Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- Arber Xhekaj slimmed down and worked on his skating this off-season, and Martin St-Louis says he’s already seeing the benefits in his on-ice activity. [La Presse]
- Xhekaj and Jayden Struble may be forced into a battle for the final spot on defence, but will remain good friends off the ice. [TVA Sports]
- Alex Newhook is preparing to be more of a defensive specialist this season to make up for the loss of a couple of veteran penalty-killers. [TVA Sports]
- Owen Beck sees his opportunity to show he can be a perfect complement to Newhook and Zachary Bolduc on a third line to claim a roster spot. [TVA Sports]
- Why Martin St-Louis wants a pairing of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson. [The Athletic]
- The Canadiens expressed interest in acquiring Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. [RG.org]
- Ivan Demidov, Patrik Laine, and Laurent Dauphin were the scorers in yesterday’s scrimmage. [Canadiens.com]
- “It’s a dream for any player to play for a club like this.” Kaapo Kahkonen says there wasn’t much discussion needed when he found out Montreal was interested in him this summer. [La Presse]
- Bryce Pickford has been named captain of the Medicine Hat Tigers. [CHL.ca]
Around the league and elsewhere
- Alexander Ovechkin hasn’t yet decided if the 2025-26 season will be his last. [NHL.com]
- The NHL’s top 10 breakout candidates. [The Athletic]
- Festivities have begun in Saint-Boniface, Quebec as the town gets ready to host its pre-season game as the Hockeyville winner. [Radio-Canada]
