Canadiens Rumors & News

The Score "6 Weber, Petry, Chiarot's combined points Generally, a team's most reliable sources of offense are its power-play units and No. 1 line. Even subpar power plays score close to 20% of the time, and it stands to reason that three skilled forwards will click given enough..." August 06

TSN "Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said Thursday that forward Jake Evans is doubtful for Friday's Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Evans left the Canadiens' 4-3 win in Game 3 on Wednesday in the second period after being hit by Penguins..." August 06

The Hockey News "These are not your father’s Montreal Canadiens. Check that, depending on how old you are, these actually might resemble your dad’s Habs. But they’re certainly not your grandfather’s. That much was evident when coach Claude Julien answered a question in French about his..." August 06

Pro Hockey Rumors "August 10, 2020. That’s the day one franchise will earn the right to pick first in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, a selection that will almost surely be used to pick superstar prospect Alexis Lafreniere. The league will hold Phase 2 of their draft lottery on Monday at 5pm CT,..." August 06

The Score "The general managers of the seven clubs not participating in the NHL's 24-team restart have submitted a collaborative proposal to the league requesting extended training camps for their respective teams prior to the 2020-21 season, sources told The Athletic's Craig Custance and..." August 05

Pro Hockey Rumors "The Montreal Canadiens have found a place for Otto Leskinen to continue his development while they wait for the 2020-21 season to begin. The young defenseman will return to Finland and join Kalpa Kuopio for the start of the year, returning when NHL training camps open in..." August 03

New York Post "Unlike most other sports, hockey has a built-in home advantage that many casual fans may not know about. And no, we’re not referring to the fact the player from the visiting team is required to place his stick on the ice first when setting up for the faceoff. Matchups are the..." August 03

The Score "The first day of meaningful NHL hockey in more than four months didn't disappoint. Both the Chicago Blackhawks' 6-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens' 3-2 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins featured more than..." August 02

Pro Hockey Talk "It’s time to focus on the NHL games, including the 2020 NHL playoffs schedule. The 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers will begin on Saturday, Aug. 1 in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. The top four teams in both conference will play a three-game round robin for seeding in the..." August 01

The Sports Daily "Nearly four months later than expected, the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin Saturday with a qualifying round for teams 5-12 from each conference while teams 1-4 will play a round-robin to determine seeding (as if it will matter). The five-seed Pittsburgh Penguins will..." July 31

Yardbarker "Just one day before players return to the ice for meaningful games, there is some good news from off the ice.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that there have been zero positive tests for COVID-19 since teams entered the bubble cities in Edmonton and Toronto last..." July 31

NHL.com "The drama of the NHL postseason already has started, with seven of the 10 teams scheduled to play Saturday, the first day of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, unwilling to reveal their starting goalie. "As far as the goaltender … there's an old hockey movie called 'Slap..." July 31

Sporting News "Unlike their counterparts in other sports, NHL players have opted not to kneel in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement during their return to the ice this week. " July 31

Yahoo! Sports "For a while now, one major criticism of the NHL has been an inability to think for itself — or at least so it often seems. Rarely making the sort of decisions that might fly in the face of convention, conservatism is the league’s hallmark, while progressiveness has been left to..." July 31

Pro Hockey Talk "Gary Bettman stressed that “safety is paramount” while discussing the NHL Return to Play/2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers with Liam McHugh. In the lengthy segment you can watch above, Bettman also sheds some light on the process. " July 31

USA Today "Playoff predictions are always difficult. After all, who could have foreseen last season that the record-tying Tampa Bay Lightning would be swept in the first round or that the St. Louis Blues, who were in last place in January, would win the Stanley Cup? But this year is..." July 31

Pro Hockey Talk "NHL exhibition games are over and it’s time for the real thing. The Return to Play begins this weekend as 24 teams vie to be crowned the 2019-20 Stanley Cup champion. These unique times called for unique solutions from the NHL and NHLPA — thus the 24-team format with two..." July 31

