Tuesday Habs Headlines: Victor Mete represents the new wave of less physical, more agile defencemen

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Victor Mete is finding success by using positioning and stickwork to contain the opposition in lieu of physical force. [La Presse | Google Translate]
• As the only true rental the Canadiens currently possess, they need to find away to turn the last few days of Tomas Plekanec’s contract into an asset for the future. [RDS]
• Sean McIndoe doesn’t have the Canadiens as one of the top teams to win the draft lottery, but does have them as his pick to make the most trades of any Canadian team at the deadline. He also delves into the Brendan Gallagher/P.K. Subban situation. [Sportsnet]
• The Canadiens wished Alex Galchenyuk a happy 24th birthday yesterday:/

Place au fêté! On lui souhaite bonne fête dans 3, 2, 1... GO
🎁🎉
The birthday boy! Let's wish him a happy birthday, in 3, 2, 1... GO. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/zBzOiMslHk

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 12, 2018

• Ann-Sophie Bettez explains Les Canadiennes teammate Marie-Philip Poulin’s calm demeanour on the biggest of stages. [CWHL]
• And her fellow Olympians sing her leadership praises:/

What is it about Marie-Philip Poulin (@pou29) that makes her the right player to wear the 'C' for #TeamCanada?

Her teammates explain why, on and off the ice, no one else is better equipped. #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics #BelieveWeCAN pic.twitter.com/DI8OMQ3wpb

— Team Canada Women (@HC_Women) February 12, 2018

Around the league and elsewhere

• The Chicago Blackhawks have disappointed this year, and Jonathan Toews is one of the big reasons why. With how many resources the team has committed to him, that may be bad news beyond just this season. [Sporting News]
• She was barred from playing with boys at a young age before eventually going on to compete at the Olympics. Now Laura Schuler is the head coach of Team Canada, helping to level out the gender balance in the sport of hockey. [The Star]
• The women’s tournament may include 10 teams in 2022 rather than the current eight. [Cassie Campbell-Pascall]
• You can’t wipe the smile off the face of 20-year-old forward Kirill Kaprizov as he gets set to compete with some of the top Russian men’s hockey players at the Olympics. [IIHF]/