Hayes Voted Best Prospect, Pickford Excellence, Laval

Montreal – There’s Montreal Canadiens news every hour, and we’re all bound to miss a news story or two. On Sundays, we recap relevant NHL news you may have missed to help you stay in the Habs loop.

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Montreal Canadiens News and Notes

He landed the top spot in our annual Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, voted on by Habs fans. Dynamic forward Michael Hayes earned the No. 1 spot because of his elite skill set, not to mention he has already established himself as one of the top players in the NCAA. It remains to be seen how long he’ll stay in the NCAA, and whether the Habs will want him to spend some time in the AHL before graduating to the NHL, but there’s no doubt that Hayes represents Montreal’s best hopes of drafting an elite player from their current prospect pool. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects – No. 1 Dynamic Michael Hage]

Our analyst Ronnie Hermo took a deep dive into the data prepared by Samuel Montembeault, Jacob Dobbs and Jacob Fowler and the results may surprise you! Well, sensationalism aside, Ronnie always does a great job, and in this case, he has shed some important light on the current situation. While Dobbs has managed to win more games, the statistics show that Montembeault has also played relatively well. [Canadiens Analysis: – Which Goalie Should Start Down The Final Stretch Of The Season]

The Canadiens are reportedly interested in trading for Robert Thomas, but the cost would be too high. This makes sense, because Thomas is at his statistical peak, and you rarely see a player of his talent become available for trade. According to the report, the trade package would also include top Canadiens prospect Hayes, among others.

Laval rocket is doing its job properly. In addition to being the center of entertainment in Laval, they are set to honor firefighters with new jerseys over the weekend. They will then auction off the jerseys and the proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. This is a great initiative that clearly deserves our support. On that note, even if they aren’t supporting any important charities, I would still suggest going to see Rocket, as it offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to the entertainment budget. In particular, families benefit from the reasonable costs, great ambiance and great facilities at Place Bell.

Adam Nicholls continues to be one of the most important members of the Canadiens organization, helping young players become confident NHLers.

Besides, he also has a very good shot!

ICYMI: Netminder Jacob Fowler took the No. 2 spot in our Canadiens prospect rankings. All things considered, he has shown that he can be a dominant presence in every league from the USHL to the NHL, but we should be wary of thrusting him into the NHL spotlight too quickly. He still needs to absorb as much experience as possible in the AHL before the pressure of becoming Montreal’s starter comes. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects – No. 2 Stoic Fowler]

It’s officially silly season! Habs-related rumors have been increasing, with one of the most recent reports linking the Calgary Flames to defenseman Arbor Zekaj. [Canadiens Rumours: Calgary Reportedly Interested in Xhekaj]

Patrik Laine’s name also came up on Tuesday. Apparently, the Los Angeles Kings have renewed interest in the power play specialist. [Canadiens Linked To Kings In Laine Trade Rumour]

While the Flames have shown interest in Zekaj, the Habs continue to kick the tires on Flames forward Nazem Kadri. [Evaluating Canadiens Rumour Linking Kadri To Montreal]

With the March 6 NHL trade deadline looming, we take a look at the most pressing needs of Kent Hughes and company. While many want the Habs to acquire a forward, the defensive situation is far more worrisome. Montreal scored a lot of goals, but struggled to keep the puck out of their own net. [Top 5 Canadiens Needs Heading Into Trade Deadline]

There were 12 goals scored in Tuesday night’s game between the Habs and Sharks! Watch highlights of the goal bonus in California that resulted in a 7-5 win for the Sharks [Canadiens Highlights: Goal Bonanza In San Jose]

One of the Canadiens’ top prospects, Bryce Pickford, refuses to stop scoring goals at will in the WHL. Pickford was voted as the No. 7 player in our annual Top 20 Habs prospects rankings. [Canadiens Top 20 Rankings – No. 7 The Extraordinary Bryce Pickford]

As always, phenom Lane Hutson has his eyes on the prize.

