Montreal Canadiens new and notes
- Martin St-Louis says he was too hesitant to play his star players last pre-season hoping to avoid further injuries, and the team wasn’t properly prepared for the season. [TVA Sports]
- St-Louis also says it’s partly on him to get the most out of Patrik Laine, but expects the Finn to be better with a healthy start to the year. [RDS]
- Kirby Dach is still Martin St-Louis’s top choice to be the second-line centre to begin the season. [TVA Sports]
- Claude Julien offered praise for how quickly Zachary Bolduc adapted to the NHL game after being a point-producer in the QMJHL. [RDS.ca]
- The Canadiens have the brightest future of the 32 teams in The Athletic‘s contention cycle projection. [The Athletic]
- A day-long live stream will be hosted by Kevin Raphaël for the Canadiens’ Media Day today, starting at 8:45 AM ET. [Canadiens.com]
- Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobeš have new masks for 2025-26. [TVA Sports]
- Aatos Koivu got on the scoresheet yesterday in Liiga action:
Aatos Koivu (MTL) scores his first goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/iScAroqgRk
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) September 17, 2025
- Jay McKee projects the kind of player Owen Protz could become in the NHL. [TVA Sports]
- Arseni Radkov has returned to Belarus with a passport issue. [TVA Sports]
- A moment of silence was held for Ken Dryden in the House of Commons. [Global News]
- A new bridge in Île-Bizard will feature Guy Lafleur’s name. [TVA Sports]
Around the league and elsewhere
- The Canadiens won’t be in the running for Gavin McKenna, but which teams will? [La Presse]
- Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are guests on the 32 Thoughts podcast. [Sportsnet]
- Stan Bowman discusses the current state of the Connor McDavid contract negotiations. [NHL.com]
- Claude Julien prided himself on helping others achieve their dreams, so he was uncomfortable when he was the one being celebrated as a member of the QMJHL Hall of Fame. [La Presse]
- Michael Backlund inked a short-term deal to stay with the Calgary Flames. [NHL.com]
- Wyatt Kaiser signed a two-year extension with the Chicago Blackhawks. [NHL.com]
- Gabriel Landeskog is excited for a training camp as a healthy player. [NHL.com]
- Mackenzie Blackwood could miss the Colorado Avalanche’s start to the season. [NHL.com]
- Matthew Tkachuk isn’t expected to be on the Florida Panthers’ roster until December. [NHL.com]
- Nick Paul of the Tampa Bay Lightning will be out until November. [NHL.com]
- Zayne Parekh is one of the Calgary Flames’ top prospects from their rebuild phase, but he’s not going into camp expecting his spot to be handed to him. [Sportsnet]
- The Utah Mammoth unveiled their new practice facility. [NHL.com]
- The NHL will have a tent installed over the rink ahead of the Winter Classic in Tampa to keep the sun off the ice until game time. [NHL.com]
