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New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Why the Canadiens signed Joe Veleno: Context, role, positional need and speed
Throughout his NHL career, new Montreal Canadiens centre Joe Veleno's numbers have not lied. Veleno has had pedestrian counting stats ever since being taken with the No. 30 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, and his underlying numbers have been no better. In 306 regular-season NHL games, Veleno has scored 10.2 goals and put up 21.7 points per 82 games while barely averaging a shot on goal per game (327 in 306 games). Advertisement So why, then, did the Canadiens sign the Montreal-born Veleno to a one-year contract worth $900,000 a year Wednesday? There are a few reasons this makes some sense. Our first thought was something Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton told the 'Basu and Godin Notebook' podcast last week regarding players who go high in the draft and how much of a lasting impression those players leave on the teams that were not able to draft them. Gorton was adamant this is a thing, that high picks get more chances. Being picked at No. 30 does not make Veleno a very high pick, but he was still a first-round pick. And as you read this comment from Gorton, realize his New York Rangers held the No. 28 pick that year and chose Swedish defenceman Nils Lundqvist. 'I think it's real,' Gorton said last week. 'It's almost like your first impression of something, it's hard to get that to go away. When your group likes somebody and has somebody high on the list, you tend to follow that player when he goes to another team and like him, as opposed to the other way, where you don't like a player, it takes a lot to get them to like him. 'I think it means a lot. Your first impression and your scouts' ranking and how you feel about that person as an 18-year-old, it stays for a while. There's something real (about) if you're drafted in the first round and you're a high pick, you do get second chances. I think that's a legitimate thing, because we've all seen the upside, so we stay with that.' It's worth noting that one of Gorton's top amateur scouts with the Rangers in 2018 was Nick Bobrov, now the co-director of amateur scouting with the Canadiens. We have no way of knowing where Veleno was on the Rangers' draft board that year or whether this is an example of the phenomenon Gorton described, but it's the first thing that popped into our head when the Veleno signing was announced. Advertisement Here are a few others: Here is Veleno's player card from our Dom Luszczyszyn, and it paints a picture of a player who is basically worth the contract the Canadiens gave him, nothing more, nothing less. But here are the player comparables for Veleno, and the top comp paints an interesting story. The 2016-17 version of Riley Sheahan was a player the Red Wings drafted with the No. 21 pick in the 2010 draft, which means that was Sheahan's age-25 season. Veleno just completed his age-25 season after being a late-first-round pick by the Red Wings. Very early the following season, Sheahan was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, his role became more important on a competitive team, and his production followed suit. Sheahan put up 32 points in 73 games with the Penguins that year, the second-most productive season of his NHL career. Sheahan's most common linemates at five-on-five in Pittsburgh that season were Phil Kessel and a young Jake Guentzel, a far cry from having Luke Glendening as his primary linemate in Detroit. The Canadiens appear to see Veleno's linemates on the Chicago Blackhawks and in Detroit as being similarly detrimental to his realizing his potential, and with the possibility of having players like possession-monster Brendan Gallagher and supreme forechecker Josh Anderson alongside Veleno on the fourth line, there could be reason to believe Veleno could find some more success in this context in much the same way Sheahan did in Pittsburgh back then. At 6 feet 1, 201 pounds, Veleno fills a Canadiens need for size. But what might be more interesting to the Canadiens is that NHL EDGE tracking shows Veleno was in the league's 75th percentile among forwards for speed bursts over 20 mph. For context, Zachary Bolduc was in the 82nd percentile in that same metric with the St. Louis Blues last season, and the Canadiens traded for him. Noah Dobson was in the 91st percentile among defencemen last season with the New York Islanders, and the Canadiens traded for him, too. Advertisement With the way coach Martin St. Louis wants to play, the Canadiens have placed a big emphasis on adding speed. Veleno fits