Rangers Daily: Past, present collide in Montreal; Jaromir Jagr keeps going
It’s completely understandable that the New York Rangers and their fan base have zero interest in seeing Martin St. Louis and Jeff Gorton achieve any level of success with the Montreal Canadiens. That’s especially so after the upstart Canadiens zipped past the Rangers to grab the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last season.
But the painful truth is that the Canadiens look like one of the more exciting young teams in the NHL, one that’s going to be a pain in the backside for the Rangers and rest of the conference for years to come.
And the fingerprints of St. Louis and Gorton are all over the successful retooling of the Canadiens after a string of down seasons.
Past and present collide Saturday when St. Louis and Gorton’s current team hosts their former one at Bell Centre. St. Louis is in his fifth season as Canadiens coach, after he concluded his Hall of Fame playing career with the Rangers in 2015. Gorton worked in the Rangers front office for 14 years, including six as general manager. He just received a five-year contract extension from the Canadiens to remain president of hockey operations.
The Canadiens scooped Gorton up quickly after he was unceremoniously dumped — along with team president John Davidson — in May 2021. His tenure with the Rangers was a mixed bag — Gorton certainly helped build a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, working alongside Glen Sather. But his draft history was more than spotty as GM.
Gorton has shown patience during the rebuild in Montreal, which includes hiring St. Louis and letting him grow into the role as coach despite no previous pro coaching experience. Gorton has also hit on a slew of key top draft picks and big-swing trades to help get the Canadiens where they are today.
So, the Rangers don’t have to be happy about the success St. Louis and Gorton are having with the Canadiens. But they must deal with it. Not just Saturday, but for years to come.
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Sportsnet: Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr apparently isn’t done playing just yet. Despite saying the 2024-25 season would be his last in professional hockey, the 53-year-old suited up for Rytiri Kladno, the team he owns in the Czech Extraliga, on Friday.
ESPN: Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is week to week with a “significant” foot injury. It’s a big blow for the struggling Kings (1-3-1) and for the 38-year-old center, who’s playing his final NHL season.
Daily Faceoff: Anthony DiMarco provides a thorough breakdown of who might stay and who might go if the Buffalo Sabres blow up the core of their roster.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are working toward a contract extension with general manager Kyle Davidson.
NHL.com: Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season and is now just two away from becoming the first player in NHL history to reach the 900-goal milestone. It came as the Washington Capitals won their fourth straight game, 5-1 over the Minnesota Wild.
TSN: After logging nearly 23 minutes of ice time and scoring the overtime winner against the Rangers on Thursday, Auston Matthews didn’t practice for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday as the team tries to manage his heavy workload this season.
Daily Faceoff: The struggling Calgary Flames (1-4-0) received some good news Friday when star forward Jonathan Huberdeau was activated off IR. He missed the first five games with an upper-body injury sustained in the presesaon.
TSN: Nikita Kucherov didn’t play for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings because of an illness.
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