More dark jersey matchups could be on the way
TSN: We could start seeing more dark jersey vs dark jersey matchups as the NHL gives teams a little more leeway in shedding one team wearing a white jersey, according to Chris Johnston. The Avalanche and Canadiens will do it in January, and the Bruins-Lightning Stadium Series game will feature two dark jerseys.
“But the league has left it open to teams where they can both agree if it makes sense and as long as no confusion on the ice in terms of the colours being too similar.
The NHL wants to do it and there’s a good reason for that: the NHL sells far more dark jerseys than it does white ones. So there’s a business aspect to it as well.”
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The Montreal Canadiens hope to avoid the goaltender trade market
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said that the Montreal Canadiens had planned to bring goaltender Jacob Fowler up at some point this year, but likely not this early in the year. We’ll see how he handles it. They haven’t played well defensively of late. They’re giving Sam Montembeault a bit of a reset and hoping he can bounce back to his previous form.
“The hard thing with the trade market, Gino, is that if it was that easy to upgrade your No. 1, the Edmonton Oilers probably would have done it a year ago, right? It’s just difficult in season to just solve that riddle, and so that’s part of the reason why the Habs obviously hope to be able to figure this out internally before they have to look at the trade market.”
TSN: If Montembeault doesn’t bounce back, and Fowler’s rookie run doesn’t work out, they will be have to look at the goalie market, according to LeBrun.
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“But the reality is that if those things fail, yes, they’ll try to go for a goalie upgrade. But it’s been difficult to do in-season, as we’ve seen here over the last couple of years around the league.”
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