TRADITION BREAKER: Montreal Canadiens REVEAL Burgundy Remix Jerseys + Pacific Division Preview

0:00This is the Lockdown podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. Today on Lockdown Canadians report on the hometown remix jerseys has the haves wearing a color they've never worn before. A bunch of ever break from the Blue Blondie Rouge or later on in this episode we talk about our division previews. We start with the playoffs. You are locked on Canadians. You're daily podcast on the Montreal Canadians. Part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. Hello everyone and welcome into another episode of Lockdown Canadians. It is division preview week here on Lockdown Canadians. We're very happy to have you. My name is Ian Blahver. Also known as that maybe it's Ian and I'm joined as I always in by Laura Savo. Also known as the actor stick. Laura will get to the

1:00divisions in a moment. But we need to start with. What is I guess news. We're talking about the hometown remix jerseys. So the this year. The NHL is following in step with what a lot of other leagues have done. Major League Baseball has done this with their city connect jerseys. We're teams where uniforms that match the city they're in. For example, the boss of red socks wear a hideous bright yellow and bright blue jerseys because it's the colors of Boston. The NHL is finally doing something to this effect with their hometown remix jerseys and the Canadians one may have leaked. This comes to us from Max LaLonde. The Canadians hometown remix jerseys trades red for white and burgundy featuring embroidered Montreal artifacts across the sleeves and iconic CH logo. So it's going to be white and some kind of maroon one might say. I Montreal maroon even. Laura, what are your feelings on this jerseys? So I saw what appears to be

2:01the leaked jerseys or at least a concept of what they think it's going to look like. And I it's a mock up. I have to admit it looks pretty sharp. What I really love is the elements of Montreal and Montreal embroidered into it. Like I you know, I'm I'm a Montreal or I love the city. I love the Habs connection to the city. And I think that's really cool. And I find that that in itself is a really nice touch. I'm really glad they didn't go with anything gaudy or out there, which I understand may work for some fan bases, but not for the original one. And I just it looks pretty sweet. I'm not going to lie. Yeah. No, it does. It does. Now, I think we have we have this conversation every time they make a new jerseys and they're going to be doing a conversation every time they make a new jerseys. Right? Why are they wearing X color for a while it was blue? We had two blue jerseys released back to back, both of which again, I cannot stress enough. Everyone blamed the blue

3:02for why they were losing and not the fact that the team was dog water. Like the team was just a really bad hockey team. Mike Hoffman wore one of those jerseys. I don't blame the color blue for the Canadians losing those. However, However, there was always something very odd about watching those games because those were not Canadians uniforms, right? Like it just felt off in your mind. How often are you comfortable with the Canadians deviating from their classic red, white, and blue look? Like it seems like we're gonna, we're going to be in situations where they're going to have to veer away from this otherwise just put the same ones out there every time. Yeah. And they're comfortable. There's money to be made. So they have to... Yeah, they're gonna be quit money with this. Everyone's gonna be like, Burr, I hate the Maroon Jersey. Here's $450 Canadian dollars. Like that's insane to me.

4:02But you're right, I'm probably gonna get one. Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna get one, but that's because I need to spend my money on travel and have games. Yeah, you're not a Jersey head like Scott and I. Scott was like, need this one. I was like that. I actually need to get something to wear to Canadians games because I usually go in civilian clothing and I need like, have stuff. Cause it's starting to like, since a little last playoffs, like everybody was wearing a Canadians Jersey and now I'm gonna be left out, but I'm dreading the like, working over the dollars. But let's talk about like, listen, the blue jerseys were very beautiful. You can't deny that. Those blue jerseys that look like fake Canadians games, they were gorgeous. And I think we're gonna have to see more of them. But I think the biggest thing is that we need to be reassured that they're always gonna come back to a classic, right? The red, white, and blue that we're seeing now is a classic for a reason. It is associated with them for a reason and it is one of the most beautiful jerseys in sports.