the bill. Veleno is a big left-shot centre, which was a definite need for the Canadiens with the departure of Christian Dvorak for the Philadelphia Flyers. But much of what Dvorak did was win important faceoffs, mainly on the left side in the defensive zone, a yin to the yang of Jake Evans on the right side. Veleno's faceoff numbers last season were underwhelming, winning 46.9 percent and taking only 429 faceoffs total between his time with the Red Wings and the Blackhawks. In the defensive zone, his number was at 45.4 percent on 174 faceoffs. One thing that is not tracked, at least not publicly, is faceoff percentages on your strong side, but we're told Veleno won roughly 57 percent of his strong-side defensive zone draws at five-on-five last season. If Veleno fills a fourth-line centre role for the Canadiens — and let's be clear this is not a given, he will need to earn that job in training camp — it would allow St. Louis to try some things with the rest of his centres. It could make Evans a third-line centre, surrounded by, perhaps, Patrik Laine and Bolduc, or Laine and Alex Newhook. Or, if what Kent Hughes said July 1 holds true and Newhook is bound to play centre, the addition of Veleno could bump Newhook up to the second line with Kirby Dach on one wing and Ivan Demidov on the other. 'It's always going to be hard to just have right centres,' Gorton said last week, 'we understand that.' This would not be an ideal setup at centre, but Veleno potentially gives the Canadiens the possibility of having two right-shot centres in Nick Suzuki and Evans, and two left-shot centres in Newhook and Veleno. What does this mean for someone like Oliver Kapanen or Owen Beck? Probably not a whole lot. Having either of them at centre next season did not solve the Canadiens' problem of having too many righty centres since they are both righties, and if either of them performs well enough to earn that job in camp or during the season, Veleno is not someone the Canadiens will hesitate to displace into a lesser role as an extra forward, or they could even bury the entirety of his salary in the minors if need be. Advertisement There is no risk from either a cap or player development standpoint in adding Veleno, an imperfect player who was signed to fill a role on what was an imperfect lineup. In fact, the lineup remains imperfect, but there is at least some reason to believe a change in environment and context could be beneficial to Veleno, and the Canadiens were not wrong to try to bank on that at such a low cost.
Vancouver Sun
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Canadiens announce full schedule for 2025-26 season
The Montreal Canadiens will open their season as they usually do, against Toronto in early October, and finish the season at Philadelphia on April 14. The National Hockey League released its full schedule on Wednesday, and in the tradition of National Football League teams, the Canadiens published a video they thought was funny to go along with it. The Canadiens' video shows general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton pointing fingers at the other for failing to create a fun video on time, including ideas such as having Juraj Slafkovsky read out all 82 games in ASMR style , or a Minecraft-style video , or an infinite zoom . Realizing they don't have a video, Gorton says 'this is an emergency' prompting Canadiens emergency backup goaltender Patrick Chèvrefils, a Montreal cop, to introduce the schedule and sit while it scrolls on screen. The season begins Oct. 8 in Toronto, with the home opener Tuesday, Oct. 14 vs. the Seattle Kraken. The big road trips are Oct. 22-28 in the northwest, Nov. 26-29 in Utah, Vegas and Colorado, March 3-7 in California, March 28 to April 4 in the eastern U.S., and the annual holiday road trip from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The schedule also includes a break in February for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, where NHL players will be playing for their countries. This means there will not be the usual Super Bowl weekend matinée games at the Bell Centre. All 41 Bell Centre games will start at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. The Canadiens will play Atlantic Division opponents four times each, except for Florida and Detroit (three times each), Metropolitan Division teams three times each, and Western Conference teams twice each. Broadcast details will be announced later this summer, but national games, including Saturday and Wednesday evening games, will be broadcast by Sportsnet, some Monday games by Amazon Prime Video, and the rest by TSN2. Canadiens 2025-26 season schedule Time (ET)
Ottawa Citizen
