Alexander Zharovsky: Scouts across the league really like him

Alexander Zharovsky has been making quite a name for himself over the past 12 months. The young Russian, drafted by the Habs with the 34th overall pick in 2025, scored 16 goals and 42 points in 59 games during his first full season in the KHL.
That was an exceptional haul for a player his age… even if he was also a bit lucky to play for a team that gave him such a big role.
As a result, Zharovsky is now viewed as a top prospect in town. Many see him as part of the Habs' future… but

In May, when Carlos Correa underwent ankle surgery, the Astros announced he would be out for six to eight months.
His season was therefore over.
But his rehab is going so well that the chances of seeing him back this year are, in the end, looking better and better.
In Houston, many people have said they're open to the possibility of the infielder returning to action this season. The team's general manager said as much this morning.
“We need the leadership; we all know how important he is t

The Montreal Canadiens have a very strong pool of prospects, both on offense and defense.
With so many young players still not playing for the big club, it's easy to overlook a few of them.
Of course, we'll be talking more about players like Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky, and David Reinbacher, because they address the team's current needs (forwards with top-6 potential and a well-rounded right-handed defenseman).
However, there are other prospects who get less attention but could be interest

There have been some developments regarding the next NHL expansion.
First, yesterday we learned that Bill Daly will announce the new expansion team by the end of 2026, which is expected to join the league in 2029–2030.
This doesn't really help the Montreal Canadiens, because they have several promising players and won't be able to protect them all.
The general consensus is that the Habs should opt for the approach of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, rather t

Yesterday, pitcher Ryan Weathers left the game between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. We were wondering what that meant.
Ultimately, the Yankees announced that the pitcher would be sidelined for two to four weeks.
After that, he'll inevitably need a little more time to make his return.
Aaron Boone said there's a “good chance” he'll return this season, but that doesn't mean it will happen. His season is inevitably compromised.
Ryan Weathers will not throw for 2–4 weeks. Aaron Bo

Yesterday marked the “Zee's Final Shift” event—Zdeno Chara's hockey farewell game—as the 49-year-old star defenseman laced up his skates in front of the cameras one last time in front of his fans in Slovakia.
For the occasion, several of Zdeno Chara's friends and former teammates were on hand to play and watch.
Marian Hossa, Raymond Bourque, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand (who did not play due to injury), among others, were all there to play and pay t

In a desperate search for offensive production, Sean Keys made his Major League debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in late June of this season, recording a few hits and two RBIs along the way. However, that wasn't enough to keep him in the MLB at that time.
Although Alejandro Kirk has experienced a resurgence and some other Blue Jays players have slightly improved their hitting recently, the search for offensive firepower continues in Toronto, as the Jays' offense remains mediocre despite the team

Last season, Zachary Bolduc's debut with the Montreal Canadiens got a lot of fans excited, not only because he's a young Quebec native, but also because he has a lot of offensive talent.
Things got off to a great start for the 23-year-old, who scored three goals in his first three games of the season, but his play quickly faltered as he went through several slumps throughout the season.
In the end, Bolduc finished the season with 30 points, including 12 goals—a fairly modest total that fel

The Tampa Bay Lightning remain an excellent team in the National Hockey League, as Julien Brisebois has managed to keep the team competitive following their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021.
However, aside from a loss in the 2022 finals, the Lightning have now been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs four times in a row over the past four years.
The team still boasts excellent players, but success has eluded them.
The team's best players are getting older, and let's

Yesterday was Kade Anderson Day in Seattle.
The top pitching prospect in MLB, who had an outstanding season in Double-A, was called up by the Mariners to make his Major League debut.
Cal Raleigh even understood the significance of the moment, choosing not to wear his colorful bib (from Players' Weekend) behind home plate.
Why? So the young man wouldn't have to watch the highlights of his first career game with a catcher who stood out. #Class
In the end, Anderson still pitched well, even if he wa

