Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- “I had a big summer of training and I want to prove that I’m capable of playing in this league,” Joshau Roy stated on Friday. [La Presse]
- “I feel I figured out what I need to do,” Juraj Slafkovský explained as he aims to avoid another slow start. [Montreal Gazette]
- The grouping of players gave the first indication of what the initial lineup would like like, and yesterday’s scrimmage confirmed that Martin St-Louis is hoping to deploy a pairing of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson to wear opponents down with their speed. [TVA Sports]
- Kirby Dach didn’t play the scrimmage on Friday, but St-Louis says the forward will play at some point in the pre-season. [Journal de Montreal]
- Sammy Blais and Joe Veleno are determined to prove that they can help the Canadiens this season. [RDS]
- Nick Suzuki says he’s getting better at French, but understanding the spoken language remains difficult. Meanwhile, Dobson says he and his wife plan to learn how to speak French now that they have a long-term commitment to Montreal. [La Presse]
Around the league and elsewhere
- Tyler Toffoli had some fun with the impressionable youth on the San Jose Sharks by convincing them that Carey Price was going to play for them this season. [TVA Sports]
- Evgeni Malkin says his career may extend beyond this season. [NHL.com]
- The current status of the big-name free agents still without NHL contracts. [The Athletic]
- New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan travelled to Stockholm this summer to have a discussion with Mika Zibanejad before taking over behind the bench. [NHL.com]
- Ray Shero is the posthumous winner of the Lester Patrick Trophy. [NHL.com]
- Leon Draisaitl looked up to Anze Kopitar in his formative years, and hopes he can follow in the Slovenian’s footsteps with a Selke Trophy one day. [NHL.com]
- The NHL and the Matthew Perry Foundation have teamed up to donate $50 for each goal scored during the pre-season. [NHL.com]
