In what will surely be one of the season’s best rivalries, the Habs visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Air Canada Center.

The man of the hour Guillaume Latendresse will be dressed and playing after his strong performance agaisnt Tampa where he picked up 2 goals and a helper.

The french media has already dubbed this guy as the next one. The pressure in Montreal is enough to crack a seasoned veteran, much less a young kid. No 18 year old has made the Canadiens team since Petr Svoboda in 1984. Whether he makes it or not is yet to be seen, but one thing that is certain, he’s making it very difficult for Canadiens management to not keep him around.

Although only pre-season, anytime it’s Leafs and Habs the stakes are high. Meeting each other 8 times this season, Montreal looks to set the example early coming off a thrashing of the defending cup champs.

As mentioned in a previous post Keith Tkachuk has been suspended by the St Louis blues for being overweight and failing his physical.

Tkachuk has now used the NHLPA to file a grievance against the NHL and the Blues. I guess I don’t blame him after being publicly humiliated, but maybe he should focus his efforts on his conditioning and not drag this matter out any further. What kind of repurcussions will there be when and if he returns to the lockeroom? Yes I said IF. I’ve seen players traded for far less, Keith Tkachuk hasn’t made a comment or public appearance since, who knows how he really feels about it?

In other news, the pre-season continues. Montreal welcomes the visiting Tampa Bay Lighting tonight at the Bell Centre. Highly acclaimed draft pick Guillaume Latendresse will get a chance to play on the #2 line with Radek Bonk and Marcel Hossa.

This comes after Montreal cut its first group of players yesterday, no real surprises there.