Wednesday Habs Headlines: Jesperi Kotkaniemi flying high

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Jesperi Kotkaniemi gives Habs fans a reason to smile ... [Montreal Gazette]
• ... and has passed his first test with flying colours. [Sportsnet]
• The young Finn has been a master at proving himself at the earliest opportunity... [The Athletic]
• ...but should the young Finn make the NHL jump this season? [ProHockeyTalk]
• Marc Bergevin insists that he doesn’t read the newspapers. [Montreal Gazette]
• ICYMI: Nicolas Deslauriers will be out indefinitely following a facial fracture. [Montreal Canadiens|EOTP]
• Matthew Peca is excited about a chance to move up the depth chart. [Sportsnet]
• The Florida Panthers are bringing the big guns to their exhibition game Wednesday night against the Habs. [RDS]
• Les Canadiennes have announced their preseason schedule [Twitter: Part I|Part II]/

Around the league and elsewhere

• Close to one-third of NHL teams will enter this season without a captain. [Sportsnet]
• Connor McDavid is chasing an Art Ross three-peat this season. [ProHockeyTalk]
• Corey Pronman ranks all the teams in the NHL by their U23 core. [The Athletic]
• The Carolina Hurricanes have announced the start of a donation drive for Hurricane Florence recovery. [Canes Country]
• George McPhee opens up on how Vadim Shipachyov turned from prized acquisition to the franchise’s first bust. [TSN]
• Elliotte Friedman sheds some more light on the Jake Dotchin release./

Elliotte Friedman: on Jake Dotchin - -From what I heard, it was extreme, he wasn’t just out of shape, he was extremely out of shape, we had heard he showed up with 25% body fat, that’s way too high for an NHLer

— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) September 18, 2018

• The NHL is sending in Wayne Gretzky to try and win fans in China. [New York Times]
• With Canada not having defeated the United States in a major final since the 2014 Olympics, Gina Kingsbury has been tasked with restoring the WNT program as the dominant power in women’s hockey. [The Athletic]/