consistently been in the lineup when they have been in attendance? Kapanen? Struble? Xhekaj?
Tis the season… for trade speculation. I bet the Habs make a deal before the Christmas freeze.
Hab At Her 