5:03And I know I'm biased, but I think that I'm right. Yeah, every like sports logo, sports Jersey ranking that's made across the disciplines and sports, they always have the Habs home or the Habs of Wagersy in the top five. Yeah. You know, like it's an iconic look for reason. It's why like when baseball does stuff like this, the Yankees don't really play along. Yeah. Because the Yankee look is the Yankee look, right? It's your propane stripes. It's the, you know, it's the, the NY logo, it's the same hat, like they don't mess around with a lot of this stuff. Because they know what their fans come to see. I, Chris Johnson always says this that like, being a fan of sports is a little like believing in laundry. Yeah. It's kind of what it is, right? Like when I show up at a Canadian's game and they're wearing a jersey other than something I expected, it's kind of odd. That don't get me wrong. Like there are, there are special circumstances.

6:04Like the Canadians are gonna play an outdoor game this year. They're probably gonna have a different jersey for that. Yeah. They're just neat yet. They have, they better get cracking because they have about, what, a month. So that game, I wouldn't surprise me if, if this week or next week we heard something about that. Unless maybe they just wear the hometown remix, but I hope that's not the case. I also think the Canadians hope that's not the case. Cause again, another opportunity to print money. Yeah, for sure. And like, I feel like the heritage classic it necessitates some sort of like pajama looking jersey. That's the fate all time. Right? Like whenever they go with like these vintage looks, they just put the felt version of the jersey's on. So it's like fuzzy. Yes. That started like the Canadians winner classic from 2016 was like that where the numbers were like stitched with, like you could see the stitch marks in the numbers and everything like that. Like those were very sharp uniforms. Would you, would you be in favor of the Canadians adding a third jersey full time?

7:05And what would it be if that was the case? I think, I don't know, cause every time I say this, like people start throwing tomatoes at me, I want them, if they get, if they adopt the third jersey, I want the barber pole back. Yeah, me too. I think it's so good. I thought it was so ugly when it came out, but it was so good. I love it now and I think it's ugly. That's why I love it. Like we didn't know how good we had it. No. No, I mean, the guys who were wearing the barber pole were not good. It wasn't a good, those weren't good versions of the Canadians. No. You know, I think I'm pragmatic. Like as much as I love the barber pole, if I got to pick a third jersey, it's the white 1945 looking one with the red numbers and the blue stripe in the middle. Yeah. Like that's the one I'm going back to. And I think that one's like relatively inoffensive to be like, that's not a Canadian's look. It is iconically a Canadian's look. This is whether or not like the Canadians want to do it again.

8:05Again, they're in an era right now where they will print money if they put any jersey out. People will buy it because everyone is in love with this team again. Yeah. But I just have to say the dark blue one that they lost like they lost all the games in that dark blue one might be my favorite one out of all of the, you know, other editions, whether it's a third jersey or special edition or a hometown, whatever it is, I think it's just so beautiful and carry price wearing it. So it looks so good. It just they they were so bad in it that I don't think it's ever going to come back. No, do you remember? It was way back in the day the Canadians when they won a cup. The next year they had a globe logo on their sleeve. Yeah. Because they were world champions. If and when they ever win a Stanley Cup, I want that patchback on a jersey. I want it on a jersey. So I hope they I hope the merch they make around being Stanley Cup champions. Looks like that. Because there's some really like that's an iconic logo that we don't see very often. They threw it on the on the winter classic jersey. It ended up there.

9:06But like we don't see it a ton anymore. I would love to see it again. Yeah, it'd be nice. I mean, they don't have a reason to wear it anymore. So maybe that's maybe once they have a reason to do so. They can throw that on any final parting thoughts on uniforms before we head west. It's manifest destiny. We'll talk about the Pacific division. I will say I will be disappointed if that mockup doesn't turn out to be true because it is really cool. It's very clean. My one the one thing that I would say and I know Scott agreed with us when he when he was in our group chat. Make don't make it white, make it off white, make it a cream colored jersey. I'm all for it. Because I'm a slob like anything that's white is going to be off white anyway. You might as well just start at that stage for me. So I can at least be like, yes, this is a clean uniform. That's just, I'm just I'm just thinking for me in the other fellows, you know, mustard and joyers who will who will make a mess of this uniform. Believe that there will become back. We're taking a look at the Pacific division. We'll start with who's hot. Who do we like in that division? Who do we think can make a surprise run for the playoffs?