Preseason games for the 2026–2027 season are in full swing in the KHL, as all 22 teams in the Kontinental Hockey League are already gearing up for the upcoming season.
We'll obviously be keeping a close eye on this league once again, as we do every year—both for the performances of the Montreal Canadiens' prospects and for the zany moments.
In fact, it's not uncommon for some pretty funny or unusual moments to occur in the KHL.
We were treated to just such a scene yesterday in a game

Montreal Canadiens fans are certainly very pleased with the work Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have done since they arrived.
What's most impressive is what they've been able to accomplish in terms of salary cap management and the contracts awarded to the team's core players.
When you look around the NHL, no other team's salary structure is as impressive as the Habs'.
Nick Suzuki (who, however, extended his contract under Marc Bergevin) and Cole Caufield got the ball rolling, and the rest simply fo

The Montreal Canadiens already have a very strong, young, and talented core, with several prospects on the way.
Players like Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky, Jacob Fowler (who isn't officially a member of the team), Bryce Pickford, Adam Engstrom, and many others are all very intriguing.
However, the Habs need to improve to be considered a powerhouse and a true Stanley Cup contender, especially in the top six on offense, or by adding a physical, defensively reliable right-handed defenseman.
Tha

Changing Things Up
Kyle Tucker took batting practice on the field before the game yesterday. He hadn't done that all year.
Kyle Tucker took batting practice on the field yesterday for the FIRST time this season, according to @THEREAL_DV pic.twitter.com/w5waErCFF0
— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) August 22, 2026
The Cole Family
What's their dynamic like?
Gerrit and Amy Cole talk about their family and what it's like to raise a family while pitching for the New York Yankees! https://t.co/8jk

In the most recent draft, the Habs selected Gleb Pugachyov in the first round. The kid, who will spend the next year in Russia, will certainly be keeping people here on the city's radar.
We can't wait to see what he's capable of… but above all, at what level he'll be playing.
Because it's worth noting that Pugachyov, unlike Ivan Demidov two years ago and Alexander Zharovsky last year, isn't guaranteed to spend the year in the KHL. In fact, over the past few days, he's been seen playing in

In recent days, the Dodgers have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. We've heard all kinds of stories about the team's owner, Mark Walter, and there are major questions surrounding the team.
But what's the real story? We're starting to get a better picture.
Jeff Passan, appearing on The Max Mannis Podcast, provided an update on the saga and explained, in concrete terms, what's going on. Basically, right now, Walter is suspected of having reinvested insurance premiums from one of his comp

After years of rebuilding, the CH has finally become a competitive team again. The club has been acquiring talent for a few years now, and that helped it reach the Eastern Conference Final last season.
But the plan, of course, is to win the Stanley Cup… and to be contenders for it for several years to come.
Except that Bill Daly, in an interview with The Athletic, announced two pieces of news that won't help the Canadiens in the coming years. And the most significant one relates to an upc

The New York Yankees have been playing without three of their top four hitters for quite some time now. And while Cody Bellinger could be back as early as tomorrow (Sunday) and captain Aaron Judge is making good progress toward a return sometime in September, the situation is quite different for Giancarlo Stanton.
In fact, while recovering from a calf injury, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that Stanton has injured his other calf and will miss even more time for the Bombers—potentially the r

The Canadiens' season will begin in just over a month. So we can expect some busy weeks ahead, with events like rookie camp, the golf tournament, and training camp.
It's all going to go by fast.
That said, even as the season approaches, Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj are still without contracts for 2026–27. We're wondering when these situations will be resolved… and it's interesting to note that Geoff Molson has spoken openly about the issue.
In an interview with Radio-Canada Sport

Last May, the Montreal Victory won the Walter Cup. It was a wonderful story for the city during a spring when the province was already buzzing with hockey excitement thanks to the Canadiens' playoff run.
And in the hockey world in general, seeing Marie-Philip Poulin win the one trophy she'd never won before also made a lot of people happy.
Just like with the Stanley Cup, all the players got to spend a day with the trophy. Except for Dara Greig (Ridly's sister, who plays for the Senators)—s

