Montreal Canadiens podcast: Sorting out mess, reasons for optimism

In the most recent episode of our affiliate podcast Habs Fan vs. Leafs fan, Marc Dumont from The Athletic and Jackie Redmond from NHL Network join the show to discuss the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In our effort to expand our coverage, Puck Prose has become an affiliate of the popular Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens podcast Habs Fan vs. Leafs Fan. It’s one of the best podcasts around and their most recent episode is a can’t miss not just Habs and Leafs fans, but all hockey fans.

Their most recent episode features two of the best hockey minds out there. Marc Dumont from The Athletic, who is one of the top Canadiens writers in the world, and NHL Network’s Jackie Redmond join Ari Shapiro and Kamal Rehman. You can listen to it here.

Opening and Pre-Interview

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The podcast opens with yet another creative sketch. This one in the form of Star Wars. Maple Leafs fans will enjoy the discussion on center Nazem Kadri. He’s blossoming under Mike Babcock and is quietly one of the best shutdown centers in the NHL.

However, Kadri can be a bit polarizing because he’s a pest. He tiptoes so close to the lines the rules give, sometimes he accidentally crosses them. On Friday against the Florida Panthers, he did. Shapiro and Rehman note Kadri is getting too much hate for it.

Nazem is a top shutdown center. That edge he plays with is both a blessing and a curse. All Leafs fan can do is hope it’s more of the former than the latter. Kadri does a lot of great things, but often gets overlooked because of Toronto’s depth. Does he have discipline issues? Absolutely. But Kadri is so darn good at drawing penalties and scoring, you’ve got to take the good with the bad.

Rehman discusses why he’s thankful the Canadiens season isn’t over yet. They’re not far out of a playoff spot. And the Habs are getting Carey Price back on Saturday evening against the Buffalo Sabres. He hasn’t quite been himself since his 2015 injury, but he can be a game changer. If Price is closer to his 2014-15 self, or even his 2016-17 self, than he was in the first part of this season, Montreal can still make the playoffs.

Marc Dumont Interview

Dumont and the guys have some excellent discussions. They’re quick to praise Brendan Gallagher, who is having an outstanding season. Last year, a hand injury clearly impacted his shooting, as he only converted on four percent of shots. This season, Gallagher’s back to having a shooting percentage of over 10 percent.

One of the biggest problems the Canadiens have involves zone entries. Specifically, they surrender a lot. Their defensive gap control and positioning are also poor. Dumont provides some insight into these issues in a recent article for The Athletic (subscription required). He thinks it’s partially because of the players and partially because of the system.

The Canadiens season basically relies on Price. Whether this a good thing or bad thing remains to be seen. That’s the risk the Habs are taking. Max Pacioretty is in a slump, but expect him to get out of it soon. And even if he doesn’t, Dumont notes “Patches” could get them a very nice return at the trade deadline.

If the Habs decide to rebuild, there have to be a bunch of moving parts. Pacioretty wouldn’t be the only star potentially on the market. Shea Weber could be, especially with his contract. That huge deal isn’t good to have on a rebuilding roster. Same with Carey Price, though they might have to trade him for other reasons. Each member of this trio could command a significant return.

Redmond Interview

One of the rising media stars on NHL Network, hockey fans in Canada might recognize Redmond from her work with Sportsnet. She gives some great insight into how quickly her life has changed and a bit of what her daily life is like handling her own show.

Redmond is a proud Leafs fan. Much like her career, Toronto is trending upwards. She discusses how surprising and quick the Leafs ascent has become. Redmond names some of her favorite players to watch. Erik Karlsson is immediately listed, and rightfully so. Vladislav Namestnikov is a name a lot of people don’t know, but he’s an important part of the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The future of the Leafs is very bright. But Redmond isn’t quite ready to say they’re a top three team in the Eastern Conference – yet. A lot of their core is still very young and have just one round of playoff experience under their belt.

Next: Each NHL Team's Mount Rushmore

A shockingly bad team this season has been the Edmonton Oilers. Redmond gave her thoughts on that situation. It’s baffling, but somehow, a team with Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Leon Draisaitl is struggling to score goals. Finally, covering hockey in Canada is different than covering it in the United States. But Redmond has been impressed with how many hockey fans there are in America.

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