Hockey

The season is a long marathon, and you have to avoid black ice
Tony Patoine
The season is a long marathon, and you have to avoid black ice
Credit: Getty Images

I'm not a marathon runner. Will never be a marathoner. Have no desire to become a marathoner.

Just the thought of running for 3 hours 45 minutes makes my back, hips, knees, ankles and feet ache.

Talk to a marathon runner for 15 minutes and it's almost certain they'll tell you one or more stories about injuries, bad weather, the “wall” at km 25, 35, 40 and so on.

If you ask me, it's all too much to pay for a dose of endorphin..

But professional NHL field hockey players are paid a lot of money to get through the long marathon that is the regular season.

But that doesn't mean it's any easier on the body or the spirit..

Adversity and irresistible sequences

Last season began with a theme of adversity for the Canadiens. As early as training camp, injuries to Laine and Reinbacher quickly cast a dark cloud over the team.

It wasn't until Laine's return in early December that the blue skies finally returned. The arrival of Carrier and Dobes also gave the team another boost, which lasted until mid-January.

Then, at the end of January, the team “hit a wall” at the 25th km mark, clawing back just a few points before the 4 Nations break.

On returning from this tournament, Suzuki, perhaps stung in his pride and committed to his manager to lead his club into the playoffs, placed the club on his back for the difficult kilometers 30 to 40.

In the end, the Habs staggered to the finish line with the Blue Jackets gasping for breath.

so 2024-2025 was a roller-coaster marathon.

Will 2025-2026 be any different?

Probably not.

Don't let the start of the season fool you. It's as if the Habs were off to a sprint start. But sooner or later, no one can keep up this pace and this spectacular conversion rate in shots on goal.

The Habs are the youngest club in the NHL, and sooner or later, despite a nice dose of talent, it was bound to show, consistency being the main challenge of youth.

Especially if they lose Laine, Guhle and Newhook for long periods along the way.

Especially if, along the way, the goalkeepers' spirits began to falter.

Especially if the foot of the Suzuki locomotive prevents them from going full steam ahead.

But the sun will come out..

Will it be against Boston?

Not so sure… We'll see!

Who will you become, Juraj Slafkovsky?

Although he's only 21, it's only natural to expect pretty big things from Juraj Slafkovsky in his fourth NHL season.

Slafkovsky himself expects great things from him.

In general, Slaf has played pretty well so far this season. He is one of the main reasons for the impressive statistics of his two line mates.

Having been a little luckier here and there, he could himself have a few more goals and especially a few more assists on the scoreboard.

But as I always say to my 9-year-old son when we're playing Monopoly: “What's luck doing, my good fellow? That's right, it's spinning!

So, apart from a few less convincing outings, Slaf generally plays quite well and will sooner or later take advantage of more favorable leaps. All he has to do is stay in the right places.

So, the season is still young, but we still haven't seen the great Slovakian blossom, as was the case in Anaheim with Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.

Simon “Snake” Boisvert would even be willing to trade Gauthier for Slaf these days..

True, Gauthier, the 5th overall pick in 2022, four spots behind Slafkovsky, seems to have a scoring touch that the big #20 hasn't yet shown us on a regular basis..

We'll also see if Slaf, better than Tage Thompson at the same age, can continue to develop offensively enough to one day enjoy seasons of 40+ goals and close to 90 pts…

But everyone would take a 65-70 pts Slaf, consistent in his effort and “hard to play against”.

Sounds like a realistic target to me.

An opportunity for Dach? A reason to move quickly?

Newhook's injury will undoubtedly lead to a reshuffling of the forwards.

Of the lot, the “new Kirby Dach”, lighter, faster and gradually regaining his confidence, could get a great opportunity alongside Demidov, perhaps replacing Newhook.

But one way or another, he's one of those who'll get more playing time, currently averaging 14 minutes per game.

Nick Suzuki could also benefit from a little more support from the Albertan. He won't be able to play much longer than 22 minutes per game with a banged-up foot..

But the big question of course is: will Dach be able to run a full marathon for the first time in his career, or will he break again around the halfway mark?

Betting on Kirby Dach isn't the safest bet in town..

Come to think of it, in the wake of Newhook's injury, should in-house solutions prove ineffective (Dach, Kapanen, Veleno, F. Xhekaj, Davidson, etc.) Hughes may have no choice but to make a phone call to his counterparts in Nashville, Calgary and St. Louis to avoid a dangerous slide in the standings before the holidays…in this black ice season hated by marathoners.

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