To say the least, it's been quite a week for Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 32-year-old mysteriously missed a game earlier this week against the Boston Red Sox, was placed on the restricted list following his absence, and was then moved to the 10-day injured list due to alleged knee issues.
Speaking to reporters before yesterday's (Friday) game against the Cincinnati Reds, manager Torey Lovullo admitted to feeling “betrayed” when asked to describe his reaction to Marte

It had been a long time since the Montreal Canadiens had given us such wonderful and intense emotions as they did during the 2025–2026 season.
What we experienced last season was simply magical, and it gave us a wonderful glimpse of what's to come for this great team.
The city of Montreal went completely wild during the playoffs, and it's clear that this has set the bar very high for the team heading into the 2026–2027 season.
Reaching the conference finals last year puts the Habs in

The big news in the Aug. 21, 1976, Vancouver Sun was that Frank Sinatra had flown into town for his first Vancouver concert since 1957 .It was the first show in the Pacific National Exhibition’s annual Star Spectacular of big name acts at the Pacific Coliseum, and was a great success.But it overshadowed an even bigger moment in PNE history — the debut of the SuperDogs .Frank’s audience was around 14,000. The SuperDogs drew only 200 to their first show, held in a parking lot be

I don’t know about you, but if you’d told me that Garrett Crochet was going to miss most of the season, I don’t think I would have believed the Boston rotation would have a good season.
Imagine if he can come back (in a relief role, mind you) late in the season: the Red Sox will have options on the mound.
A long catch-up with Garrett Crochet today included talk about his progress, changes to his contract, and an acknowledgment that a return this year would “a million perc

The $90 million, five-year hostile offer made to Leo Carlsson really sent shockwaves throughout the National Hockey League.
Seeing the Philadelphia Flyers offer that much money—$18 million a year—to the Anaheim Ducks forward has completely changed the way contracts are negotiated and signed.
In fact, there has been plenty of evidence of this ever since the Flyers matched the Anaheim Ducks' offer.
Several players have secured much more money than expected—and than they deserved&

As the Montreal Canadiens' 2026–2027 season approaches, Kent Hughes and his team still have two important internal matters to resolve.
In fact, two of his players remain unsigned for the upcoming season, and the more time that passes, the more urgent these matters become.
Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj are still not under contract with the Habs for the 2026–2027 season, which is set to begin shortly.
Obviously, there's no cause for major concern, but we're all wondering why the two

Last night marked Rafael Devers's big return to Boston.
Devers himself wasn't really in the mood to talk to the reporters on site about his time with the Red Sox.
That's fine. He doesn't have to.
We were all pretty eager to see what kind of reception the fans would give him. Would he be booed or cheered by the crowd?
Or both?
In the end, he was booed far more than he was cheered at Fenway Park. For the most part, the fans chose to boo him.
Rafael Devers received some mixed reactions in his retur

It's already almost September, which means we're just over a month away from the return of North American professional hockey.
When I say that, you naturally think first of the National Hockey League, but there's also the American Hockey League to keep an eye on once again this season.
The Montreal Canadiens' affiliate, the Laval Rocket, will kick off its season on October 2 at Place Bell.
After several mediocre years for the farm team, it had become the norm for Habs fans not to follow the Cana

Are you looking forward to the start of the Montreal Canadiens' season? I imagine the answer is yes.
It's already been several months since the team's 2025–26 season ended… and it's time for it to start again.
And just for fun, I've decided to share my five hot takes ahead of the upcoming season. Let me know in the comments if you think I'm crazy—or not…
1: Ivan Demidov will reach the… 90-point mark
In his first (full) season in the National Hockey League, Ivan D

The season is just around the corner. Training camps will open in just over three weeks, and the regular season kicks off on September 29. We're still waiting for the official announcement confirming that hockey will be back on TVA Sports, by the way.
It's not just the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs who will be in action on September 29. Four other games are on the schedule for this first day of the regular season, including one that will pit the Canucks against the Oilers in Edmonton.
Why am I i