10:08And whether or not any of them are legitimate threats to the Montreal canadians, we'll get into that in just a minute here on locked on Canadians. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever only on Fandall. How rewarding are we talking? More rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring. More rewarding than an 18 point comeback. Maybe even more rewarding than an O lineman catching a touchdown. This season Fandall is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field, but the all new Fandall rewards club featuring exclusive offers, surprises and more. This season Fandall is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field, but the all new Fandall rewards club featuring exclusive offers, surprises and more. Every week check the Fandall app to see what's waiting for you. There's nothing like a game winning play when everything comes down to the final seconds. That feeling is what makes football so much fun. And Fandall is adding another layer of excitement with rewards and surprises throughout the season.

11:09Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandall. Visit fandall.com to get started. All right, Laura, it's Division Preview Week here on locked on Canadians. We're very excited because it means hockey is close. We're getting there. I think what, we're like 10 days away from the Canadians first preseason game, something like that. We're in that range. Very exciting. But we're gonna start out West. We're building anticipation. We're 20 days away from it. Sorry. From the first preseason game. Wait, what are the, like, sorry. I'm now causing so much confusion because my mind is like, we're like 18 games the 19th. So we're 13 days, 12 days away from one this releases. So yeah, yeah. We're almost there. We're building anticipation. The Atlantic will be on Thursday. So come hang out with us all week. We'll get to the Atlantic. Very excited.

12:10That one might be the whole episode. But we're starting out West. We'll start in the Pacific in a division that Conor McDavid last year called a Pillified. And he was correct. It is not a very good division, but it will send three teams to the playoffs. Just by sheer somebody has to go. Should that even be legal? Man, I don't know. I am. If you were that bad, should you have a shot at Stanley Cup? It's my question. If you bought in 16 shot in the Stanley Cup. I believe if you plopped the Pacific into the East last year, none of them are playoff teams. And instead they sent four teams to the playoffs, three teams. Three teams. Three teams. Four, because the Kings made it. Yeah, so it was four, they sent four teams last year. But let's start with what we like about this division. And I think really there's one team that I'm head over heels.

13:11I love this team in this division. And it should be obvious. It's the San Jose Sharks. McLean Celebriety exploded on the scene last year. And I know JD's gonna clip this. JD of Lockdown Sharks. He's gonna take this and put it on his show. And he can do that. And that's fine. But I love this Sharks team. I don't particularly love all the moves that they made. I don't love them adding Darnal Nurse, but it wasn't cost prohibitive. Like that's not the one I have the problem with. Like Darnal Nurse, I don't think it transforms their team, but I think it was a decent enough move. It makes them better. Right? Why do they sign a bunch of old guys for a decade? Yeah, why is Truba there? Yeah. Like that one I don't really understand. It does, don't get me wrong. I think Truba does make them better. Cause I think their defense was quite bad last year. Like they had a hard time defending in games. I think he will improve them. But it's like, it's not by orders of magnitude. Like it's very slight steps in the right direction.

14:12And you hope some of their young defensemen, you know, continue to take steps there. But I love the Sharks in this division. It's about the only team that I'm head over heels. This is going to be a team that eventually wins something. Yes. Because you look at the rest from Vegas. They're not getting any younger. They went, they don't get wrong. They went to game six. So they stay like a final this year. Very, that's a very good hockey team. But I also wonder like how much trouble they're getting into with the amount of money they're spending. You know, I'm very curious to see what their next step is because I think they're still kind of in cap trouble. We'll see what gets them out of it. They had to trade Pavledor Fei because they couldn't, they couldn't get there. He was one of their more consistent goal scorers in the playoffs last year. Edmonton is probably the last really good team here. And I put an asterisk on really good. The goal tending is still heavily concerning. Yeah, suspect is a very kind way of saying it.

