The Montreal Canadiens future just got even better as new updates on Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle surface, plus notes on Phil Danault and Michael Hage’s performances Josh Gosse and Jesse Poirier chat about all of it on this episode of Habs Digest.
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6941538/2026/01/05/canadiens-win-stars-juraj-slafkovsky-lane-hutson
0:00 Montreal Canadiens News
0:36 Phil Danault is a STUD
3:15 The Hage Situation
5:57 MULTIPLE injury reports
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Unchanged
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Arber Xhekaj,Zach Bolduc,Alex Newhook,Jake Evans,Brendan Gallagher,Mike Matheson,David Reinbacher,Juraj Slafkovsky,Josh Anderson,Cole Caufield,Nick Suzuki,Kirby Dach,Alex CarrierKent Hughes,Martin St Louis,Sam Montembeault,Kaiden Guhle,Owen Beck,Filip Mesar,Jayden Struble,Adam Engstrom,Sean Farrell,Lane Hutson,Ivan Demidov,Patrik Laine,Jakub Dobes
28 Comments
Hage not being top 3 is wild
Dach has above average hockey sense but I think he might start to be fearful of getting hurt if he plays physical hockey
.Habs fan..our smaller players are the scoring leaders…this team got rolled over by the Caps..Dach may never play injury free..go big or go home..
Texier didnt hurt the top line at all ..only time bolduc produces is when he is on the top line…msl has said plenty of times he does not like 3 right handed shots on the same line i.e dach on the top line , not that he hasnt played there though….leave slaf on his natural left wing he has always bin way better on LW , msl delayed slafs development from playing him on RW
What happens when Newhook gets back into the lineup? He played well on the second line with Kappy and Demidov, but IMO you can't take Slaf off that line. Perhaps not this season but next F.Xhekaj might be an option for the wing on the first line. Big, gritty, fight for possession on the boards. Just a thought.
Also, Hage not being named in the top three is absurd. Even commentors called Hage Canada's best player in the tournament.
Try Dach on 1st line after he is healthy and then sign Hage at end of his season and bring him in for the playoffs. Maybe trade for a top 6 forward at the deadline if needed. We will have too many forwards when we get our boys back if we don't get more injuries. So decisions will have to be made.
To complete the top line (in need of a power forward to dig out pucks and disrupt the net)
you have : Slaf (but u need him on the 2nd line)
Dach (someone argued that he might not be durable)
Anderson… why not
Blais… might worth the shot
Bolduc… inconclusive(maybe not big enough)
Texier… not much of a power forward
Is the solution in this list?
Do we have a prospect that checks the requirements?
Is the only solution simply on the market ?
Thanks for slowing it down. Stop shaking your head affirmatively when Jesse is talking. Take the mic out of the picture; also shaking around. I appreciate what you guys do.
As for Hage i can see him eventually on the wing with suzuki and caufield.
He finished game with 4 assists. They will do the same with Hage as they have done with every other NCAA player. Let him burn off the first year of his entry level contract and finish the last few games he is available for. Poor Slaf started playing at 18 so he's the only one to play 3 full seasons on his ELC.
The Dach injury situation is just about the Habs wanting to be extra cautious with him. This was a fracture, not a knee injury, so the healing is more definitive. My feeling is that if this team gets Ghule, Liane, Dach and Newhook AND Evans back, they will be a force! I do think this is Dach's last chance, he has to remain reasonably healthy or they are going to give up on him. There is no use having a guy who is a 50/50 to be in the lineup once the playoffs start.
However, is St. Louis really going to move Slav after the way he's played the past couple of weeks? That would be awfully risky…but then again he might just be at a point where he is going to be great no matter where he plays.
Hage dominated today with 4 assists.
Hage will play only if Dach gets injured again and if we make playoffs so we need a center .Dach is is big gamble because he gets injured almost every month.I am really happy because Guhle is coming back.We need him.
I look forward to seeing what Habs will look like when injured players come back…Veleno has worked very hard, but I think he will be the first to be pulled…Danault centre # 3 and Evans # 4 centre, maybe vice versa…will Dach play with Suzuki and Caufield?…or will Dach play at centre? I think Laine may be gone for good unless he REALLY picks up his game. Hope Guhle can stabilize the defense and or provide more offense,…Newhook has at least another month to go before he comes back…Sammy Blais will likely to be pulled…
i would put him under right wing
mike hage
With Danault back in The Family Dach should get his suitcases out of the closet, give his landlord his notice and text his brother in Chicago asking him if he can move in. I gurantee that he is done in Habtown.
Hage isn't ready. He's 2-3 years away. He should go back to college. Roy scored the same amount of points with Conor. Michael did it with Gavin. Profile wise, Roy and Hage are similar, they both play on the fringe and Roy is buried in Laval. He's not going to supplanted Danault or Evans. Beck is ahead of him too. There's no reason to sign Hage right now, Hughes would be making a mistake
Dach will be on that line when he's ready to come back. Kapanen, Demidov and Slaf are a revelation together. They won't be taken apart
IMO, Dach (trade) and Gallagher (buyout) will be gone next year, there will be room for Hage.
PLease do not set your hopes too high with Kurby Dack. we will see if Dack can make a come back. they are not to put him on 1st line from game one?
Josh, can you reduce the white light on your videos? The videos are great, but they are way too bright and over saturated:)
To my observation Hage isn't NHL ready. He needs to be stronger. Its a big offseason of strength and conditioning for him
Blais est à sa place , il ne prendra pas la ligne orange vers Laval. Veleno et Beck devraient prendre le métro.
Habs are not yet a serious contender. No need to rush Hage. Give him some more development and then bring him up. He needs a lot of minutes to play. Nhl is not the place to develop. Go habs.
7players out of 12 ataackers make 1million or less lol
Struble, Veleno, Bolduc out. Nemec in. And than :
1. Suzuki, Caufield, Anderson, Hutson, Guhle
2. Slaf, Demi, Kapanen, Nemec, Dobson
3. Texier, Laine, Dach, Matheson, Carrier
4. Newhook, Evans, Danault…
total hockey is waiting for us. 🎉
Team Canada only wanted to give the award to CHL players. Hage took a different route through the USHL and NCAA