Friday Habs Headlines: Player development in the spotlight

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Jeff Gorton will have to address the heart of the Habs’ woes — player development. [Montreal Gazette]
• Mattias Norlinder may be the pilot case for whether the Habs can turn around their player development practices. [La Presse]
• Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Montreal Canadiens were the most mentioned sports team in Canada on Twitter in 2021. [Sportsnet]
• 25 trade candidates to watch, including Ben Chiarot and Brendan Gallagher. [Sportsnet]
• Arber Xhekaj has been suspended indefinitely. [RDS]

Around the league and elsewhere

• Can Lou Lamoriello salvage the New York Islanders’ season? [The Hockey News]
• Jim Rutherford is the Vancouver Canucks new president of hockey operations. [Sportsnet]
• Tij Iginla, son of Jarome, has been selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the WHL Entry Draft. [The Hockey News]
• The Arizona Coyotes’ arena operator says the NHL team still owes more than $2.706 million for rent and other expenses. [Sportsnet]