15:14They obviously last year with Stu Skinner. And then they traded him for Tristan Jari who came in and was not better. And then they kind of took a scatter shot approach. They'll still have Tristan Jari. They signed Devin Levi out of Buffalo and they, or maybe they traded for him. And then they signed Frederick Anderson out of Carolina. And Frederick Anderson is, and this is true already hurt. He's like, he got hurt in training and he's gonna be out for like the first month of the year. They have not fixed what ails them, like at all. Instead they went out and they got a coach who's, like, I, and that's the other aspect of this that I completely forgot into this point. Where speechless and how bad that was. I, I genuinely, I was in shock that all of the players were like, yeah, we want this. Because they think that, okay. The last time Mike Babcock coached a team

16:17that went to the playoff, that won a couple rounds or won a round was like the mid 2000s, I think. Like this isn't a guy who has a long, a long, you know, list of recent history of success. Like he, he doesn't. It would be like if they signed like Bob Hartley as he won a Stanley Cup forever ago. Like that's, that's like the, the, the equation here. I genuinely, I'm shocked by, by that. But of course Edmonton still ends up in this hot category because as long as you have Conor McDavid and Leon Drys' Cytle and to a certain extent, Evan Bouchard, this is going to be a playoff team. Yeah. It's a team that we saw a little bit of it last year and definitely the year before as well. They don't even have to be very good in the regular season. They're going to be very frustrating in the regular season. And that's not going to matter, just get in

17:19and then try not to lose to the ducks. I don't know, like it just seems like, again. I like how like try not to lose to the ducks. Like this is a team that's good. This is in the what's hot category and it just goes to show you how stinky this division is. It's bad. Is a bad, bad division. Do any of these teams give the Canadians fits this year? Obviously, they'll play two games against each of these teams. Yeah. I just want to say, last year, the Canadians gave themselves fits against all of them. Yes. The one day Edmonton, though, that was Garrett Rank. So let's jot that one down. That was Garrett Rank. That was not Montreal's fault. That was an awfully officiated game. And they were incredible in that game. The Havns were so good against Edmonton in that game. Yeah. But, okay. So none of them really scare me all that much. I guess Vegas is always one.

18:20Montreal plays Vegas well, though. Yeah. It's the sharks for me that are concerning because Montreal always plays them like they're trying to use their hockey stick with their feet. Like they never know what to do against the sharks. Whether it's in San Jose where they don't win all that often or whenever they come to Montreal, it's again, it's a very like, it doesn't matter what version of the Canadians were watching. They stink against that hockey team. They cannot do it. What happened last year, California Lee can never be allowed to happen again. Like Montreal cannot do this. Like they cannot, because all of those games were so winnable for Montreal. That's the thing that's so frustrating. All those teams were beatable. All of those games were winnable. And then to come out with like, I think it was an overtime win against one of them. That's not acceptable. Yeah, I think in like the course they play, they finished the season series against the ducks and the sharks within like two weeks. And I think they went one for four. Like they, it was miserable. It was, we had a really, and it was like right before,

19:20right after that, the Canadians like kind of took off. Right? That's where their season really like went into hyperdrive and they won like eight in a row quickly after that. But like that moment was one of the lower points of the year. They just can't, they have a really hard time with this shark's team. That's why if this is ever a still like a final matchup, I'm not feeling good about it. Like they, they, Montreal's played really poorly against this sharks team. We'll leave the sharks, the nights, and the oilers there. And we come back. We'll take a look at what's, what's not in the Pacific division. There's a lot of teams here that stink or on, or on their way to stinking. And we'll, we'll cover those in just a minute here on Locked on Canadians. All right. We are back. Hey, listen, quick reminders. Mailbag, Friday, sending your questions. We will also be doing the final drawing for the two signed photos, the one of Arbor Jaka and the one