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Canadiens announce full schedule for 2025-26 season
The Montreal Canadiens will open their season as they usually do, against Toronto in early October, and finish the season at Philadelphia on April 14. Article content The National Hockey League released its full schedule on Wednesday, and in the tradition of National Football League teams, the Canadiens published a video they thought was funny to go along with it. Article content Article content The Canadiens' video shows general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton pointing fingers at the other for failing to create a fun video on time, including ideas such as having Juraj Slafkovsky read out all 82 games in ASMR style, or a Minecraft-style video, or an infinite zoom. Realizing they don't have a video, Gorton says 'this is an emergency' prompting Canadiens emergency backup goaltender Patrick Chèvrefils, a Montreal cop, to introduce the schedule and sit while it scrolls on screen. Article content Article content The season begins Oct. 8 in Toronto, with the home opener Tuesday, Oct. 14 vs. the Seattle Kraken. The big road trips are Oct. 22-28 in the northwest, Nov. 26-29 in Utah, Vegas and Colorado, March 3-7 in California, March 28 to April 4 in the eastern U.S., and the annual holiday road trip from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. Article content Article content The schedule also includes a break in February for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, where NHL players will be playing for their countries. This means there will not be the usual Super Bowl weekend matinée games at the Bell Centre. All 41 Bell Centre games will start at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Article content The Canadiens will play Atlantic Division opponents four times each, except for Florida and Detroit (three times each), Metropolitan Division teams three times each, and Western Conference teams twice each. Article content Broadcast details will be announced later this summer, but national games, including Saturday and Wednesday evening games, will be broadcast by Sportsnet, some Monday games by Amazon Prime Video, and the rest by 2025-26 season schedule Article content Article content
Edmonton Journal
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Canadiens announce full schedule for 2025-26 season
Article content The Montreal Canadiens will open their season as they usually do, against Toronto in early October, and finish the season at Philadelphia on April 14. Article content The National Hockey League released its full schedule on Wednesday, and in the tradition of National Football League teams, the Canadiens published a video they thought was funny to go along with it. Article content Article content The Canadiens' video shows general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton pointing fingers at the other for failing to create a fun video on time, including ideas such as having Juraj Slafkovsky read out all 82 games in ASMR style, or a Minecraft-style video, or an infinite zoom. Realizing they don't have a video, Gorton says 'this is an emergency' prompting Canadiens emergency backup goaltender Patrick Chèvrefils, a Montreal cop, to introduce the schedule and sit while it scrolls on screen. Article content Article content The season begins Oct. 8 in Toronto, with the home opener Tuesday, Oct. 14 vs. the Seattle Kraken. The big road trips are Oct. 22-28 in the northwest, Nov. 26-29 in Utah, Vegas and Colorado, March 3-7 in California, March 28 to April 4 in the eastern U.S., and the annual holiday road trip from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. Article content Article content The Canadiens will play Atlantic Division opponents four times each, except for Florida and Detroit (three times each), Metropolitan Division teams three times each, and Western Conference teams twice each. Article content Broadcast details will be announced later this summer, but national games, including Saturday and Wednesday evening games, will be broadcast by Sportsnet, some Monday games by Amazon Prime Video, and the rest by 2025-26 season schedule Article content Article content
Montreal Gazette
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Canadiens announce full schedule for 2025-26 season
