PAT’S NOTEBOOK
GOOD GUY FINDS WORK
Happy to see hard-working former Canadien Steve Bégin take advantage of a tryout to earn a roster spot with the Calgary Flames. Bégin, who missed all of last season due to hip surgery, is back where his NHL career began in 1999. Bégin, who hasn’t played an NHL game in more than two years, signed a two-way deal and his salary will be the minimum $525,000 pro-rated for the shortened season.
DARCHE IN LIMBO
Mathieu Darche, another one of the good guys, is hanging around New Jersey until the Devils decide whether to offer him a contract. The Montreal native has been on a tryout for the past decade. Darche, who turned down a two-way deal from the Canadiens in the summer, managed to stay in shape through the lockout despite the fact he was one of the most active members on the NHL Players Association negotiating committee, a task that required him to commute between Montreal, New York and Toronto on a regular basis.
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
New Jersey decided to start the season with junior Stefan Matteau from the BlainvilleBoisbriand Armada in the lineup. Making the NHL should make up for the disappointment of being one of the last cuts from the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the world junior championship this month. Matteau is pencilled in as the Devils’ fourth-line centre.
FINDING WORK
It didn’t take long for defenceman Wade Redden to find a job after being bought out by the New York Rangers. Redden, who has been in exile in the American Hockey League for the past two seasons, signed with the St. Louis Blues for $800,000 pro-rated for the shortened season. He has a connection with Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who was an assistant coach when Redden played for the 2006 Canadian Olympic team. Scott Gomez, who was bought out by the Canadiens, is still looking for work, with New Jersey, Anaheim, Carolina, the New York Islanders and San Jose among the teams reportedly kicking the tires.
OVIE BOUNCING BACK
A 38-goal season would look good for most players, but it was part of a disappointing year for Alex Ovechkin, who is coming off the lowest output of his career with 65 points. But most people are expecting Ovi to bounce back this season, and point to his relationship with Adam Oates, the new coach of the Washington Capitals. The two seem to have the trust thing going, and that’s why the Russian has accepted a move from left to right wing. Oates is even talking about using Ovechkin as a penalty killer. “He’s a smart hockey player,” Oates explained. “And a lot of times penalty killers are smart guys. You need execution, you need clearers, you need guys that know what a power play will do. And he’s also a threatening player. When a team’s power play’s on the ice, they know he’s out there. If we can get in their heads a little bit, that’s a great situation to be in.”
ODDS AND ODDS
The odds makers at bodog.ca are expecting Ovechkin to bounce back in this abbreviated season. They have set the over/under on his points total at 50.5. Sidney Crosby, who is making a comeback after concussion woes last season, is at 59.5, while teammate Evgeni Malkin, last year’s scoring leader, is at 58.5. Max Pacioretty is set at 35.5 and Erik Cole checks in at 32.5. P.K. Subban is at 33.5, but you can bet that number will be adjusted as he continues to sit at home. The best bet might be the over on Andrei Markov, who is at 16.5.
MISSING GILL
The Canadiens will miss Hal Gill throwing his elongated body in front of opposition shots on the penalty kill, but his understated sense of humour is still available if you follow @skillsy75 on Twitter. Gill, who’s playing in Nashville, has this offering as Tennessee merged from a rainy cold spell: “Pulling out of the state of emergency in TN due to rain and cold. For you Montrealers, it was like November #wet #chilly.”
BETTING SCANDAL?
Doug MacLean was spared some embarrassment when Team Orr beat Team Cherry in the annual Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects game Wednesday night in Halifax. MacLean, who was an assistant coach for Team Orr, bet Don Cherry $100 on the outcome of the game, but later admitted he had only $15 in his pocket and would have had to borrow money from Sportsnet sidekick Nick Kypreos if Team Orr lost. The incident raises the question: Will betting on a game affect MacLean and Cherry’s chances of being selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame?
STREAK COMES TO END
Bern goaltender Marco Buhrer set a Swiss League record for shutout minutes as he backstopped his team to a 3-1 win over Kloten on Friday. Buhrer gave up a goal in the third period, which ended his scoreless streak at 269:09 since Joe Thornton scored on Jan. 4. The previous record of 249:16 was set in 1999 by former Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet.
NHL IS TRENDING
The folks at Google Trends report an uptick in NHL-related searches in the past week. If the searches are any indication of popularity, it’s interesting to note that searches for the Maple Leafs are up by 30 per cent, while searches for the Canadiens are up 150 per cent. The other Canadian teams are all up, with Calgary at 95 per cent, Edmonton 80 per cent, Vancouver 54 per cent and Winnipeg 16 per cent.