標籤: superior

brighton and hove albion Hoffenheim appear to have got ahead of the race for Saeed Al-Mala by making a move for a replacement for Bouzoumana Toure and ahead of Liverpool.

Sportbild’s report on today’s situation And the 20-year-old’s effort from Brighton was described by the newspaper as ‘technically superior’.

brighton look elsewhere

The newspaper states that the pair are potential rising stars in the Bundesliga this season. While Saeed El Malaa has scored 12 goals and five assists, Bouzoumana Touré has four goals and 12 assists.

Various clubs in Europe are interested in both, with Liverpool having been following Toure for some time. Now Brighton has ‘joined the race’.

After pursuing El Mala for months, they have already agreed on contract details with El Mala. He could earn €4m a year in the Premier League.

But Brighton and Cologne are ‘far off’ in their expectations. Whereas, Cologne want €50m Brighton will go up to €35m. That means the deal is closed at the moment. And so Brighton are looking for alternatives.

Concrete inquiry for Bazoumana Touré

Sportbild has learned that this has led to ‘concrete enquiries’ for Bazoumana Touré. It was made in the beginning of May. He is also a winger but of a different kind. While El Mala is adept at using his powerful physique and speed, Touré is ‘technically superior’ and more versatile.

He could also leave for €40m this summer. This has already been agreed and is close to the €35m that Brighton want to spend. Liverpool are also in the mix and are eyeing the 20-year-old as a replacement for Mohamed Salah.

No deal for Toure will be agreed until the end of the season. He is also expected to play in the World Cup, which may delay the matter further. This will only change if a top club like Liverpool takes some serious action ahead of the tournament.

But Brighton’s interest is being seen as a warning sign for Cologne. Seagulls won’t wait forever and are already looking elsewhere.

The Montreal Canadiens have become one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, and much of the credit for this should be given to the team’s top line.

There have been lineup changes, but in this case, we’re discussing the play of Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkowski and Cole Caufield, the most productive forwards in the Canadiens’ lineup.

5v5 production

All three members of the first line are on track to record career high points, which is a testament to their development, not to mention the impressive level of chemistry they have built over the past two seasons.

However, they aren’t really producing much at 5v5. Believe it or not, all three players have suffered a significant decline in points per 60 points this season.

Suzuki suffered the biggest losses with Slafkowski and Caufield. It should be noted that he still maintained a good production rate at 5v5, as anything closer to 2.0 points per 60 is generally considered reasonably good.

powerplay production

The most notable increase in scoring has come on the powerplay, where all three players have enjoyed a significant increase in production. However, Slafkowski leads by a significant margin, while Suzuki and Caufield lag behind.

Their individual improvements are reflected in the overall improvements of the team.

In 2024–25, the Canadiens were 21st in the NHL with 7.27 goals per 60 on the power play.

In 2025-26, the Canadiens rank fourth in the NHL with 9.31 ppg/60. This represents an increase of 28.1%.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

There’s more to scoring on the power play than just having three talented forwards in the mix. Or in Montreal’s case, often involving four forwards.

Having Ivan Demidov on the first power play unit has certainly increased the scoring, however, I would argue that the biggest difference this season has been having two talented power play quarterbacks available: Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson.

For example, Hutson has scored 5.7 points per 60 on the power play, good for fifth among all Canadiens players. As for Dobson, he is producing 4.4 points per 60, another encouraging result when we consider that he is often used on the second powerplay unit.

In that sense, we can certainly give Slafkowski, Suzuki, and Caufield credit for the improvement on the power play, but we also have to share some praise with the defensemen, not to mention the Montreal Canadiens management, which has finally solved one of the team’s most significant issues, the lack of production on the power play.

The Canadiens scored just 2.4 goals per game on the power play last season, good for 17th in the NHL. However, this season that number has increased to 2.8 goals per game, which ranks fourth in the league.

In other words, as usual in hockey, it’s a combination of factors that have led to Montreal’s improved power play ability.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are via Natural Stat Trick.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont