Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- Florian Xhekaj thanked his mother for helping him recover from injuries in his youth and Pascal Vincent — “the best coach I’ve ever had” — for helping him achieve his dream of playing in the NHL. [Journal de Montreal]
- Arber Xhekaj was a proud brother when Florian’s first NHL point was announced. [TVA Sports]
- Jake Evans said he made the decision himself to pull out of the third period versus Washington, wanting to make sure he was clear of a concussion given his history of them. [Journal de Montreal]
- François Gagnon hands out his quarter-season grades. [RDS]
- Alexandre Texier will have his contract bought out by the St. Louis Blues, and Montreal is a front-runner to sign the forward. [TSN]
- The St. Louis Blues’ trade of Zachary Bolduc and the Vegas Golden Knights parting with Nick Suzuki to acquire Max Pacioretty are among the top trades NHL teams would nix in a do-over. [The Athletic]
- Jessica DiGirolomo had Montreal on the top of her list when she became a free agent, and is looking forward to bringing her physical game to the Victoire. [La Presse]
Around the league and elsewhere
- “With a veteran team like that, that shouldn’t happen,” a frustrated Craig Berube said of his Toronto Maple Leafs getting severely outplayed in the second period last night. [Sportsnet]
- Sidney Crosby recorded his 500th multi-point game on Saturday. [NHL.com]
- The Philadelphia Flyers set a new franchise mark with three goals in 26 seconds. [Sportsnet]
- Nicklas Backstrom is happy for the chance to continue his hockey career in the SHL. [NHL.com]
