Stu's Slapshots: NHL's Department of Player 'Safety' is a joke

It’s time for the NHL to change the name of its Department of Player Safety.

There was yet another example about how the league doesn’t really care about player safety when Florida’s Brad Marchand intentionally elbowed Mike Matheson in the head during overtime of the Canadiens’ 3-2 win in Florida on Dec. 30. Marchand was penalized for roughing and Nick Suzuki scored the winning goal on the ensuing power play.

Marchand, who has a reputation for cheap shots, wasn’t suspended or even fined by the Department of Player “Safety,” while Matheson missed the next game with an “upper-body injury.”

Two days after Marchand’s elbow to Matheson’s head, the NHL used a photo of Marchand with his family on social media to promote the NHL Winter Classic between the Panthers and New York Rangers in Miami on Jan. 2. Promoting that game — which the Rangers won 5-1 — seemed more important to the league than player safety.

“It’s been a while since it happened … so not really any point in revisiting it,” Matheson said when I asked him about Marchand’s elbow after practice Tuesday in Brossard. “They made their decision, so there’s not much that I can say that will change it.”

Players and coaches are afraid to speak up against the Department of Player “Safety” because the league will fine them. The NHLPA — which should really be concerned about player safety — doesn’t speak up because suspended players lose money.

“It’s hard … you feel like sometimes you’re not really allowed to say certain things,” Matheson said. “But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t feel great when you feel like something happened that could have been recognized and it wasn’t. You just kind of have questions.”

You also have to question how the Department of Player “Safety” is headed by George Parros, a former NHL enforcer who was basically paid to beat opponents up. He scored 18 goals and amassed 1,092 penalty minutes in 474 NHL games.

The NHL should change the name to the Department of Player Discipline and stop pretending it cares about player safety.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remains unconvinced there are any connections between the degenerative brain disease CTE and playing hockey despite several players being diagnosed with CTE after their deaths, including Hall of Famers Henri Richard, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.

Other NHL players who have been diagnosed with CTE include Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Jeff Parker, Wade Belak, Larry Zeidel, Reggie Fleming, Rick Martin, Ralph Backstrom, Steve Montador, Zarley Zalapski, Todd Ewen and Dan Maloney.

Future coming quick

It’s looking like Jacob Fowler could become the Canadiens’ goalie of the future sooner rather than later.

In eight games since getting called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, the 21-year-old has posted a 4-2-2 record with one shutout, a 2.37 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.

“Back in the summer, the plan was for Fowler to play most of the season in the AHL,” Canadiens GM Kent Hughes said during his mid-season news conference on Tuesday. “In terms of this tough market, we’ll be prudent and try to protect a young goalie like Fowler. But, at the same time, he has a certain side mentally with his approach where he doesn’t seem like a young player. He’s very mature and he bounces back.”

Hughes said Fowler’s mental maturity has impressed him as much as his play on the ice. The GM really liked Fowler’s response to the media after he gave up a bad goal late in the second period of a game against Philadelphia on Dec. 16 at the Bell Centre that gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead en route to a 4-1 victory. It was Fowler’s third NHL game.

“You just learn from it,” Fowler said after the game when asked about the goal. “I haven’t given up many of those in my career. Hopefully, that’s the last one. Learn from it, get back on the ice tomorrow and move forward.”

In his next game, Fowler made 31 saves for his first NHL shutout in a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“You can see that he’s strong mentally, which will only help him in the future,” Hughes said.

After Fowler made 28 saves in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames the day after Hughes’s news conference, I asked the young goalie if he had heard his GM’s comments about his mental maturity.

He hadn’t.

“I appreciate it,” Fowler said. “I’m glad to hear that what I think is what other people think. I like to have fun and joke around with guys off the ice and be pretty unserious at times. But I feel like when the game’s on I have a good balance of understanding that one, hockey’s a big part of my life, but it isn’t everything, and with that comes one goal doesn’t define who I am.

“But I want to make every save that I can and I was born playing this game, wanted to play at the highest level and be a big part of that,” Fowler added. “So whatever I can do to stay mentally strong and understand that it’s going to have to take a lot more to break me mentally than other guys, I just think you can take skill out of it. That’s more important.”

Learning about Mr. Goalie

Fowler showed his mental maturity in another way after the win over the Flames, which came on the same day Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall died at age 94.

When asked what the name Glenn Hall meant to him, Fowler had a puzzled look on his face. The Florida native obviously didn’t know who Hall — nicknamed Mr. Goalie — was. That’s understandable since Fowler was born 33 years after Hall played his last NHL game.

When told Hall played a record 502 consecutive games — without a mask — a record that will never be broken, Fowler had a look of amazement on his face.

