Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- On Friday, the Habs announced the firing of J.-J. Daigneault and Dan Lacroix, and the hiring of Dominique Ducharme as assistant coach. Together these moves put the struggling team in a good spot to begin the much needed turn-around. [Sportsnet | Canadiens]
- Get to know the new assistant coach, whose career includes gigs in the QMJHL, where he coached Jonathan Drouin, and as Team Canada’s WJC bench boss in 2017 and 2018 where he coached Noah Juulsen and Victor Mete, respectively. [RDS | Joey Alfieri | Twitter | Journal de Montreal | La Presse | Journal Express]
- Reportedly, the Carolina Hurricanes have asked for (and been granted) permission to speak to Canadiens’ assistant GM Rick Dudley, whose contract is up in June. [Renaud Lavoie]
- Claude Julien talks about how turning around the team will require a little more than just a change in attitude — though attitude is part of the equation. [Montreal Gazette]
- The draft is coming up, and Buster the Corgi has predicted where the Habs will be picking./
- If you’re looking for some slightly less adorable, but more hard hitting draft news, Bob McKenzie has you covered. [TSN]
- The Canadiens could really use some luck this year when it comes to the NHL draft. [Montreal Gazette]
- Despite having just signed a contract with his childhood team, Alexandre Alain is focused on winning a championship with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. [le Soleil]
- Former Habs draft pick Cory Urquhart’s girlfriend has quite the sense of humor!/
It’s the time of the year when my girlfriend likes to remind me, and everyone else alive, that Patrice Bergeron was drafted 5 spots after me in the 2003 NHL Draft. And I find it very amusing.
— Cory Urquhart (@coryurquhart) April 27, 2018
- Brendan Gallagher among NHLers who attended the Humboldt Broncos tribute concert held in Saskatoon yesterday. [CTV News]/
Around the league and elsewhere
- The Canadiens aren’t the only ones making personnel moves. Brian Burke and the Calgary Flames have parted ways, while head coach Todd McLellan will return to the Edmonton Oilers. [Matchsticks and Gasoline | TSN]
- While other front offices are making their plans known, in typical Lamoriello fashion, Lou declined to say whether he’d be returning as the Maple Leafs’ GM. [TSN]
- While some front offices need a shakeup, the brain trust of the Boston Bruins has engineered a remarkable turnaround. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
- With Toronto’s elimination from the playoffs, there are a lot of rumours swirling around the Leafs, including one of a rift between Auston Matthews and Mike Babcock, which both deny. [Sportsnet]
- Good news for Team Denmark, and Leafs fans: Frederik Andersen wants to go to the World Championship, which is in Denmark this year, and he’s likely to be cleared to play. Kasperi Kapanen will join the Finnish squad, while Curtis McElhinney will suite up for Team Canada, and Nikita Zaitsev for Russia. [TSN]
- The Hart Trophy nominations are out: Nathan MacKinnon, Taylor Hall, and Anze Kopitar are the finalists. [NHL |
- Along with a nomination for the Ted Lindsay Award, he can claim to have had one of the best performances in Devils history. All About the Jersey|]
- Evander Kane will miss Saturday’s game against Vegas after being suspended one game for his crosscheck on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. [TSN]
- Linesman Don Henderson ordered to compensate the Flames and Dennis Wideman after his lawsuit against them fails. [TSN]
- Even while the team is well into their quest for a third Cup in as many years, there are still ays to improve the Penguins. [PensBurgh]
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages Canadians to support the Winnipeg Jets. Sort of. [Sportsnet]/