Sportsnet "After breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of the Western Conference Canadian teams, it’s time to move East and check out the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs and Habs enter the qualifying round in very different scenarios; Montreal..." July 30

Black Sports Online "If hockey players have a tough time shooting the puck into their opponent’s goal, maybe porn star Phoenix Marie DMs are something they can aim for. Marie went on social media celebrating the NHL return along with bringing her OnlyFans account in the mix. Although the Riverside,..." July 30

Yardbarker "The 2019-20 NHL season is set to resume this weekend in Edmonton and Toronto, but it appears a majority of coaches polled would've rather played somewhere else.  According to a poll of coaches conducted by The Athletic, NHL coaches would've rather played in either..." July 30

Pro Hockey Rumors "For an NHL player, the Stanley Cup playoffs represent a fleeting opportunity to cement your legacy. By hoisting that chalice even once in your career, you join a relatively small group of players that can be identified as champions. It doesn’t happen for everyone. Just..." July 30

Sportsnet "What you notice are the things that are glaringly absent, of course. The scalpers, sweatered fans and giddy buzz that orbit an NHL rink on game day. And you marvel how easy it is to locate a decent parking space so close to puck drop. But you also notice the things that have always..." July 29

The Score "Paul Maurice has a theory about the rhythm of a new hockey season. "It's kind of like when you're (horsing around) with your brother," the longtime Jets head coach said. "You start pushing and then next thing you know you're throwing haymakers. There's..." July 28

Pension Plan Puppets "Today the NHL has announced their testing data for the last week of Phase 3, aka training camp. They report zero new tests. There have been two positive tests in total during the training camp period which lasted for just under two weeks. No information has ever been..." July 27

NHL.com "The first team entered the Secure Zone at 10:49 a.m. ET on Sunday, when a guard opened a gate in the black fence surrounding the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. Not one but two buses carried the Montreal Canadiens because of the space needed for social distancing. Everyone wore a mask..." July 27

NHL.com " The NHL announced today the Phase 4 player rosters for the 24 clubs contesting the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers that begin Saturday, Aug. 1. Under the Return To Play Plan, each team is permitted to bring a maximum of 31 players into the Secure Zones in the hub cities of Edmonton and..." July 26

The Hockey News "Today, the NHL will receive the final rosters from the 24 teams scheduled to play in the 2020 post-season. Bubble life is upon us, hockey fans. Teams can bring a maximum of 31 players with them to Toronto and Edmonton, while each franchise can bring up to 52 people in total into the..." July 24

TSN "Montreal Canadiens defenceman Brett Kulak said Friday that he tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving to Montreal for Phase 3. Kulak, who joined a team session for the first time on Thursday, said he experienced headaches, lack of energy and breathing issues, but is..." July 24

The Score "On Sunday, chartered planes in 22 NHL cities across North America will take off carrying professional hockey players, coaches, and staff. One of two Canadian cities will be the destination: Edmonton for those from the Western Conference, Toronto for those in the East. The Oilers and Maple..." July 24

ESPN "The NHL will have a five-second delay on broadcasts and artificial crowd noise when it restarts its season in Toronto and Edmonton beginning Aug. 1. The league distributed "Phase 4" information to teams and media this week, detailing life in the bubbles for the 24 teams..." July 24

The Score "The NHL revealed a detailed plan on Thursday for the final phase of its return to play, including information about general rules and safety measures, life in the bubble for players and staff, and how broadcasts and game presentations will look. The league will test every..." July 24

Sportsnet "Montreal Canadiens defenceman Xavier Ouellet and Winnipeg Jets defenceman Anthony Bitetto have both confirmed that they tested positive for COVID-19. Ouellet told Montreal reporters at training camp that he initially tested negative for the..." July 23

Larry Brown Sports "The NHL unveiled the name of its 32nd team on Thursday — the Seattle Kraken. The reaction from fans and the media was a bit mixed. Some people don’t seem to like the Kraken name, but the logo and jerseys accompanying it were well-received seemingly across the board...." July 23

ESPN "John Tortorella gathered around his Columbus Blue Jackets for their first day of training camp in the NHL's restarted season. The famously direct coach explained what he expected from them under the league's COVID-19 "return to play"..." July 22

The Hockey News "It would be pretty smarmy to claim that this year’s Norris Trophy voting comes down to how many reporters were actually paying attention all season, so let’s frame things in a less combative way: How strong will anchor bias go in determining the winner this year? The..." July 22

Sportsnet "Max Domi arrived in Brossard with no guarantees he’ll be safe, and with no scientific data to rely on that would allow him to reasonably predict how coronavirus would affect him if he contracted it. He came to play for the 24th-ranked team in a 24-team tournament for the..." July 22

The Score "The newest installment in EA Sports' NHL video game series will be out later than usual this year. It was announced Monday that NHL 21's release is being pushed back from September to October, citing "major adjustments in developing the game from home" due..." July 22

Sportsnet "The drill is simple: Pick up a pass at centre ice, pass it back to the coach, get it back coming over the blue line and take a shot as you approach the net. In this case, Phillip Danault is shooting against a shooter tutor. Easy enough. But Danault flubs his shot..." July 21

Sportsnet "Montreal Canadiens defenceman Alexander Romanov is headed to Toronto to begin his mandatory quarantine before joining the team in the Eastern Conference bubble. Romanov, 20, signed an entry-level contract with the Canadiens on July 13. He is ineligible to play..." July 21

The Score "Carey Price knows he's going to have his hands full when the Montreal Canadiens take on the Penguins in the qualifying round, and joked about what his team will need to do to stop some of Pittsburgh's biggest stars. "We can ask them nicely to stay..." July 20

Pro Hockey Rumors "July 20: The NHL has announced some minor changes to the schedule for the round robin. The Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was scheduled for August 8 will now be played on August 9. The Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game that was originally scheduled for..." July 20

The Score "Two tests out of 2,618 administered to more than 800 NHL players over the first five days of Phase 3 returned positive for COVID-19, the league announced Monday. Both players who tested positive have entered self-isolation and are following the instructions of the CDC and..." July 20

Sportsnaut "Thanks to the NHL’s new policy on reporting injuries, when a player leaves or misses practice, speculation is rampant. That’s because the league Return to Play protocol really doesn’t allow teams to report anything at all. Here are some key names around the league of..." July 19

The Score "The Stanley Cup Playoffs are impossible to predict in a normal year, so who knows what may transpire with 24 teams in the fold this summer. Playoff hockey in the midst of a pandemic will be different - no fans, no home-ice advantage, and an extra round - but if you can bank on one..." July 19

NHL.com "Welcome to the Training Camp Buzz. The 24 teams who will be competing for the Stanley Cup began training camp at their facilities Monday. The teams are scheduled to head to their respective hub cities (Toronto for the 12 Eastern Conference teams, Edmonton for the 12 Western Conference teams),..." July 18

Sportsnet "We’re almost a week into Montreal Canadiens training camp, so I thought this would be an opportune time to open up the notebook and share some observations. “When you start guessing, you get yourself into trouble.” It was a mantra of sorts, one..." July 17

The Score "With the NHL salary cap remaining flat at $81.5 million for at least the 2020-21 season, players who are up for a payday are in an unfortunate position due to general managers needing to exercise caution during free agency this summer. Whether it be to further prove their worth or..." July 16

ESPN "Last Friday, the NHL's owners and the players approved a new collective bargaining agreement as well as the league's return-to-play plan to finish out the 2019-20 season in two bubbles this summer. It's six seasons of labor peace for a sport that hasn't seen much of it..." July 15

Sportsnet "USA Hockey has cancelled the 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase that was slated to run from July 24 to July 31 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., the organization announced Wednesday. USA Hockey had invited 44 American players to take part in the event, which is part of the..." July 15

Habs Eyes On The Prize "The Montreal Canadiens had their second practice of their Phase Three training camp at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on Tuesday morning. Max Domi and Alexander Romanov are still missing at camp. Xavier Ouellet and Brett Kulak did not practice..." July 14