The Montreal Canadiens will open their season as they usually do, against Toronto in early October, and finish the season at Philadelphia on April 14. The National Hockey League released its full schedule on Wednesday, and in the tradition of National Football League teams, the Canadiens published a video they thought was funny to go along with it. The Canadiens' video shows general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton pointing fingers at the other for failing to create a fun video on time, including ideas such as having Juraj Slafkovsky read out all 82 games in ASMR style, or a Minecraft-style video, or an infinite zoom. Realizing they don't have a video, Gorton says 'this is an emergency' prompting Canadiens emergency backup goaltender Patrick Chèvrefils, a Montreal cop, to introduce the schedule and sit while it scrolls on screen. The season begins Oct. 8 in Toronto, with the home opener Tuesday, Oct. 14 vs. the Seattle Kraken. The big road trips are Oct. 22-28 in the northwest, Nov. 26-29 in Utah, Vegas and Colorado, March 3-7 in California, March 28 to April 4 in the eastern U.S., and the annual holiday road trip from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. The schedule also includes a break in February for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, where NHL players will be playing for their countries. This means there will not be the usual Super Bowl weekend matinée games at the Bell Centre. All 41 Bell Centre games will start at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. The Canadiens will play Atlantic Division opponents four times each, except for Florida and Detroit (three times each), Metropolitan Division teams three times each, and Western Conference teams twice each. Broadcast details will be announced later this summer, but national games, including Saturday and Wednesday evening games, will be broadcast by Sportsnet, some Monday games by Amazon Prime Video, and the rest by 2025-26 season schedule Date Time (ET) Opponent Wednesday, Oct. 8 7 p.m. @ Toronto Thursday, Oct. 9 7 p.m. @ Detroit Saturday, Oct. 11 7 p.m. @ Chicago Tuesday, Oct. 14 7 p.m. Seattle Thursday, Oct. 16 7 p.m. Nashville Saturday, Oct. 18 7 p.m. N.Y. Rangers Monday, Oct. 20 7:30 p.m. Buffalo Wednesday, Oct. 22 8:30 p.m. @ Calgary Thursday, Oct. 23 9 p.m. @ Edmonton Saturday, Oct. 25 7 p.m. @ Vancouver Tuesday, Oct. 28 10:30 p.m. @ Seattle Saturday, Nov. 1 7 p.m. Ottawa Tuesday, Nov. 4 7 p.m. Philadelphia Thursday, Nov. 6 7 p.m. @ New Jersey Saturday, Nov. 8 7 p.m. Utah Tuesday, Nov. 11 7 p.m. Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 13 7 p.m. Dallas Saturday, Nov. 15 7 p.m. Boston Monday, Nov. 17 7:30 p.m. @ Columbus Thursday, Nov. 20 7 p.m. Washington Saturday, Nov. 22 7 p.m. Toronto Wednesday, Nov. 26 9:30 p.m. @ Utah Friday, Nov. 28 4 p.m. @ Vegas Saturday, Nov. 29 3 p.m. @ Colorado Tuesday, Dec. 2 7 p.m. Ottawa Wednesday, Dec. 3 7:30 p.m. Winnipeg Saturday, Dec. 6 7 p.m. @ Toronto Sunday, Dec. 7 7 p.m. St. Louis Tuesday, Dec. 9 7 p.m. Tampa Bay Thursday, Dec. 11 7 p.m. @ Pittsburgh Saturday, Dec. 13 7 p.m. @ N.Y. Rangers Sunday, Dec. 14 7 p.m. Edmonton Tuesday, Dec. 16 7 p.m. Philadelphia Thursday, Dec. 18 7 p.m. Chicago Saturday, Dec. 20 7 p.m. Pittsburgh Sunday, Dec. 21 7 p.m. @ Pittsburgh Tuesday, Dec. 23 7 p.m. @ Boston Sunday, Dec. 28 5 p.m. @ Tampa Bay Tuesday, Dec. 30 7 p.m. @ Florida Thursday, Jan. 1 7 p.m. @ Carolina Saturday, Jan. 3 4 p.m. @ St. Louis Sunday, Jan. 4 2 p.m. @ Dallas Wednesday, Jan. 7 7:30 p.m. Calgary Thursday, Jan. 8 7 p.m. Florida Saturday, Jan. 10 7 p.m. Detroit Monday, Jan. 12 7:30 p.m. Vancouver Tuesday, Jan. 13 7 p.m. @ Washington Thursday, Jan. 15 7 p.m. @ Buffalo Saturday, Jan. 17 7 p.m. @ Ottawa Tuesday, Jan. 20 7 p.m. Minnesota Thursday, Jan. 22 7 p.m. Buffalo Saturday, Jan. 24 7 p.m. @ Boston Tuesday, Jan. 27 7 p.m. Vegas Thursday, Jan. 29 7 p.m. Colorado Saturday, Jan. 31 7 p.m. @ Buffalo Monday, Feb. 2 7:30 p.m. @ Minnesota Wednesday, Feb. 4 7 p.m. @ Winnipeg Thursday, Feb. 26 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders Saturday, Feb. 28 7 p.m. Washington Tuesday, March 3 10 p.m. @ San Jose Friday, March 6 9 p.m. @ Anaheim Saturday, March 7 7 p.m. @ Los Angeles Tuesday, March 10 7 p.m. Toronto Wednesday, March 11 7:30 p.m. @ Ottawa Saturday, March 14 7 p.m. San Jose Sunday, March 15 7 p.m. Anaheim Tuesday, March 17 7 p.m. Boston Thursday, March 19 7 p.m. @ Detroit Saturday, March 21 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders Tuesday, March 24 7 p.m. Carolina Thursday, March 26 7 p.m. Columbus Saturday, March 28 7 p.m. @ Nashville Sunday, March 29 5 p.m. @ Carolina Tuesday, March 31 7 p.m. @ Tampa Bay Thursday, April 2 7 p.m. @ N.Y. Rangers Saturday, April 4 7 p.m. @ New Jersey Sunday, April 5 7 p.m. New Jersey Tuesday, April 7 7 p.m. Florida Thursday, April 9 7 p.m. Tampa Bay Saturday, April 11 7 p.m. Columbus Sunday, April 12 6 p.m. @ N.Y. Islanders Tuesday, April 14 7 p.m. @ Philadelphia This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM.
