Wednesday Habs Headlines: Marc Bergevin’s deadline deals are duds

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Marc Bergevin’s deadline deals haven’t benefited the team. [Montreal Gazette]
• Claude Julien doesn’t want to blame Jesperi Kotkaniemi or the depth acquisitions for the team’s recent woes. [RDS]
• Julien defended his benching of the team’s star rookie against the Chicago Blackhawks, though. [Montreal Gazette]
• Jose Theodore says that the Canadiens are wasting Carey Price’s efforts. [Journal de Montreal]
• In danger of missing out on the post-season, are the Habs hitting the panic button? [RDS]
• Marc Dumont says that the Canadiens should stop experimenting and go back to the lines that served them so well early in the season. [The Athletic]
• Enjoying a successful first professional season in Laval, Jake Evans knows that there are still obstacles to be overcome. [RDS]
• Before Montreal, Ryan Poehling has his sights set on Buffalo and the Frozen Four. [TVA]
• Alumnus Charlie Lindgren hopes that Poehling and the St. Cloud State University Huskies go all the way this year. [Montreal Canadiens]
• Francis Boullion discusses the importance of mental training for young players. [Montreal Canadiens]
• It appears that the Clarkson Cup final will be broadcast in French for the first time.

• Marie-Philip Poulin though remains questionable to play in Sunday’s championship game. [Sportsnet]

Looking up at the wild-card positions

• A failure to protect late period leads is becoming a recurring problem for the Pittsburgh Penguins. [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
• The Pens will have to handle the final stretch without one of the league’s best players, as Evgeni Malkin is week-to-week with an upper body injury. [NHL.com]
• After being struck in the eye by Alex Kerfoot’s stick, Carolina Hurricane Calvin de Haan wasn’t sure that his eyeball was still in its socket. [Toronto Star]

• Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney have changed the Hurricanes, who must contend with the third toughest schedule in the league for the remainder of the season. [Sportsnet]
• With three goaltenders on the active roster, the Columbus Blue Jackets are healthy scratching Sergei Bobrovsky on his days off in order to give him a full rest. [The Athletic]
• The Blue Jackets will need to buck a trend of futility against western Canadian teams if they are to keep pace in the playoff race. [1st Ohio Battery]

Around the league and elsewhere

• It’s become clear this year that Patrick Marleau is no longer the player that he used to be. How is his decline affecting the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster? [The Athletic]
• Is Alex Nylander a flop as a prospect for the Buffalo Sabres? [Die by the Blade]
• A list of KHL free agents who may be interested in an NHL job next year. [Business Gazeta Online (Russian)]
• Florida Panthers prospect Brady Keeper is a role model to aboriginal youths. [Florida Panthers]
• How Vancouver’s Come Try Hockey events hope to hook girls on the sport. [The Athletic]