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Huge buzz at TVA Sports and rumors of dismissal despite playoff wins
Maxime Truman
Huge buzz at TVA Sports and rumors of dismissal despite playoff wins
Credit: Getty Images
Where will you be watching tonight’s game, boys and girls? Will you be at the Bell Centre? In front of the Bell Centre? At Taverne 1909? At La Belle et la Bœuf in Repentigny? With your buddies in your living room? In the Donnacona prison common room?

One thing’s for sure, there’ll be a ton of Quebecers plopped down in front of a TV screen tonight. And I’m pretty sure you’ll all be among them.

Wednesday’s ratings were 10% lower than Monday’s at TVA Sports. It happens!

But tonight, with all the buzz in town over the next few hours, I’m pretty sure we’ll break the 1.2 million viewers-per-minute barrier.

Incidentally, I’m told that the TVA Sports app was so inundated with new subscriptions on Monday night (first game of the series) that it crashed for 45 minutes. With a $35 package for three months, many people wanted to subscribe at the last minute.

Yes, having a ton of new customers is good for TVA Sports, but how many potential customers who had made the move in their heads couldn’t subscribe, opted for illegal streams and may never come back?

In short, thumbs up to the sales and marketingteams… and thumbs down to the technical team on the Web.

A winning coach on the verge of being fired
It’s not just the Capitals vs Canadiens series that has my attention in the first round.

Kings vs Oilers… Toronto vs Senators… the Battle of Florida..

But the most exciting series so far pits two of the best teams in the Western Conference against each other: Stars and Avalanche.

The Stars have managed to win the last two games in overtime and currently lead the series 2-1.

But just because he’s helping his team win games doesn’t mean Peter DeBoer will keep his job next season.

According to a reliable source, Jim Nill, Scott White, Mark Janko and Rich Peverley have their doubts as to whether Pete DeBoer will start the 2025-26 season at the Stars’ helm. DeBoer is currently completing the third year of a four-year contract paying him just over $4 million per season.

DeBoer, unlike a guy like Martin St-Louis, often leads teams that are less and less successful, season after season, or are eliminated earlier and earlier from the playoffs. His old-school coaching style doesn’t appeal to all players. Nor all managers..

And it’s eroding over time…

Of course, it’ll be harder to thank a guy for winning the Stanley Cup, so nothing’s decided yet in Dallas. But if the Stars don’t watch out late this spring, I’m told the chances of DeBoer losing his job over the summer are very high. We’ll see.

Note that DeBoer could also decide to leave on his own, according to my source.

Patrick Roy: it’s all over for him
Speaking of NHL coaches who are less and less successful year after year: Patrick Roy.

The Islanders fired Lou Lamoriello a few days ago, and since then, everyone has been wondering what the future holds for Isles head coach Patrick Roy.

Officially, Roy is still on the job, but the future GM of the organization will be the one to decide his fate. It’s rare to see a coach survive a change of GM. And when it happens, it doesn’t last very long most of the time..

From what I’ve heard, Patrick Roy has already started telling people that he’s done with New York.

Some see him applying for the job of president of field hockey operations and/or GM, but I don’t think the Islanders’ higher-ups have any intention of giving Patrick that kind of power. Roy was Lou Lamoriello’s guy, and Lou is gone..

There are rumours that Marc Bergevin is an excellent candidate to rebuild the Islanders. If that ever happens, he certainly won’t keep Patrick Roy, whom he never wanted anywhere near him in Montreal.

But hey, Bergevin or not, Patrick’s carrots would be cooked in New York. And what Louis Domingue told us last week on Stanley25 goes some way to explaining why Patrick Roy can’t make a convincing case for himself in the NHL.

Mind games have had their day.


Extension

– Is it realistic to think that Sidney Crosby could be the Canadiens’ second center?

@9millions_ Crosby in Montreal, is it possible? Yes and no, believes Louis Domingue 😲 Extra bacon episode of #Stanley25 available everywhere! 🚨 #montreal #quebec #qc #gohabsgo #canadiens #habs #hockey #nhl #fyp ♬ original sound – 9millions

– If all goes well, Giacomo Vrioni should start training with the group again next week.

– The Montreal CF players broke bread at the Palma earlier this week. I guess someone told them that teams who come to play the Habs and dine there the night before a game at the Bell Centre almost always win their game..

– At least it’s not “five times more expensive”. That’s the important thing..

– Montreal CF’s new (young) attacking player is capable of scoring goals.

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