Friday Habs Headlines: Who will be Shea Weber’s defence partner in 2018-19?

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Five possible partners for Shea Weber in 2018-19. [Journal de Montreal | Google Translate]
• 2017-18 was a season of growth for Charlie Lindgren. [Montreal Canadiens]
• The Canadiens should think twice about bringing back Tomas Plekanec. [The Athletic]
• Bobby Smith is a fan of Dominique Ducharme. [Journal de Montreal]
• Is a full-scale rebuild inevitable for the CH? [The Hockey Writers]
• A look at the 10 greatest playoff series of the 1950s. [Pucks and Recreation]
• Despite rumours swirling around his future employment, Joël Bouchard is firmly planted in the present as his Blainville-Boisbriand Armada face off against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the QMJHL title. [Journal de Montreal]
• The injured Hayden Verbeek’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds take on Will Bitten’s Hamilton Bulldogs for the OHL Championship and a spot at the Memorial Cup. [Sportsnet]/

Around the league and elsewhere

• Bill Torrey, GM of the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s, has passed away at 83. [TSN]
• A salary cap increase and the most star power in recent memory sets up an interesting UFA class. [The Athletic]
• The Professor of Passing: Nicklas Backstrom. [The Athletic]
• Why hasn’t Patrik Laine started scoring in bunches yet in this post-season? [Sportsnet]
• Zach Werenski will be out 5-6 months after shoulder surgery. [TSN]
• The Washington Capitals’ penalty-killing has been instrumental to their success thus far against the Pittsburgh Penguins. [TSN]
• The Carolina Hurricanes have traded Marcus Kruger to the Arizona Coyotes for Jordan Martinook. [Canes Country]
• Winning the draft lottery changes the off-season dynamic for Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres. [Die by the Blade]
• Daniel Carcillo has pledged his brain to the Carrick Institute to further the study of traumatic brain injury. [Second City Hockey]
• Was the 2017-18 Columbus Blue Jackets season a success? [The Cannon]
• Down Goes Brown looks at Canadian teams that could (and maybe should) have made the Stanley Cup Final but fell short for one reason or another. [Sportsnet]
• AJ Mleczko is making her mark as the first female in-booth analyst in an NHL post-season game. [ESPN]
• The CWHL supports the SheIS movement. [CWHL]/

There are many roles in sports that young girls need more exposure to: #SheIS a world-class professional athlete#SheIS a newsworthy sports broadcaster#SheIS a championship calibre official#SheIS a Clarkson Cup winning general manager#SheIS anything and everything 💪🏽♀️ pic.twitter.com/foW8el0bnM

— CWHL (@TheCWHL) May 3, 2018

• Jacquie Pierri is leaving the Calgary Inferno after five years, and looks back on how the team and the league have progressed in that time. [Jacquie Pierri] /

With bittersweetness, it's time to announce that my time in the CW is up. I'm grateful knowing that I leave my @InfernoCWHL in great hands. In memory of my 5 seasons, I present #5YrsOfProgress: a thread. #Retirement #PlayTrue #LeavetheJerseyBetterThanYouFoundIt

— Jacquie Pierri (@ouiweejacquie) May 4, 2018

• It’s time to have our annual look at the given names of players taken in the WHL Entry Draft. [Adam Herman]/

The 2018 WHL Draft is complete. Here is this year's roundup of interesting first names. pic.twitter.com/DbX6LXMrTs

— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) May 3, 2018