20:22of Josh Anderson. We have the list still. You need to tune in on Friday's episode because that is how we are announcing the winner. If nobody claims it within a few days, we are going to just do a, we're literally doing an essay contest of sorts. You need to send us an email, lock on Canadians to Gmail.com, and tell us why you want these pictures. Tell us what you'll do with them. Tell us what you love about these guys. Make us laugh, make us cry, do whatever you have to do. We will pick the entry that we like the most. That's who we'll end up getting these. And we will only, go only mention it once. The draw happens on Friday. We tell you on Friday, we're not doing it again. Last time, we said it on a few episodes and nobody claimed it. So we're going to say this at once. You have to listen to the entire Friday episode and you will hear who the winner is. You have to claim it within one week. And then after that, we're going to put it to an essay contest. And it'll be your YouTube username. Because remember, that's how we signed up for this. All right, let's move on. Let's cover the rest of the Pacific. The Anaheim Ducks, Pavarbeek really screwed that team

21:25this summer by not giving Leo Carlson a reasonable contract. So then he went and he signed an unreasonable one and became, for a time, the highest paid player in NHL history. That is, of course, already been passed twice once by the of the sharks, McLeod Celebrini, and of Kail MacArthur. Yes, both deserved. Like, I know issues with either of those contracts. Anaheim is still in trouble. They have not signed Cutter Goethe. They're capped. They have like nine million bucks left. And Goethe is like, I want 15. He's, yeah, he's reportedly turned out a 14 million. Yeah, he's, they're in trouble. Yeah. That's why I have them outside the playoffs because I just think that there's so much noise there. They didn't improve much. They lost a couple of key players. Correct. I think they'll be in trouble. The Kings, the Kings do not know whether they are coming or going. The Kings are going. They don't either do I. Yeah. What's that? The Kings are going. They just don't know it yet. That's, I think the perfect encapsulation of that team. The retirement of Bonjet Coppitar, I think,

22:25is like going to be key for this because now they don't even have the identity. No. And I think they traded for Panarin to hope that he can be that next identity, but he's not going to be the kind of back Coppitar was. No. Coppitar is a load bearing player. Yeah. They got Peter Lovila as their coach usually first couple of years. He's one of those sneaky like Tortorrella-esque coaches in that he has a shelf life. But for those first couple of years, it's great. It's great. He's an awesome coach to get the most out of these guys, but eventually the message just runs dry, wherever he is. The next three teams, those ones in a hymen L.A. are going to be bubble teams. They're probably not going to be completely out of it until the very end of the season, but I don't think they're playoff teams. The next three are toast already. They're not going anywhere. You can forget these teams exist, in my opinion. The Calgary Flames, they are about to play their final year at the Saddledome. They are not going to be very good.

23:27They're going to be very bad. They have not done enough to... And that's why you're just designed, right? I don't think I'm saying anything here that Flames fans are going to be like, but we're going to be great. No, I think they know where they are. They're executing a rebuild. I think the next year at the New Arena is when the flames probably want to be like, let's get some playoff revenue. But I think, as of right now, they're kind of cool just chilling. Yeah, I think so. I think they're working on a future rebuild. I just don't know. I don't think they have a direction yet. Yeah. Last two teams, regional divisional rivals. The Seattle Crackin, I have been seventh in this division. Yeah, the same. I don't know what the Socky team has been. It doesn't even seem like they're trying as the problem. They have done... Everyone gives them biggest grief for a variety of reasons. Many of them incredibly valid. But one of them is that as an organization,

24:29they have an identity. And the identity is we're going to be ruthless and do everything we can to win. Now, sometimes that means you're making big trades for guys like Max Petretti and you're sending way too many assets out the door or you're trading for Thomas Tatar and sending way too many assets out the door. Sometimes that means you're signing a guy that nobody wants in Carter Hart. But at the very least, it's an identity. We know what the Vegas Golden Knights are. The team that came into the league immediately after the Seattle Crackin, we still do not know what this team is. And I think that they are one of the greatest failings of the expansion, this expansion era. And the Seattle Crackin are what gives me pause for the upcoming expansion teams. Like you're telling me we're going back to Atlanta again. Third time's the charm, is it? And if you guys put a team in charge of them, like you did for Seattle, they're going to be useless for 10 years. Like I have a really hard time,

25:32sort of positioning the new expansion teams as instant successes. When literally in this era of expansion, it's a 50-50 hit rate. You're either the Knights or you're the Crackin. And in the biggest era of expansion, I'm sorry, but it's not like it's a lot of suck before you're even close to good. I mean, the jackets in the wild are two of the most, and I don't say this to attack the fans. I don't say this to attack any of the players. The wild and the blue jacket, since their inception, are two of the most irrelevant franchises in all of sports. Yeah. Like this is why like expansion for expansion's sake just doesn't do anything for me. Like the Crackin are chief among them. I have a hard time seeing this team out of the basement this year. And then in the basement is the team that's trying to be in the basement, the Vancouver Connects.

26:32They just signed Zeeb Wiem to a massive contract extension trying to, they're sort of trying to do what Montreal did with like Gouli and Slavkovsky, the two earlier extensions, where they throw a bunch of money at him and we all go, geez, that's a lot of money. And then within a few years, we go, actually one of the better contracts on the league. Yes. I think that's what Vancouver's trying to do with Wiem. I don't think it's gonna hit, but I think it's a good shot, right? Yeah. You can at least see the thinking there. The only reason I care about the Vancouver Connects this year is like when we're gonna see Brennan Gallagher back in Montreal, that's it. Yeah, and honestly, I hate to burst everyone's bubble on that, but Brennan Gallagher is on the last year of his contract. The Vancouver Connects don't come back to Montreal until the first week of March, late February. And the trade deadline is like a week or two later. He might not be a Vancouver Canaco when he comes back to Montreal. Like, there's a good chance that he gets dealt ahead of time.

27:34We'll see. But yeah, I think Vancouver is intentionally bad. Any of the, like these Calgary Seattle Vancouver to put the Canadians angle on this again. Those are teams that, if and when Montreal loses to those teams, those will be shows where we go. This was unacceptable. Yeah, absolutely. The Canadians are past that point. We're losing to those teams is an acceptable byproduct of whatever is happening on the ice. Absolutely. It's not. They should wipe the floor with these teams. It should be six out of six points. You can't make the playoffs and afford to lose to teams like this in my opinion. Any final thoughts on the Pacific? So I have Vegas Edmonton and San Jose and the playoffs and everybody else not. Correct. That's what you have as well. Who do you have winning this division in the regular season? Unfortunately, Vegas. Yeah, I think so too. Last year they won it and they weren't particularly good. They were hurt like all year and it didn't matter.

28:35I think that will be very similar here. I think this division is like three or four years away from being a legitimate Atlantic West. Yeah, and I think that's the thing is like, you know, like all of a sudden it's going to creep up on you and all the teams are good. So that's exactly the sharks are going to have to face that just like the habs are facing that right now. For sure. All right, let's leave that there. Hey, thanks for tuning in. We covered the Pacific today. Tomorrow, let's do the central and then we'll head out to the east for the final two previews of the week. Very excited for Thursday. That's our Atlantic division one. The hardest for last. We're going to have some capital O opinions on that episode. Like that is going to be where we make we make zero friends across the division in that episode. That'll be a lot of scorched earth. scorched earth, gun to the earth even as one makes day. So thanks, thanks y'all for tuning in. We really appreciate you guys. Send us emails locked on Canadians at jimma.com again, mail back on Friday, one final draw for the YouTube subscriber contest for the two signed photos.

29:36One of our reject I one of Josh Anderson. So if you want those tuning on Friday for the mail back, you can also reach out to us everywhere locked on Canadians at jimma.com. It's the best way to do it, but locked on Canadians on Blue Sky Instagram and TikTok. For your thanks for making us your first listen for your second listen, go check out the locked on NHL show. We love it over there. They're getting into full swing. They're doing their season previews. Go check them out here on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. For Laura Sabah, I'm Ian Boavir. We hope you enjoy your, or your Labor Day holiday, but be safe. Do not drink and drive. Make a plan. Do not get caught out there. Destiny of the driver. Call a ride. Do anything you need to. Do not drink and drive. And we will see you guys tomorrow. Enjoy. The locked on podcast network is brought to you by Fandall. Baseball fans, if you think you know who's hitting a home or today, Fandall is giving you a free chance to call your shot with daily dingers.

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