Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- Sammy Blais, Owen Beck, and Florian Xhekaj are in a battle for a roster spot, but Martin St-Louis also wants to see how composed the players can be while in that competition. [La Presse]
- See how the players lined up in Friday’s practice in Quebec City. [Canadiens.com]
- Zachary Bolduc has a lower-body injury, but the head coach implied it was nothing major. [TVA Sports]
- Florian Xhekaj wishes he hadn’t spent so much time in the penalty box during the pre-season, but is happy with what he showed on the ice. [TVA Sports]
- St-Louis is less worried about developing chemistry among set lines in the final pre-season game and more about seeing how the players react with different roles. [TVA Sports]
- Alexandre Carrier is encouraged by the solid defensive play Montreal is already showing, the bane of the team before his acquisition last season. [Radio-Canada]
- “I know everyone’s expecting another crazy game, but this is our last game of the pre-season schedule. We have to focus on executing our system and making sure we have good habits,” Thomas Chabot says of tonight’s match in Montreal. [TVA Sports]
- While players are battling for the final spot in training camp, Nick Suzuki could be vying with Robert Thomas this season for a spot on Team Canada. [RDS]
- Player agent Olivier Fortin says Montreal’s rise toward contention will be a big factor when it comes to signing and retaining players. [RDS]
- With Ivan Demidov the favourite to win the Calder Trophy, Montreal would be the first team with the rookie of the year in back-to-back seasons since 1968. [Radio-Canada]
- Michael Hage had two goals and three assists to open the NCAA season. [TVA Sports]
- L.J. Mooney is thankful to have a joined an NHL team that is maintaining communication even after he left development camp, and is surprised by the constant encouragement he receives from fans. [RG.org]
Around the league and elsewhere
- The Ottawa Senators traded Zack MacEwen to the New Jersey Devils for Kurtis MacDermid. [TSN]
- Vasily Podkolzin was surprised by the value of his new contract with the Edmonton Oilers. [RG.org]
- Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch also has a new three-year deal. [NHL.com]
- Luke Evangelista was signed to a two-year extension by the Nashville Predators. [Sportsnet]
- Friday saw three waiver claims: Daemon Hunt by the Minnesota Wild, Ilya Solovyov by the Colorado Avalanche, and Cole Schwindt by the Florida Panthers. [Sportsnet]
- A.J. Greer was fined $2213.54 for roughing Brandon Hagel. [NHL.com]
- Scott Laughton is week-to-week for the Toronto Maple Leafs with a lower-body injury. [NHL.com]
- The Maple Leafs placed David Kampf on waivers. [Sportsnet]
- Can Logan Mailloux help the St. Louis Blues get back to the playoffs this year? [NHL.com]
- The Philadelphia Flyers will need to overcome poor goaltending and an anemic power play to achieve more in 2025-26. [NHL.com]
- NHL players chose Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes and Gustav Forsling as the most underrated players in the league. [NHL.com]
- A look at the renovations that have taken place inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City over the past six months. [NHL.com]
