“Kirby Dach is no Sean Monahan”.

Sean Monahan is off to an excellent start in Columbus.

He has 11 points in 11 games and is one of the main contributors to the Jackets’ success. He’s clearly playing in honour of his good friend Johnny Gaudreau.

Meanwhile, things aren’t going so well in Montreal, and the team could really use a guy like Sean Monahan. Too bad they traded him last year…

See @renlavoietva ‘s “Check” here: https://t.co/zuZRcpQVg1

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 6, 2024

In return for Monahan, Montreal still acquired the pick that drafted Michael Hage, a prospect with whom fans fell in love pretty quickly.

But Mony could help the Canadiens right now. And according to Renaud Lavoie, “Kirby Dach is no Monahan”.

It’s a comment that speaks volumes, all the same. After all, people have high expectations of Dach, and even though he’s coming back from a major injury, he’s not playing like the Jackets’ protégé.

The record with and without Monahan shows just how much Martin St-Louis’s team is missing his services. As the TVA Sports reporter pointed out, in 45 games without the center’s services, they’ve won just 14.

Montreal may not have a Monahan in its line-up right now (no, Christian Dvorak isn’t), but that’s not necessarily a problem right now. I liked him in Montreal, but Kent Hughes would never have signed him for five years. The team is still rebuilding and isn’t ready to win yet. I don’t think it would have been smart to increase the payroll for five years.

In Monahan’s case, Lavoie reminds us that he wasn’t just good offensively, but could do a lot more than just collect points.

It wasn’t just his offensive game that was interesting, his defensive game was too. He took important face-offs in both the offensive and defensive zones, and there was also his leadership. – Renaud Lavoie

That’s what’s missing from the Habs right now.

At least we have Michael Hage for the future, and maybe if we kept Mony, the Habs wouldn’t have drafted prodigy Ivan Demdiov.

Overtime

– Oliver Kapanen and David Reinbacher spend a lot of time together.

Oliver Kapanen has been living in a hotel since the start of the season.

“It’s definitely a special way of life. But I’m often with David Reinbacher. We have a good time. That said, I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t miss my parents’ dishes!”

– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) November 5, 2024