Friday Habs Headlines: A plan for if Carey Price can’t go?

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• The Habs may turn to free agency to address a netminding gap if Carey Price cannot go by the start of next season. [Montreal Gazette]
• With or without Price, the Canadiens’ roster may look radically different. [The Hockey Writers]
• Jordan Harris and Sean Farrell will be part of Team USA at the upcoming World Championships. [Montreal Gazette]
• Three Habs unsung heroes of 2021-22. [The Hockey Writers]
• Mattias Norlinder is a prospect to watch in the AHL playoffs. [NHL.com]
• The Laval Rocket will face off against the Syracuse Crunch in round 1—and the two teams are no strangers to each other. [La Presse]
• Yvan Cournoyer calling Cole a “Roadrunner” is tough to beat. [Montreal Canadiens (Video)]
• Unlike many hockey players, Guy Lafleur’s summer-time sport wasn’t golf, it was tennis. [National Bank Open]

Around the league and elsewhere

• Shane Wright is the number one ranked North American skater in Central Scouting’s year-end rankings. [TSN]
• A reminder that Central Scouting’s list, while valuable, is far from established canon. [The Hockey News]
• A committee established by the Quebec government to promote hockey in the province says the sport needs to be more affordable, and recommends tax credits be established. [Global News]
• Mike Ribeiro has been charged with sexual assault in Texas. [Sportsnet]

How the Conn Smythe Trophy will be won. [ESPN]

• Gary Bettman still no fan of expanding NHL playoffs: ‘We like where we are’ [ProHockeyTalk]
• The Vegas Golden Knights must now cope with missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. [ProHockeyTalk]
• The members of the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes think that the current version of the team is ‘very similar’. [The Athletic]
• How Dave Manson is improving the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline. [The Athletic]
• The 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship—originally slated for Novosibirsk and Omsk in Russia—will be hosted by Halifax and Moncton. [TSN]
• Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins will wear No. 80 with Latvia’s national team in honor of fallen teammate Matīss Kivlenieks. [The Hockey News]