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Saturday Habs Links: Plekanec plays friendly tennis match vs. Françoise Abanda

Here are your daily links, including the good ol' Dale Weise on the top line debate, Tomas Plekanec's tennis match, Michael McCarron's point production in Oshawa, mental health in hockey, and more.

By Sam Li
Jan 17, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec (14) gives away a puck as he is named first star of the game against New York Islanders at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec (14) gives away a puck as he is named first star of the game against New York Islanders at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Montreal Canadiens

  • The "Can Dale Weise play on the top line?" storyline rides again. (Weise says he feels comfortable on whatever line he plays on, by the way). [NHL]

  • Hey, speaking of which - here's the EOTP stance on the issue. "Dale Weise is not a first liner". [EOTP]

  • Michael McCarron has nine points in 13 games in Oshawa, compared to 41 points in 25 games back in London. Not surprising — he's playing reduced ice time on a less offensive team. [La Presse] (French)

  • To promote the Fed Cup, Tomas Plekanec played a friendly set against 17-year-old Canadian tennis player Françoise Abanda. She won, 10-7. [RDS] (French)

  • Prospect Magnus Nygren will continue his concussion recovery in Sweden. Hope everything turns out okay. [Canadiens]

  • No goalie has won the Hart Trophy since Jose Theodore was named league MVP for the 2001-02 season, but we all know who we want to see it go to. Carey Price? You the real MVP. [CBS Sports]

Around the League and Elsewhere

  • Chicago Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita has been diagnosed with dementia. [CBC]

  • Malcolm Subban is being called up to the Boston Bruins to replace Niklas Svedberg, who is on a conditioning stint in the AHL. Practically no chance that Tuukka Rask wouldn't play, but nice temporary pay raise for Malcolm. [NHL]

  • Fox Sports accidentally played some, uh, adult film audio over a live Nashville Predators broadcast. Video at the link. [On The Forecheck]

  • The Bell Let's Talk campaign may have raised $6M, but mental health and substance abuse is still a big issue in pro sports. Jamie McKinven speaks out: [Montreal Gazette]

    "When you’d get injured in the minors, often they’d just sign another player and by the time you get back, you’d have to fight for your job," said McKinven, who details these experiences in his coming book Tales from the Bus Leagues. "And while you’ve been on the shelf for three months, your replacement has been playing, keeping himself in top form. … You don’t want this to happen, so you use painkillers to play through sprained knees, broken ribs. You don’t want to admit you’re hurt because injured guys get labels like ‘band aids’ or ‘weak’ or ‘soft.’"

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