Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- Despite planning the whole year on who to take with a first-round pick, both Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov were happy that Montreal was able to turn two first-rounders into a player of Noah Dobson’s calibre. [La Presse]
- Montreal was considering using one of the first-round picks to select Alexander Zharovsky, so the scouting staff was still able to land one of its targets despite the Dobson trade. [La Presse]
- Zharovsky is a childhood friend of Ivan Demidov. [TVA Sports]
- Alexis Cournoyer decided to stop chasing his QMJHL dream and just enjoy his hockey experience. The results were a spot with the Cape Breton Eagles to end last season, an invite to the Nashville Predators’ development camp this summer, and a selection by the Montreal Canadiens yesterday. [La Presse]
- The Canadiens went for character in the draft — and right-shot defencemen to round out the class. [Le Devoir]
- After years of accumulating prospects, the focus has shifted to balancing the depth of the prospect pool. [The Athletic]
- The reported rift between Dobson and Patrick Roy was a more general disagreement between the Islanders’ defencemen and the system Roy was trying to implement. [Radio-Canada]
Around the league and elsewhere
- Simon Wang became the highest-drafted Chinese-born prospect after being the first pick of the second round. [NHL.com]
- Aidan Park was in the building for his selection by the Edmonton Oilers with the penultimate pick of the draft. [NHL.com]
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to complete a sign-and-trade with Mitch Marner to get something from his departure. [Sportsnet]
- With the draft done, Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito is now focused on pending unrestricted free agents Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand. [NHL.com]
- Sam Bennett hopes to help turn the Panthers into a dynasty. [NHL.com]
- The Anaheim Ducks traded John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings for Petr Mrazek and two draft picks. [NHL.com]
- Jordan Spence was traded to the Ottawa Senators by the Los Angeles Kings. [TSN]
- The Vancouver Canucks traded for Ilya Safonov from the Chicago Blackhawks. [Sportsnet]
- The Buffalo Sabres acquired Conor Timmins from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Connor Clifton. [NHL.com]
- Kevin Bahl signed a six-year contract extension with the Calgary Flames. [NHL.com]
- The Winnipeg Jets signed Haydn Fleury to a two-year extension. [NHL.com]
- Joel Hofer signed on for two more seasons with the St. Louis Blues. [NHL.com]
- Looking at the top forwards available in free agency. [NHL.com]
