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The Rocket 2024-25 is no more. The Canadiens’ training club suffered a fourth straight setback last night and its playoff run is over. They weren’t even able to pick up a game against the Checkers. #Sweep #FishTailEnd
The Rocket players were much younger, much less experienced and much smaller (both in height and width) than their opponents. Not for nothing did Pascal Vincent say that the boys were going to have to go to the gym over the next few months, following his team’s elimination.
An observation from Rocket coach Pascal Vincent following the sweep against Charlotte?
“We’re going to have to spend some time in the gym, get physically stronger and get some ‘men strength’.”
Perfectly normal for a young team.– Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) June 4, 2025
Add to that the fact that several veterans were injured (Trudeau, Dauphin, Wotherspoon, etc.), that Cayden Primeau had (re)lost his confidence and that the youngsters’ batteries were all empty..
But what struck me this morning was the fact that the Checkers are off to the final of their championship… just like their big club, the Florida Panthers.
So, yes, it’s always the same guys who have it all.
You have to understand, though, that some organizations attach more importance to the Calder Cup than others. Someone close to the Rocket told me this earlier this week: “At Laval, we don’t make our moves to win the Calder Cup. We do them to eventually win the Stanley Cup.”
OK, fine… the Rocket’s young players have gone out to get experience and they’ve grown from it, but how many players who have defended the Rocket’s colors over the past month will have an important role with the Montreal Canadiens in the future?
I understand the principle, but I don’t have to agree.
Is Fowler really any closer to winning the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens now that he’s had some good – and some bad – games in the AHL?
#Rocket Jacob Fowler on winning goal
“You knew it would be a sloppy break like that. I got to make a read off him and when you want to get back into a series, that’s something I got to be better on, learn from it, and hopefully not make that mistake again.”
#GoRocket #AHL… pic.twitter.com/bp1om2qlYx
– Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) June 4, 2025
And while we’re on the subject of Stanley Cup vs. Calder Cup, the Panthers will begin the Stanley Cup Grand Final tonight in Edmonton, while the Checkers are still waiting to find out who will cross their path in the AHL Grand Final: the Canucks or the Stars. Need I remind you that the Panthers’ last Cup was less than a year ago, while the Habs’ was in 1993?
So, yes, you can aim for the Stanley Cup AND the Calder Cup at the same time. Provided you have the right plan, the right hires… and an advantageous tax rate?
Because I know we’re repeating ourselves here, but good professional hockey players are much more inclined to go and play in states where the provincial/state tax is 0 or 4.5% than in Quebec, where it’s 25%.
Basically, the Rocket’s problems are the same as the Canadiens’: size and taxes.
As I said at the outset, it’s always the same people who have it all. Unfortunately, Montreal fans have had more patience than success to celebrate in recent years.
