Thursday Habs Headlines: Jesperi Kotkaniemi is making his case for a key role

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s lineup projection for the qualifiers is rising from depth forward to key centre option. [Sportsnet]
• Watch him and the other Habs in action yesterday:

• Tomas Tatar has too much on his plate to worry about future contract negotiations right now. [TVA Sports]
• Phillip Danault is looking forward to the biggest challenge of his career: matching up with Sidney Crosby over the course of a post-season series. [La Presse]
• Cale Fleury and Cayden Primeau also spoke about their roles at training camp yesterday. [Canadiens.com]
• Cole Caufield, Jayden Struble, and the rest of the 2021 World Juniors hopefuls won’t be on the ice together this summer, and USA Hockey’s Summer Showcase has been cancelled. [Madison.com]
• Ilya Kovalchuk hopes the Canadiens and his Washington Capitals can meet in the Eastern Conference Final. [NHL.com]
• The other centre spots are up for grabs, and that could present a great opportunity for Jake Evans. [Journal de Montreal]
• Montreal vs. Toronto is one of three all-Canadian exhibition matches this month, as the NHL tries to use local rivalries to pique interest for the post-season. [Vancouver Courrier]

Around the league and elsewhere

• Lars Eller has left Capitals training camp to be with his wife for the birth of their son. [TSN]
• Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Dominik Kubalik are this season’s Calder Trophy finalists. [NHL.com]
• The coach of the year award will go to one of Bruce Cassidy, Alain Vigneault, and John Tortorella. [NHL.com]
• Malcolm Subban is preparing to be the Chicago Blackhawks’ starting goaltender after Corey Crawford received the “unfit to play” tag. [NHL.com]
• Thanks to the expanded NHL rosters, there are 91 players who’ve spent time in the ECHL in Phase 3 camps. [ECHL.com]
• The Toronto Maple Leafs had been using officials in their training camp activities. The NHL told them to stop. [Sportsnet]