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NHL: NHL Draft, montreal canadiens prospect michael hage
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MONTREAL — Every hour leads to Montreal Canadiens news, and we’re all bound to miss a story or two. On Sundays, we recap the relevant NHL news you may have missed, to help you stay in the Habs loop.

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Montreal Canadiens News And Notes

We reached the top spot in our annual Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, as voted on by Habs fans. Dynamic forward Michael Hage took the No. 1 position, due to his elite skill set, not to mention that he’s 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 him to the NHL, but there’s no doubt Hage represents Montreal’s best hopes to produce an elite player from their current prospect pool. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects – No. 1 Dynamic Michael Hage]

Our analyst Roni Hermo took a deep dive on the statistics produced by Samuel Montembeault, Jakub Dobes, as well as Jacob Fowler, and the results may shock you! Okay, sensationalism aside, Roni always does fantastic work, and in this case, he shed some important light on the current situation. While Dobes has managed to win more games, the numbers suggest 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 will be sky-high. It makes sense, as Thomas is in his statistical prime, and you rarely see a player of his talent become available for trade. According to the report, the trade package would have to include top Canadiens prospect Hage, among others.

The Laval Rocket continue to do things right. On top of becoming the centre of entertainment in Laval, they’re set to honour firefighters on the weekend with a new jersey. They will then auction the jerseys, with the proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society. It’s a great initiative that’s clearly worthy of our support. On that note, even if they weren’t supporting an important charity, I’d still suggest going to see the Rocket, as it offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to the entertainment budget. Families, in particular, benefit from the reasonable costs, the great atmosphere, and the fantastic amenities at Place Bell.

Adam Nicholas continues to be one of the most important members of the Canadiens organization, helping young players develop into confident NHLers.

On top of that, he also has a pretty darn good shot!

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

It’s officially the silly season! Habs-related rumours are on the rise, with one of the most recent reports linking the Calgary Flames to defenceman Arber Xhekaj. [Canadiens Rumours: Calgary Reportedly Interested in Xhekaj]

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

While the Flames have shown interest in Xhekaj, 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 loom, we took a look at the most pressing needs for Kent Hughes and Company. While many want the Habs to acquire a forward, the defensive situation is much more concerning. Montreal scores plenty of goals, but they struggle to keep the puck out of their net. [Top 5 Canadiens Needs Heading Into Trade Deadline]

There were 12 goals in Tuesday night’s game between the Habs and the Sharks! Check out the highlights from the goal bonanza in California, which resulted in a 7–5 Sharks win [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 prospect rankings. [Canadiens Top 20 Rankings – No. 7 The Extraordinary Bryce Pickford]

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

Seeing as the Habs have been linked to St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas, we decided to take an in-depth look at his potential fit in the lineup, as well as his projected cost of acquisition. [Evaluating The Trade Rumour Linking Thomas To The Canadiens]

Pierre Lebrun suggested the Canadiens may want to look at a goalie like Jordan Binnington. Honestly, I can’t see the Habs trading for an older netminder who happens to have a worse save percentage than Samuel Montembeault. He also mentioned the Habs are keeping an eye on Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri, as well as New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck.

Speaking of goalie rumours that don’t make a ton of sense, Elliotte Friedman essentially dismissed the idea that the Canadiens should seriously look into Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Jimmy Murphy thinks the Habs may take a stab at either AJ Greer or Brandon Duhaime. They’re decent depth options, but I’d argue bottom-six depth is not among Montreal’s most pressing needs as the Trade Deadline looms. [Top 5 Canadiens Needs Ahead Of Trade Deadline]

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

Pickford wasn’t done there. He scored his 40th (!) goal of the year early in the second period.

He would go on to complete the hat trick, his third of the season, powering the Tigers to a 6-3 win 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 table for the Habs. [Trocheck Linked To Canadiens In Latest NHL Trade Deadline Talk]

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

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

Juraj Slafkovsky was returned to the first line at practice on Thursday, while Alex Newhook was slotted on the second line, and Kirby Dach took rushes on the third line. Mike Matheson was absent from practice, leading to a change in configuration among defensive pairing.

The Canadiens stood pat at the deadline, but not for a lack of trying. According to Kent Hughes, there was one particular trade that went to the wire, but eventually fell through. He also mentioned the deal is still a possibility, hinting at a potential “significant trade” in the summer. [Hughes Discusses Potential Significant Trade, Canadiens Deadline]

Speaking of trades, Hughes suggested the Habs were sometimes included on no-trade clause lists, but it was mostly due to the previous regime, and would not have impacted any deal.

Check out all 41(!) goals from impressive Habs prospect Bryce Pickford. The talented defenceman was voted 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 beat the Red Deer Rebels 7-3.

The star players made their mark, but it was not enough, as the Canadiens dropped a 6-5 decision to the Ducks in the shootout. There are plenty of highlights in this one! [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 the 37 shots sent his way to secure a 4-2 win for Montreal’s farm team. Fowler was the game’s first star, while Joshua Roy (16), Owen Beck (9), David Reinbacher (5), and Florian Xhekaj (11) scored for Laval.

Jakub Dobes was solid, keeping the Canadiens in the game long enough for the first line to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat versus the Los Angeles Kings. There’s no doubt about it, Montreal is a better team when Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield play together. [Habs Highlights: First Line Dominance Saves Canadiens]

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

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