The gloves came off between Condotta and Pezzetta Saturday night, and it said everything about what preseason hockey between Montreal and Toronto actually means right now.
TVA Sports captured the moment as tempers flared between the Canadiens' Condotta and the Maple Leafs' Michael Pezzetta.
Pezzetta posted no points in 9 games with Toronto last season, going minus-4, a depth forward whose entire value comes from exactly this kind of physical presence.
That's the real story in these preseason games. Young players and depth pieces on both sides aren't just skating through drills. They're defending their teammates and fighting for real jobs.
Nobody drops the gloves in a meaningless exhibition game unless there's something real on the line for them personally.
Florian Xhekaj also dropped the gloves with Toronto's Marshall Rifai in the other Leafs-Habs game being played at the same time, another example of players on the roster bubble making sure the people upstairs notice them.
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Rifai appeared in just 1 game with Toronto last season, the exact kind of thin NHL résumé that makes every preseason shift matter.
Why these scraps actually carry weight this time of year
Head coach Martin St-Louis has kept a specific trio together through camp all week, pairing younger players with established veterans like Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.
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Danault posted 17 points in 75 games last season, and Anderson added 14 goals on a $5,500,000 cap hit, neither of them there to simply pad a scoresheet in September.
That pairing tells you exactly what coaching staffs want from these games. Heavy shifts, physical presence, and players willing to answer the bell when things get chippy.
Montreal finished 48-24-10 for 106 points this season, sixth overall, meaning anyone trying to crack that lineup is beating out players who already helped get the team there.
Kaiden Guhle remains out until at least October 23 with a groin issue, opening a small window on the back end, though not the kind of spot a forward fight decides.
Preseason results themselves don't matter. But a coach's memory of who stood up for a teammate when it mattered absolutely does, and that's exactly what both benches were showing off Saturday night.
Do fights in preseason games actually influence final roster decisions?
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