Friday Habs Headlines: The value of Joel Edmundson at the Trade Deadline

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Joel Edmundson should generate plenty of interest before the trade deadline. [Sportsnet]
• Jake Evans and the importance of doing the dirty work. [La Presse]
• “In a few years, this will be a league dominated by 18- to 24-year-olds,” says Jake Allen. [Montreal Gazette]
• Would a Jonathan Drouin trade solve the Minnesota Wild’s scoring woes? [Zone Coverage]
• The Habs are unlikely to let Juraj Slafkovsky play in the World Juniors. [Daily Hive]
• The Canadiens’ annual hospital visits returned to an in-person format for the first time since 2019. [Montreal Canadiens]

Around the league and elsewhere

• The NHL’s scoring boom has gone supersonic, with wacky scores and no safe leads, says Pierre LeBrun. [The Athletic]
• World Junior candidates are facing enhanced screening process from Hockey Canada. [TSN]
• How the Sabres are being rewarded for their ‘huge leap of faith’ in Tage Thompson. [Sportsnet]
• A “frustrated” Jordan Binnington vents on the St. Louis Blues’ stumbling start. [The Athletic]
• How a World Junior opportunity with Canada will help Shane Wright, Brandt Clarke, and Dylan Guenther. [Daily Faceoff]
• “A lot of people thought I was stringing Calgary along, but no,” says Johnny Gaudreau as he prepares to face his former club. [Daily Faceoff]
• Can the Colorado Avalanche withstand their — ahem — avalanche of injuries? [The Hockey News]
• The journey was a little longer and wilder than expected, but Will Bitten is an NHLer. [La Presse]
• The best lines in the NHL right now. [ESPN]
• A L’Île-Perrot, Que., family is denouncing intolerance in hockey after their son was called a racist slur by a Valleyfield player at a game last Saturday. [CBC]
• This season all referees under the age of 18 in the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia association are wearing green armbands to indicate their age in hopes of sparing them from crowd abuse. [Global News]