Arpon Basu
@arponbasu.bsky.social
The Athletic’s senior columnist on the Montreal Canadiens, co-host of the Basu and Godin Notebook podcast, regular contributor for Habs on TSN. Subscribe at: Print: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nhl/team/canadiens/ Audio: https://basuandgodin.com/
Slowly getting back to some work so I’m doing a mailbag, you can submit questions here. If your question has already been asked, just give it a like instead of asking it again. I’ll take the ones with the most likes: www.nytimes.com/athletic/750...
Submit your Montreal Canadiens questions for Arpon Basu’s mailbag
The peak of summer is the perfect time to answer reader questions. What do you want to know about the Canadiens?
nytimes.com
Inside the rise of Habs prospect LJ Mooney. My feature, with insight from the kid, his dad, USA Hockey, his minor hockey coach, and more (🎁 free to read): www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...
From ‘the compound’ to the Canadiens: Behind the rise of top prospect LJ Mooney (Gift Article)
The 2025 fourth-round pick looks to continue following in the footsteps of his cousin, star Mammoth forward Logan Cooley, into the NHL.
nytimes.com
The Canadiens don’t necessarily want a status quo offseason. But the fact they can still improve without really doing anything makes it easier to be patient, and if that means a status quo offseason, then so be it. They’ll be fine. www.nytimes.com/athletic/743...
Why the Canadiens have the luxury of rolling the dice on a status quo offseason (Gift Article)
The Canadiens offseason has not resulted in any big additions, but the ascending development curve of the team allows them to be patient.
nytimes.com
If the Canadiens truly value character, the reasoning behind Michael Hage’s decision to return to Michigan is hard to criticize: www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...
If the Canadiens truly value character, Michael Hage’s Michigan decision is hard to criticize (Gift Article)
Top prospect Hage's decision to return to school further cements his status as a top Canadiens prospect and not the opposite.
nytimes.com
Jakub Dobeš' $5,375,575 a year contract brings the Canadiens annual spend over the three years of this contract to just over $67.73 million for nine core players: four defencemen, four forwards and a goalie. It expires the same year as Nick Suzuki's, in 2030.
The Canadiens continued locking things down today. Jakub Dobeš extends for three years at just under $5.4 million a year. www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...
Canadiens, goaltender Jakub Dobeš agree to 3-year contract extension (Gift Article)
The contract begins in the 2027-28 season.
nytimes.com
Ivan Demidov fell in line and signed yet another team-friendly deal for the Canadiens’ core. Those deals, however, were not signed simply to be friendly. There’s an expectation of winning that comes with it, and now it’s time for management to execute. www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...
Ivan Demidov fell in line and signed yet another team-friendly deal for the Canadiens’ core. Those deals, however, were not signed simply to be friendly. There’s an expectation of winning that comes with it, and now it’s time for management to execute. www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...
Canadiens sign Ivan Demidov to 8-year extension worth $9.15 million a year, adding another piece to their locked-in core: www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...
Canadiens sign Ivan Demidov to 8-year contract extension (Gift Article)
Demidov led all NHL rookies in scoring with 62 points in 82 games this season and added nine points in 19 playoff games.
nytimes.com
Canadiens second round pick Tim Runtso doing his skating test.
As Brendan Gallagher prepares to pack and head to Vancouver, he leaves a rebuild nearing completion in Montreal to embark on a new one with the Canucks. He leaves behind a young core in Montreal he helped shape. I asked him to tell us about that core. www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...
As Gallagher leaves the Canadiens, he shares stories of the core he helped shape
nytimes.com
Canadiens draft notes: • Gleb Pugachyov’s infectious “oomph” and the shift that left an impression • Managing organizational asset “buckets” • Drafting overagers • The Canadiens want to go back to the good draft format and stop this crappy format www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...
Canadiens draft notes: More than physicality, scarcity made Pugachyov the top pick
nytimes.com
Gleb Pugachyov’s agent Dan Milstein says there is a chance he will attend Canadiens development camp, assuming the visa process is efficient. Also confirms Pugachyov has two years left on his KHL contract. His official measurements from the Gold Star camp: 6-2 3/4, 224 lbs.
The Canadiens found what a perfect marriage between best player available and need in Gleb Pugachyov. They did not, however, find a similar marriage on the trade market. That can happen when you’re being picky, but this will be a summer long chase. www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...
Canadiens fill need in NHL Draft and still intend to fill a more pressing one via trade
nytimes.com
Sat down with Brendan Gallagher to talk about his time in Montreal ending and what the future holds. One word kept coming up: purpose. He lost it in Montreal as the Canadiens ascended, he’s convinced he can still find it at his next NHL stop. He is still hungry. www.nytimes.com/athletic/738...
As Brendan Gallagher prepares to leave Montreal, he seeks one thing: purpose (Gift Article)
Brendan Gallagher wants his next NHL city to be a good home for his family, but he also wants to recapture his NHL self.
nytimes.com
The Canadiens enter a critical offseason coming off a season that exceeded all expectations. But the most important elements of it will be precision and patience, to not get caught up in the moment. Because that is often how mistakes are made. www.nytimes.com/athletic/737...
What we’re hearing as the Canadiens embark on what may or may not be a critical offseason (Gift Article)
Do the Canadiens absolutely need to make a major addition this offseason? It depends on their perspective of what this season meant.
nytimes.com
On the Canadiens’ top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský and the valuable playoff lessons they learned, most notably on the concept of mental stamina. Having mental strength is one thing, maintaining it is even harder. www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Canadiens’ top line, valuable playoff lessons and a promising future
nytimes.com
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield winning their first NHL awards together could not have been more appropriate as a coronation for the Canadiens emerging from a rebuild they were each so critical in driving: www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Suzuki, Caufield winning awards together perfectly reflects their importance to Canadiens (Gift Article)
Nick Suzuki's Selke win and Cole Caufield's Lady Byng win happening at once was symbolic of their role in helping the Canadiens rebuild.
nytimes.com
Ketel Marte's walkoff HR had so much going on but the best part is Marte sprinting down the third base line to avoid the water and the gum only for Perdomo to run right past Marte and drown someone else 😂 (the bat flip is fantastic and so is Arenado yelling "What, why would you throw that???")
Jeremy Lauzon had 97 blocked shots in 68 regular season games. Was very slow to react to that pass going over to Jarvis and get in the shooting lane. John Tortorella will not love that.
On the most important piece of Canadiens offseason business for a second year in a row and what last year’s Lane Hutson contract negotiations may — or perhaps should — tell us about this year’s Ivan Demidov extension talks: www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Ivan Demidov’s next contract and the Canadiens’ culture that may facilitate it (Gift Article)
The Canadiens have signed a number of their young players to team-friendly contracts. Ivan Demidov will likely be next.
nytimes.com
On the Canadiens and transitions, some painful, some hopeful, but mostly a transition from rebuilding to contending that will be delicate and will require precision and hard decisions for Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
Canadiens’ transition out of a rebuild into a contention window has never been clearer (Gift Article)
The Venn diagram of the Canadiens' present and future is beginning to resemble a single, overlapping circle.
nytimes.com
On the Canadiens and transitions, some painful, some hopeful, but mostly a transition from rebuilding to contending that will be delicate and will require precision and hard decisions for Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
Canadiens’ transition out of a rebuild into a contention window has never been clearer (Gift Article)
The Venn diagram of the Canadiens' present and future is beginning to resemble a single, overlapping circle.
nytimes.com
I was on a podcast (not mine!) to talk about my writing (especially The Reeds), Montreal, sexual politics (I even used the word “shag” and not in reference to the rug on the cover of the book), gentrification, voice, furniture, strip malls and more. I sound semi intelligent amazingly enough.
Four (+) Equals One - Arjun Basu's The Reeds | Getting Lit With Linda
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Ivan Demidov will spend his summer in Montreal again, and has invited Alexander Zharovsky to Montreal to train for at least part of the summer. Demidov says Zharovsky is supposed to arrive here next week.
A highly emotional Brendan Gallagher just finished his final media scrum as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Says it is his decision to move on, but obviously his non-playing status forced him into that decision. He wants to continue playing, and it clearly wasn’t happening here.
About to take off on my final flight of the season. Can’t believe I still get to do this job 26 years later. Thanks everyone for reading/listening/watching on what was an incredible Canadiens season. More to come in the coming days and weeks. But no more flights.