Given that the Habs have been linked to St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas, we decided to take a deeper look at his potential fit in the lineup as well as the estimated cost of his acquisition. [Evaluating The Trade Rumour Linking Thomas To The Canadiens]

Pierre LeBrun suggested the Canadiens might want to consider a goalie like Jordan Binnington. Honestly, I can’t see the Habs trading for a veteran netminder who has a worse save percentage than Samuel Montembeault. He also mentioned that the Habs are keeping an eye on Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri as well as New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck.

Speaking of goalie rumors that make no sense, Elliotte Friedman essentially shot down the idea that the Canadiens should take a serious look at Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Jimmy Murphy thinks the Habs could take a shot at AJ Greer or Brandon Duhaime. They are good depth options, but I would argue that bottom-six depth is not among Montreal’s most pressing needs as the trade deadline approaches. [Top 5 Canadiens Needs Ahead Of Trade Deadline]

This is not a rerun! Defenseman Bryce Pickford once again scored his 39th goal of the year. As a reminder, he was forced to miss some games due to injury. Wednesday night was his 49th game of the season. [Canadiens Top 20 Rankings – No. 7 The Extraordinary Bryce Pickford]

Pickford’s work was not completed there. He scored his 40th (!) goal of the year early in the second period.

He completed a hat trick, his third of the season, leading the Tigers to a 6–3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Pierre LeBrun thinks the Canadiens have inquired about New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Take a look at what Trocheck could bring to the Habs. [Trocheck Linked To Canadiens In Latest NHL Trade Deadline Talk]

Some insiders have suggested the Canadiens could pull the trigger on a deal that includes a goaltender, but the numbers suggest that veteran netminders like Sergei Bobrovsky and Jordan Binnington would be terrific trade targets. [Canadiens Trade Talk: Evaluating Potential Goaltender Targets]

ICYMI: Given that the Habs have been linked to St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas, we decided to take a deeper look at his potential fit in the lineup as well as the estimated cost of the acquisition. [Evaluating The Trade Rumour Linking Thomas To The Canadiens]

Juraj Slafkowski was returned to the first line in practice on Thursday, while Alex Newhook was moved to the second line, and Kirby Dach was moved to the third line. Mike Matheson was absent from practice, which led to a change in configuration between the defensive pairings.

The Canadians stuck to the deadline, but not for lack of effort. According to Kent Hughes, there was one particular trade that went to the wire, but ultimately failed. He also mentioned that a deal is still a possibility, pointing to potential “significant trade” in the summer. [Hughes Discusses Potential Significant Trade, Canadiens Deadline]

Speaking about trades, Hughes suggested that the Habs were sometimes included on the no-trade clause list, but this was mostly due to the previous ruling, and would not have any impact on any deals.

Watch all 41(!) goals of impressive Habs prospect Bryce Pickford. The talented defenseman was selected No. 7 in our annual prospect rankings. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.7 – Extraordinary Pickford]

Unfortunately, the highlight reel posted above is already out of date, as Pickford scored his 42nd goal of the year, helping the Medicine Hat Tigers defeat the Red Deer Rebels 7-3.

The star players made their mark, but it was not enough, as the Canadiens defeated the Ducks 6–5 in the shootout. There are so many highlights! [Habs Highlights: Star Players Salvage Point In Anaheim]

Jacob Fowler returned to play and immediately made an impact for the Laval Rocket, stopping 35 of 37 shots to secure a 4–2 victory for Montreal’s farm team. Fowler was the game’s first star, while Joshua Roy (16), Owen Beck (9), David Rickenbacker (5) and Florian Czekaj (11) scored for Laval.

Jacob Dobbs was solid, keeping the Canadiens on the first line in the game long enough to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat against the Los Angeles Kings. There’s no doubt, Montreal is a better team when Juraj Slafkowski, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield play together. [Habs Highlights: First Line Dominance Saves Canadiens]

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Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont


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