In your Montreal Canadiens news, Brendan Gallagher is on his knee, Michael Pezzetta gets a new ride, Dominique Ducharme is a Knight and the Rocket release their schedule.
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Ducharme is a Knight
The Vegas Golden Knights have hired Dominique Ducharme as an assistant coach to head coach Bruce Cassidy. The news had been rumored earlier this week but was made official by the Golden Knights on Wednesday evening.
In a statement, Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said, "Dominique brings a wealth of coaching experience into our organization and has proven to be a successful leader at multiple levels."
Ducharme was fired as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on February 9, 2022 after 45 games of the 2021-22 season where he led the team to a 8-30-7 record.
New Ride for Pezz
In early June Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta signed a two-year, one-way contract extension securing his future to the end of the 2024-25 season. So who would blame him if he wanted to splurge a little.
On their Instagram account, Markham Acura in Unionville, ON. posted a photo of Pezzetta standing beside his new vehicle. According to the post, it is an Acura Integra Type S in Platinum White Pearl.
On One Knee
Back on September 29th, during a pre-season game against the Winnipeg Jets, Brendan Gallagher scored a typical Brendan Gallagher style goal. While on the power-play, Gallagher slid towards the Winnipeg crease on both knees and batted a bouncing puck out of the air into the back of the Jets net.
This past Sunday, Gallagher only dropped to one knee but for something much better than a NHL goal. Brendan proposed to his girlfriend, Emma Fortin, at Lost Lake in Whistler, British Columbia.
Fortin posted several photos to Instagram along with the caption "forever & always."
In a follow-up post to Instagram, Fortin wrote: "Still on cloud 9 and overwhelmed by all the love we are receiving!! A special thank you to our friends who travelled to celebrate with us on our engagement day and made it even more magical."
Gurianov to Preds
On Tuesday, the Nashville Predators announced they have signed former Canadiens forward Denis Gurianov to a one-year contract, worth $850,000.
The 26-year-old forward was acquired by Kent Hughes from the Dallas Stars for Evgenii Dadonov at the end of February. Gurianov was not qualified by the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the 2022-23 season making him an unrestricted free agent.
Gurianov had five goals and three assists in 23 games for the Canadiens.
Rocket Unveil Schedule
The Laval Rocket will begin their new season just four days after Thanksgiving. The AHL released their 2023-24 schedule with the Rocket playing 72 games between October 13th and April 20th.
The action begins with a four-game homestand to start the season with two games against the Abbotsford Canucks and the next two against the Rochester Americans.
The regular season will end with a home-and-home series against the Belleville Senators on April 19th and 20th.
All home games will be played at Place Bell on Fridays. Saturdays or Wednesdays.