“I don’t know if I’ve played 500 games in my life,” Fowler said. “I’ll have to research up on that. One, that’s a crazy stat, but you never like to hear something like that (Hall’s death). Any time someone around the game or here passes, it’s obviously touching and disrespectful that I didn’t know that. So I’ll have to research on that.”

That’s a very mature answer for a 21-year-old.

Monty finding his game

Samuel Montembeault, the man Fowler hopes to eventually replace as the Canadiens’ No. 1 goalie, seems to have found his game again after a two-game conditioning stint with the Rocket.

Montembeault has won three straight games since returning to the Canadiens, including Thursday night’s 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers, while stopping 77 of 84 shots for a .917 save percentage.

Montembeault gave up a bad goal early in the second period against the Panthers with the Canadiens leading 2-0. He played the puck behind his net and then made what looked like a perfect pass to the Panthers’ Sam Bennett, who scored into an empty net.

“I said to him it was the right play and I think he knew that,” defenceman Mike Matheson said after the game when asked about Montembeault’s mistake. “That was the right play, it just was a little ahead of the defenceman (Alexandre Carrier). I think that’s just one of those ones that you know is the right idea and you just keep playing.”

That’s the way Montembeault handled it, finishing the game with 25 saves on 27 shots.

“Yeah, I thought I made the right play,” Montembeault said when told about Matheson’s comment. “I just missed the pass and it was too far ahead of Carrier. Obviously, I made a bad pass. It was a bit too far ahead of Carrier. But I stopped all the pucks before that when I was in front of the net. I was seeing the puck well and I just wanted to keep pushing and the guys were playing well, too, so I wanted to be there for them.

“I’m happy with the game,” Montembeault added. “Obviously, that goal I’d probably like to take it back, but I know it happens. It’s just a mistake, but happy I kept going. First game at the Bell Centre since a very long time, so I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but really excited to get back here.”

Montembeault hadn’t played at the Bell Centre since a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 9. He allowed three goals on 13 shots in that game after replacing Jakub Dobes, who gave up three goals on 14 shots.

When he was struggling early this season, Montembeault received a text from former Canadiens goalie Carey Price, which he really appreciated. Price told Montembeault to keep his head up and his body language positive no matter how tough things get.

Live and learn

I asked Montembeault after Thursday’s game what’s the biggest lesson he has learned this season.

“At the beginning of the year, I was thinking too much,” he said, “Going into Christmas thinking: I’m playing for the Montreal Canadiens. That was my dream growing up and I’ve got probably one of the best jobs in the world. Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure, but I was saying to myself: ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ You should be privileged to have all this pressure on me because that means I worked hard to put myself in the situation to be there.

“I just wanted to get back,” Montembeault added. “During Christmas, just got off hockey, have fun, and coming back here it’s the same thing. And all the support I’ve had from my teammates helped a lot, too.”

A real fan

The support of one of Montembeault’s biggest fans also helped him during the Christmas break.

Before Christmas, I led off my Stu’s Slapshots with a story about Jeremy Mylo, a 28-year-old with Down syndrome and a severe verbal apraxia speech disorder that makes it difficult for him to communicate and how Montembeault is his favourite player. Mylo regularly attends Canadiens practices at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard and waits for the players outside to get photos taken with them.

For the last three years, Mylo and his mother, Lindi Ross, have made a Christmas card and gifts for Montembeault to thank him for being so kind every time he sees them. When Montembeault was sent to Cleveland before Christmas to join the Rocket, it didn’t look like they would be able to give the goalie his card and gifts — a snow globe with pictures of Montembeault’s two French bulldogs, Gucci and Gigi, along with two Christmas tree ornaments.

Rather than join the Canadiens on the road after his stint with Laval, Montembeault went to the CN Sports Complex in Brossard to work with Rocket goalie coach Marco Marciano and Mylo was able to give him the Christmas gifts.

“He comes here for practices a lot and it’s always fun to see him,” Montembeault said about Mylo. “I always have a little chat and he gave me a nice Christmas gift. It’s ornaments of my dogs that I put right on my Christmas tree. It was great by him.

“It’s always fun to have the support,” Montembeault added. “Good day or bad day, he’s always there. He’s always having a smile, he’s always happy to see us, so it’s good to see him.”

Proud coach

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said he’s proud of the way Montembault has handled things this season.

“You’re going to have obstacles in anything in life,” St. Louis said after Thursday’s game when asked about his goalie. “Obstacles aren’t as important as the response you have to those obstacles. You build character.”

Communication is one of St. Louis’s biggest strengths as a head coach and he’s a great motivational speaker.

“Negative energy is always a lot heavier,” St. Louis said. “For every positive word, you’ll find four more negative words in the dictionary. When you bring positive energy, enthusiasm, it starts with that. Your brain listens to you. If you’re always talking to yourself negatively, it’s gonna be hard to move forward.

