Montreal Sports - Montreal Canadiens

I am very happy to report that the Canadiens have officially put an end to what Nick Murdocco of The Franchise has named the "Latendresse Era". This era is defined as the period of time in which the Canadiens attempted to rush players into the NHL but who were in serious need of the kind of conditioning and coaching that is really only available in the AHL.The Canadiens have officially assigned Max Pacioretty to the Hamilton Bulldogs, and have also sent along with him Matt D'Agostini, albeit conditioning assignment that can last up to 2 weeks.

Nick Murdocco himself may be the first one to argue that Carey Price may be considered a hold-over from the Latendresse era, but I will hold off on that judgement as goalies are supposed to only mature at 24 years of age, which is still another 2 years away.

Ben Maxwell will be the 8th forward called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs this season (counting Sergei Kostitsyn). Maxwell has been rather hot, getting 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 games, despite the team having only 1 win in that timespan.

Given the Bulldogs recent downslide, coach Guy Boucher must certainly be delighted to get two players with the skillset of Pacioretty and D'Agostini. Hopefully coach Boucher can continue to work his magic and show his ability to get the most out of his players

Tags: bulldogs \ canadiens \ hamilton \ hockey \ maxwell \ montreal \ NHL \ pacioretty