Habs Headlines: Stars in the making

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

If Juraj Slafkovský and Ivan Demidov continue to develop their chemistry over the next few years, there’s no telling what their offensive contributions could look like. [TVA Sports]
Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson are all on pace for career years and developing as a group of stars the like of which the Canadiens haven’t seen in decades. [RDS]
Caufield should get consideration for the Hart Trophy. [TVA Sports]
Caufield helped the NHL set a new record for hat tricks in a calendar month. [Sportsnet]
With Kaiden Guhle back in game shape, Martin St-Louis says he has a defenceman who can be trusted with shutting down the league’s best talent. [La Presse]
The defence as a whole proved its two-way quality versus a squad that featured Cale Makar. [The Athletic]
The Canadiens rank seventh in the latest power rankings. [The Athletic]
Marco Marciano likes to have fun while coaching his goaltenders, but he also demands their best effort. [La Presse]
Michael Hage has surpassed the point total from his freshman season with now 35 through 25 games played. [RDS]

The Toronto Maple Leafs are starting to accept that the playoffs are unlikely. [Sportsnet]
The Maple Leafs are bad. Can they be bad enough to retain their top-five-protected draft pick they sent to the Boston Bruins in the trade for Brandon Carlo? [Sportsnet]
Despite the issues, Scott Laughton wants to re-sign in Toronto. [Sportsnet]
Ivar Stenberg leads the end-of-January draft rankings. [Sportsnet]
Jack Hughes is having tests done to learn the severity of a lower-body injury. [NHL.com]
Lucas Raymond is aiming for Olympic success and then a return to the playoffs for the Detroit Red Wings. [NHL.com]
After another promising start to the season, the Philadelphia Flyers’ current collapse is the latest indication that their rebuild attempt was unsuccessful. [La Presse]
An outdoor game is the last thing Phil Esposito expected to see when he helped found the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1990. [NHL.com]
Joe Malone’s single-game goals record of seven reaches its 106th anniversary today. [NHL.com]