“It starts with your attitude and how you see things,” the coach added. “The perspective. The players chose this, the life they lead today playing hockey. Nobody forced them to do this. So you have to remind yourself that you chose this path, it’s not gonna be a path that will always be easy. There will be obstacles and obstacles builds character. Success is temporary. Character is for all your life.”

Surfing The Wave

During the last two games at the Bell Centre — both wins — fans have started doing The Wave while singing “Olé! Olé! Olé!” for the duration of TV timeouts.

“I was too caught up in the moment to wonder what anybody (else) was feeling at the time,” St. Louis said when asked about The Wave after Wednesday’s win over the Flames. “It’s hard not to. And I feel like those are moments that you almost have to take it all in. I’m sure a lot of guys do.”

The Canadiens haven’t been great at home this season with a 12-9-1 record. They are 13-4-5 on the road.

“We talked about how we have to improve our home performance overall and I felt like we did that tonight,” St. Louis said after Wednesday’s game. “We haven’t been in this building for a while now and I feel our fans gave us the support back based on how we were performing. I feel like we earned that time and I took it all in.

“It’s special and I hope for many more,” the coach added. “We don’t take it for granted. We know we have to earn that and I feel like we did tonight.”

Vive le France!

The Canadiens’ Alexandre Texier is on fire with four goals and two assists in his last two games, including his first NHL hat trick in Thursday’s win over the Panthers.

In 22 games with the Canadiens since signing a one-year, US$1-million contract as a free agent on Nov. 23, the native of Saint-Martin-d’Heres in France has 7-7-14 totals. In 39 games with St. Louis Blues over the last two seasons, Texier had 6-6-12 totals before the Blues gave up on the 26-year-old and put him on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract.

Texier credits his mother, Carole, who is living with him in Montreal for much of his success.

“I think she’s pretty proud,” Texier said after Thursday’s game. “I had some tough times and she was always there and she will be there, so that’s a huge support for me mentally. I’m grateful that she’s put everything for me. Doing everything off the ice that makes me feel confident and happy. She’s just a perfect mom.”

Texier’s mother doesn’t speak much English, so it would have been much tougher to live in St. Louis with him.

“I think it’s just the opportunity that they gave me,” Texier said about his success with the Canadiens, who for the last six games have had him playing on the No. 1 line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. “You got to take it. If they give you something, you got to take it. I know I want to be there, so every single night it’s from zero and you got to earn your spot and earn your ice time.”

In his six games on the No. 1 line Texier has 4-4-8 totals. He will represent France at next month’s Milano Cortina Olympics in Italy.

Plugging holes

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has done a remarkable job of plugging holes created by injuries this season without giving up much in return.

Texier is a great example.

So is Joe Veleno, who Hughes signed to a one-year, US$900,000 contract as a free agent this summer. The former first-round draft pick (30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2018) has grown into his role as a fourth-line centre this season.

Hughes gave up one of two second-round picks the Canadiens held for this year’s NHL Draft to get centre Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 19.

The Canadiens moved into first place in the Atlantic Division following Thursday’s win over the Panthers with a 25-13-6 record as the youngest team in the NHL. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle and forwards Jake Evans, Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Patrik Laine all watched the Flames game from the press box with injuries.

“I have full confidence in Kent, what he’s done, what he’s doing,” St. Louis said after the game. “He’s very calculated, very smart. Him and Gorts (Jeff Gorton, the president of hockey operations) work well together. what they’ve done, I’m happy, but I don’t get in the way because they’re very good at what they do. (Texier) is another example.”

Forever friends

The Canadiens’ Cole Caufield was at home Monday night when he received a FaceTime call from a couple of friends.

On the other end were his former Canadiens’ teammate and roommate Christian Dvorak and Dvorak’s new Philadelphia Flyers teammate Trevor Zegras. Caufield and Zegras are also friends from their time as teammates with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

They were letting Caufield know Dvorak had agreed to a new five-year, US$25.75-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$5.15 million. Dvorak left the Canadiens last summer as a free agent, signing a one-year, US$5.4 million contract with the Flyers.

The 29-year-old centre has 9-18-27 totals and is plus-10 in 41 games this season with the Flyers, playing on the first line with Zegras and Travis Konecny.

“They called me just to show me that (Zegras) was a witness,” Caufield said. “It was around 11 o’clock.”

“I think it’s well-deserved,” Caufield added about Dvorak’s contract. “He went over there, he was familiar with the coach (Rick Tocchet, who also coached Dvorak with the Arizona Coyotes) and stuff. But I think how much he’s appreciated there is huge. I talk to Trevor a lot on how much he loves him and he’s just a good guy in the room that I think everybody loves to just be around. It’s huge for him. He’s 30 next month, so that’s a pretty good deal and couldn’t be more happy for him.”

scowan@postmedia.com

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