1) It was rumoured that P.K. Subban had previously committed towards playing Max Pacioretty’s golf tournament on Tuesday before he was traded to Nashville. However, it would have been an awkward situation had he still attended. Especially considering that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin and Head Coach Michel Therrien were in attendance. It would have been a media circus around Subban and the attention would have been on him rather than the fundraising efforts of Pacioretty.
2) Sven Andrighetto spoke to the media before he teed off:
"Mon but est de faire partie de l'équipe à temps plein." // "My goal is to make the roster." - @Andrighetto25 pic.twitter.com/KQFwHnVusw
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) August 16, 2016
With all due respect to Andrighetto, I would never expect him or any other player to say otherwise. Of course he is training hard and wants to earn a full-time spot on the Canadiens roster come Fall. His goal has to be making the team. Andrighetto signed a one year contract this Summer and knows that this is a make or break season for him. His biggest challenge will be consistency and being stronger in his own end. We’ve seen flashes of his offensive skills and he has nothing left to prove in the AHL. Andrighetto appears to have the inside track for a spot on the 3rd line but there are a few other prospects such as Artturi Lehkonen, Charles Hudon who will be trying to earn their shot as well.
3) It came as a great surprise to the public when Pacioretty’s teammates had voted him as their nominee for the King Clancy award for leadership and community involvement this past Spring. Many believed that Subban should have been the slam dunk nominee due to his $9 million dollar pledge to the Children’s Hospital. However, Pacioretty has his own foundation with the Montreal General Hospital, specifically fundraising for their trauma center and was active in other endeavours. Pacioretty held a golf tournament back in 2012 and raised $82,000. Four years later his second tournament raised $145,000! Fundraising is not a competition but this should help silence some of Pacioretty’s critics…
4) Mark Barberio had an interesting quote:
Barberio says one of his goals is to be a "plus player". Admits it could be a misleading stat but believes it evens out during the yr #Habs
— Joey Alfieri (@joeyalfieri) August 16, 2016
There are a number of haters regarding the +/- statistic but it is there for a reason and is part of the greater picture regarding a player’s performance on the ice. In 30 games last season, Barberio was an even 0, certainly not the worst on the Canadiens roster. Barberio brings some versatility to the back end with his ability to play either side on defence. He will be in competition with Greg Pateryn and the newly acquired Zach Redmond for the 6th spot on the third pairing.
5) Two golf tournaments in one week and David Desharnais did not speak at either of them. This seems to be highly unusual as he has long been the voice of Quebec born players at Canadiens games and events. Desharnais is heading into the last year of his contract and there are a number of questions regarding his spot in the lineup. Is he not being made available to the media at these tournaments or is the media not requesting to speak with him?
Cheers & follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler