There is NO WAY... right?

Things just keep getting wilder for Montreal as the trade rumors continue to swirl. The rumor mill around Matvei Michkov has not cooled down since Kevin Weeks reported that he'd like a new home and recent articles, multiple of them including Bleacher Report, I've listed Montreal as an ideal destination for Mitch Cobb. We're going to dive into that, plus one proposed trade package. But not just on the trade front. We have huge updates today from practice, as not only is the three-goalie monster back, we had a surprise starter, sort of, for tomorrow's game versus Boston. And another player who was injured is back traveling with the team. All of that and more all coming up on this episode. Mitch Cobb is a crazy situation, and we're going to get into that. A little bit later, I know there's a Russian connection and leave your thoughts down below. Now, would you go after Matt Benichkov or would you not? We'll get into it a bit later, but I want to start, Jesse, with some some interesting news today. A couple of quick things to just get the people up to date on a Suzuki and Evans took therapy days. We know Evans was a bit banged up after that weird thing at practice. He didn't play last game. That's good. Nick Suzuki got banged up a couple of times in the game. He went down the tunnel, came back, scored the tying goal. It was a bit strange, but they both took therapy days, but maybe the bigger thing. Coming out of practice today, Mike Matheson, he practiced in full and he's traveling with the team to Boston. So Montreal, although we had some therapy days, they seem to be fine. We are getting healthier piece by piece. And I know a lot of people have loved what Caden Gooley has done and we'll see what the lineup looks like with Matheson in. But all the same, like I can't ever be upset when there are reports coming that like all our guys are starting to get healthy piece by piece. It's good news. And what does that mean for an Adam Angstrom who's really playing so well right now? You have to feel like he's going to be that first cut. Good thing Arbor Jack guy's been playing well because he's keeping himself safe from that conversation from now. You got to feel obviously the experience really plays into this a lot, which is why Arbor Jack guy will be safe upon Mike Masters return. But we have to say Adam Angstrom, there's some really strong elements to like about his game. But I'm just liking what we're seeing from the Montreal Canadiens right now. The heart of guys like Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans again. No strangers to be playing injured. We know that Nick Suzuki until very recently was on that Ironman streak. And again, just showing that heart where he's leaving mid-game with an injury and then coming back like literally right before on the fly to be able to score that game-tying goal for us here. Again, this is a stretch of games where the Montreal Canadiens are playing against some of the very best teams in the league. And this isn't lost on them. And they want to put their best foot forward. I think like them making themselves available in this game to saying like, We don't want to just show that we can play with the best teams in the league. We want to show that we're one of the best, if not one of the best teams in the league, the best team in the league as soon as this very season. Yeah, I think it's possible. Now, you know, this week is tough. Of course, Minnesota and then Boston is shaping up very well. Could be the winner is first in the Atlantic. We'll see what happens there. And then you got Colorado coming up on Saturday. And then even over the next month, you have more games against Colorado, against Vegas, against... Even the Rangers, they're a bit of a weird team, but they've been annoying to play against for some reason this year, even without Shesterkin. A lot of weird matchups coming up, but you're right. Like, Montreal's ready to prove it. And getting your guys healthy, that's a big step forward. And also, though, in net, there's another guy getting healthier. But the note out of the goalie situation is not actually about the guy who's getting healthy. It's about Jacob Fowler. Jacob Fowler has been confirmed as the starter versus the Boston Bruins. I want to say I'm surprised because, well, I want to say because I am like, like I am, you know, I know it's hard to say that, you know, Jacob Fowler doesn't deserve to start against Boston, but like. He has been playing so, so, so much. Marty confirmed he will be the starter Thursday. Is this because it's a must-win game, Jesse? Is it simply that? Is it, you know, they're planning Dobosh to go Saturday versus Colorado? Is it, are we just at the point now? We're throwing back to 10, 15, 20 years ago where the starter is the starter and they get most of the games. I mean, in today's NHL, it's not something that I have come to expect, but I can't say I'm upset with this. this. Jacob Fowler has been One of, if not the best goalie in the league for certain stretches this season that I, hey, I like putting the faith in him to get this, not must win, but this very crucial game for the standings. It's the right decision. Again, we're going against the Boston Bruins, which this could be for the lead of the Atlantic Division. So again, you really want to put your best foot forward and give yourself the best opportunity to win. We know a lot of talk has been made around the league around that recently. Putting Jacob Fowler in in this next game here is going to absolutely give us that best opportunity right now. What he's doing right now at 21 years of age, again, the .925 save percentage. And again, it's also the second best save above expected. It's not just the quantity of saves, but it's the quality of it as well. When we see a 12.3 goals saved above expected, that's certainly passing the eye test. We're just seeing so many times where it should be a sure goal if it weren't for Jacob Fowler's left or right leg kicking across the crease. he'd just make fantastic saves here. And I do really believe, again, Jacob Fowler is going to be in the... He's the winner right now, in my opinion, to win the Calder. He's having a better season, in my opinion, than Gavin McKenna. But it's not just there. He's even in the conversation with Jesper Wallstedt. Again, we have to say they were battling it out last night. Now, Josh, what allows both of these goalies to be elite and why they will be potentially battling it out for the top? The calm that they play with. We know Jacob Fowler, it's obvious. So much, so little movement to really do the saves that he needs to. Even Jesper Wallstedt, when there's bad puck bounces, he's staying cool as a cucumber the way that he's handling that puck. There's a clear, again, indicator of what's going to allow Jacob Fowler, because we know Jesper Wallstedt has got a little bit longer of a sample size, to truly be successful in this league. And again, I can't help but thinking we don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. We want to give respect. You can't help but thinking of Jacob Fowler as being a Carey Price 2.0 in a certain way. Could be even better, dare I say. And the Montreal, this version of them could be better than any version of the Montreal Canadians that Carey Price ever had the opportunity to play with. So it only seems right as this team is taking a step up. They really have a goalie in line with that as well. Obviously, a lot of work is going to need to be done to get there. But Jacob Fowler is doing absolutely everything to establish that type of foundation. Yeah, and I think that we're already seeing, like, I definitely agree with the fact that this team's, especially their offensive ceiling, looks a lot better than most, if not all of those teams that we put in front of Carey Price. Now, Fowler to surpass him eventually, I think, yeah, it's obviously, like, it'd be crazy to say it, but also, you look at the numbers at the start of their career, I'm just saying, there is no big sample that we need to continue to just wait and see what happens, but, like, He's often as good a start as you could possibly ask for. So we're going to have to wait and see. But you're right, like having the confidence to run a guy this much is three starts in the last 10 days and four starts in 11 days, I think like, hey, but he's the guy. And also shout out Jeremy Swayman and boss to talk about goals aimed above expected leaders. If you look at the rate stat per 60, Wallstedt's up there with Fowler, with Swayman, there's going to be a lot of goalie battles coming up soon. So keep an eye out for all that. But we got to move on to. I don't know. This is, this situation is wild. The Matvei Michkov situation is absolutely wild. Now, Daniel Briere has said some stuff today. He's like, ah, we're not, we're not trading them because, you know, this trade request, it's news to us. But here's the thing. Kevin Weeks. He's very rarely wrong. Like, you know, this is the thing. Like, this is what gets me. Kevin Weeks pulls over to the side of the road, breaking news on X, and he's recording himself. Whenever he does that, it's something big. He doesn't do that if it's just nothing. And he said, from multiple league sources, the Flyers' unimpressive start and internal turmoil, Michkov would likely want a new start elsewhere. He's in the last year of his contract, prime trade candidate moving forward. And then Danny Briere is saying, like, ah, he's been placed in a position to succeed. More minutes, more opportunities. He's developing. Crazy response today, but the reason we're talking about this is not just because Michkov, you know, might want out, and, you know, we want a talented player. It's because the Habs continue to be named, and especially in a Bleacher Report article that will be linked down below, look, six possible destinations for Matvei Michkov. Who's the first team they mention? Montreal. They say, you know, we're talking back, you know, way back with the draft stuff, whatever. Fast forward three years, and the potential for Michkov to land with the Canadians may be renewed. And they talk about a Dmitrov connection. They have a familiar face in Demidov to greet him as they were once teammates in Russia. We might dive into some trade prices as one article touched on just a little bit ago. But Jesse, I mean, like, If there's one guy that you want to take a swing on, a young talent in a bad situation who objectively perfectly fits skill set wise next to a guy like Ivan Demidov across the opposite wing, I feel like if you're a Kent Hughes and you're not calling just to see what the price on a guy like this is, you're probably not doing yourself any favors. Ken Hughes is definitely calling, but for me, this is not only a no, it's a big fat no. And really the reason for that is, is the Montreal Canadiens play their best when they're playing team first hockey, getting the puck. In deep and we know we're an offense first team, but it's really when we have those defensive responsibilities that we're truly at the best and getting on the forecheck is so much the identity of this team. Again, maybe I'm old fashioned, but I'm just getting hung up on the comments from Matvei Michkov in the past and having reluctance to want to puck to really get in the puck in deep there. I just that's for me. That's the identity of the Montreal Canadiens. You're flying completely in the face of how we like to play the game. I get that you're an offensive player. We want you to hold on to the puck, and Ivan Demidov's not just chipping in all the time, but when that's what the situation calls for, and to make a good shift and line change, you absolutely need to do that. Again, I feel like that's part of it. Some clashes with the teammates, as well as maybe reasons why I feel we didn't pick him in the first place. And thirdly, this isn't the most important reason, but bringing Matvei Michkov, I don't feel, would help David Reinbacher's development. At all, there would be too much noise. That's a fifth overall pick. You put a lot of time, money in developing this player. You want to make sure for David Reinbacher, unless he's going back the other way in a trade here, you want to make sure that you're putting him in a situation there would just be too much noise, constant comparisons to Michkov and him, and I don't think that that really helps either of their games at the end of the day. That being said, Kent Hughes is definitely going to do his due diligence because this is a player that obviously has just tons of offensive capabilities. 51 points last year, pretty decent, but he's looking to really jump through this year on pace for 42 goals, 70 points. Again, you really don't want to scoff at this. Again, for me, it's just that culture is so important. We've had those conversations with Kreider in the past where maybe I wasn't the most open to it, and then him coming, and then, okay, we can forget. But I think there's just certain lines for the Montreal Canadiens that you have that just certain barriers that you're allowed to cross and certain other ones that you won't. I just, I don't see how Michkov could really fit into that team first plans that the Montreal Canadiens have. Yeah, and you know what? That is a very fair take. I think, you know, I'm of two minds about this because you're right. And not only would this, you know, there's a reason we didn't take him and there's a reason that, you know, there's some conflict and all this. He also... Kind of just wanted to go to that team. He didn't want to go to Montreal. He wanted to go to these. So that's another wrinkle in this whole situation. So would he even want to go there? Would he even want to sign long-term? I mean, I don't know, right? But at the same time, like, it's so tough because I look at this production. I mean, this year, like, in very limited ice time. Now, he is a minus 11, which is. Team worst, I think, for Philadelphia. But, you know, goal scoring is there. 10 goals in 20 games, limited usage, his shooting percentage is 34.5%, which probably won't be sustainable, but he's only playing like 15 minutes a night under Rick Tockett. That first year, 63 points, 26 goals, but since Tockett took over, it's been... I don't know. There's been a lot of conflict here. And again, the question would also be like, what would the price be? And there was one article that came out suggesting, hey, from a winning habit, what about, you know, a first round pick plus a prospect, maybe that guy being Owen Beck. So ultimately it was kind of Beck in a first for Michkov. And like, if that's the price, I mean, I might want to take a flyer on it. I think it would cost a lot more than that. I don't think Danny Briere and the Flyers are even blinking at it. They're like hanging up the phone immediately. We're talking about, we need a lot more, but like, you know, I don't know. I think you make some really good points. My side of it is, if, again, maybe I'm just too much in, like, the head of KTU's, oh, you know, these guys that we thought would never be haves, like, right, or whatever. Maybe we could work something out. Maybe this is the place to unlock him. He was in a bad situation there, and now he comes to Montreal. But still, would he even get PP one time? Maybe. Probably not, though, right? So, like, are you really going to utilize him to his best potential? I don't know. I think, all in all, if the price is not ridiculous, I think we got to check in. I still think it's maybe a good gamble to take, but it's a whole lot of risk. So I don't know, Jesse, like if it costs cheap, like if it is something like back in the first, is that something you'd even consider or is the personality slash, you know, drama? Because to be fair, that is a fantastic point. And it's something Montreal has really tried to steer clear from. Is that still too much for you, even if the price is relatively cheap? We'd have the present and also the future players that the Philadelphia Flyers would be looking for. So if there is an opening, I think it would very much be in the benefit of the Philadelphia Flyers to want to trade with the Montreal Canadiens. We have so many depth players right now. Again, the fact that the Philadelphia Flyers are not in the exact same division, they're in the Metro compared to the Atlantic. Unlike Kucherov, Nikita Kucherov would be a Tampa Bay Lightning in the same division of us, almost as bars that trade from happening automatically. Is an opening here, if that was to be the case. But again, that minus 11, again, for me, just really jumps out. What allowed us to be successful really is, again, is playing that defensive game. I feel like we can score goals. We have those guys that fit that. We need to definitely kit out our top six a little bit more. It's really not finished. Again, I'm just really hesitant here about the culture. I think with Chris Kreider, even though there's history there, there was some inroads with Martin C. Louis and Jeff Gordon. There's all this familiarity where even if there was maybe some past issues, they just really know this guy really well, and they can make a judgment call just from obviously that amount of data. Whereas Mitch Koff, I just don't know if there's that same sort of connection there. Again, with what the Montreal Canadiens have built up so carefully, Again, it's really... A lot easier to destroy something we know than to build something. It takes time, whether we're building a home or anything. It takes one second. You bring in the wrong player, the wrong fit. And obviously, it takes no time to take a jackhammer, right, to some walls as well. And I'm not saying that this is what Mitch Kovkov would be to the Montreal Canadiens dressing room. That being said, I do submit just the idea that Kent Hughes needs to be extremely careful about how we improve this team. It's a young team. They're impressionable, and we need to bring the right players around. Yeah, and I can't possibly disagree with that. I think that's, it's very fair, and it makes a ton of sense. And yeah, like this team is built on culture. It's kind of like a Jenga tower, right? You yank out the wrong piece, it collapses. Now, instead of yanking one out, try and. I don't know. You don't put a piece in the middle of the tower in Jenga and check. Maybe I need a better analogy. But, you know, it is really just that where one piece can kind of be a make or break. How many times have we seen one? Rough locker room presence, leave, and then a player, hey, maybe bounce back. Now, I mean, I'm maybe thinking of Elias Pettersson as an example here. But, you know, anyway, there are cases like that. But anyway, leave your thoughts down below. Would you go after Michkov? Do you think it's worth the risk? Do you think there's just too much baggage there? We'd love to hear your thoughts. We've rambled for long enough. That'll do it for this video. Thank you so much, though, for tuning in every single day. Who knows? Maybe we'll be talking about this again soon. I'm Josh Kosmekos. This is Poirier. We'll catch you all in the next one.