Montreal Canadiens: The NHL has entered a dangerous time

A team like the Montreal Canadiens are going to have a lot of rumours surrounding them, especially now that the calendar has turned to February.

It was a downing month of January for the Montreal Canadiens, who went 5-6-1. Their position in the standings hasn’t changed as much; however, the next set of games can change whether they remain in the playoff race or not. Either way, the NHL has entered a dangerous era now that it’s February, and everyone needs to be on the lookout.

Keep in mind that February means Trade Deadline Day. The major event that fans and hockey minds look for as teams give up assets to upgrade while others gain assets for the future. The Habs have a small window to prove to management whether they’re on the buyer or seller extreme (even though it looks like the latter is more likely).

This era is mostly for the fans.

There is no other time where fans are tricked on social media – especially Twitter – when it comes to trade rumours. Take Friday, for example. It was being floated around that the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs may be in talks for a deal that would see Max Domi and/or Jeff Petry head to the Leafs for some package, including Kasperi Kapanen. The origin of the buzz came from a suggestion from Jean-Charles Lavoie of TVA Sports that turned into a full-blown rumour.

For the record, I don’t think this is something that takes place in the slightest. The Habs and Leafs came together on a trade two years ago, which saw Tomas Plekanec switch sides of the rivalry for a 2018 second-round pick as well as Kerby Rychel and Rinat Valiev. That doesn’t mean there’s any validity to this, and most importantly, it was just a suggestion.

Another tweet that caught a lot of fans off guard was the fake hiring of Gerard Gallant by the New Jersey Devils. Members of the organization had to come out and throw sand on the fire, but some notable names in the industry believed it.

With that being said, here are some tips to look out for as the days tick down towards Trade Deadline Day:

1) Look for the checkmark

This has its pros and cons. For the most part, we believe the Bob Mckenzie’s and Elliotte Friedman’s of Hockey Twitter and they don’t tweet information until it’s confirmed. There are some trustworthy accounts that break information despite not being verified, but to be on the safe side, wait until the insiders you know and love spread the news.

2) Look for the date

Key tip here. A number of accounts try to recreate old trade tweets from years past to generate buzz. Before you react or retweet make sure the tweet is from 2020!

3) Cursed underscores

There are accounts that try to pretend to be the key NHL insiders. Make sure you know the insider you’re retweeting is the real thing. Sometimes these fake accounts will have underscores in their handle to deceive you.

A very infamous fake NHL insider account is @PierreLebrun_. It’s incredible the damage an underscore can create.

4) Wait

Waiting encompasses a lot of things on social media. We’re very reactive on Twitter nowadays, and we want to be the first one to share a thought on a decision.

Wait.

Wait until you know without a shadow of a doubt it’s real to save yourself some increased heart palpitations, especially if the news in question is massive.

The Montreal Canadiens will be in and around any talk for the next three weeks. Make sure to keep these tips in mind as you cruise through social media.