Habs Daily: Forward Prospects Needed, Bob Cole Passed Away

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news, highlights, and stories you may have missed Thursday.

Montreal Canadiens News

• The State Of The Rebuild series continues, with the focus shifting to an organizational weakness. There’s no denying it, the Montreal Canadiens lack forward prospects who have game-changing potential. The good news is that they can go a long way in improving their glaring weakness at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. [Canadiens Checklist: State Of The Rebuild – Forward Prospects]

• There was some unfortunate news, as play-by-play legend Bob Cole passed away. The are few, if any members of the hockey community that made such an impact in many of the sport’s greatest moments, including the last time the Habs won the Holy Grail of hockey. “And now, a 24th Stanley Cup banner will hang from the rafters of the famous Forum in Montreal. The Canadiens win the Stanley Cup!”

• Cole was also on the call during Game 2, which featured a hat-trick performance from defenceman Eric Desjardins, and of course, another classic Bob Cole call. “DESJARDINS! AND THE CANADIENS WIN IN OVERTIME! HIS THIRD GOAL OF THE GAME!”

The legend Bob Cole’s iconic call of Eric Desjardins’ hat trick / overtime goal in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens & the LA Kings pic.twitter.com/VHoX9voJNY

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 25, 2024

• Prospect Vinzenz Rohrer is still playing meaningful hockey in Europe. The feisty forward scored a goal for the Zurich Lions, who are facing Lausanne HC in the NL finals. Rohrer was also named player of the game for Zurich. Shoutout to Twitter user @elibu for the information.
  

Rohrer wasn't going to let this one go 💪🏻

🍿 Das ganze Spiel gibt's live bei MySports#nationalleague #thefinals #playoffs #zsclions pic.twitter.com/7GTTOu6HPB

— National League (@NLch_official) April 25, 2024

• Canadiens brass took in some of the action at the 2024 Under-18 World Championship, where Gavin McKenna scored twice to lead Canada to a 6-3 win over Sweden.

"Well, we might just need to tank 2 more years, right?"

– Vincent after 30 minutes of McKenna pic.twitter.com/VRF3yD44GF

— Knievel  (@fellachance) April 25, 2024

National Hockey Now Network

• When you acquire a big piece at the trade deadline with 0 games of NHL playoff experience, you never really know what you’re going to get when the most important time of year rolls around. Heck, Nathan MacKinnon didn’t even really know anything about Casey Mittelstadt when the Avalanche acquired him at the trade deadline. [Colorado Avalanche]
• The National Hockey League announced on Thursday a milestone two-year agreement between Amazon, Rogers Communications, and the NHL in Canada to bring hockey fans Monday night NHL hockey exclusively on Prime Video. [New Jersey Devils]

• On the list of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ priorities, it has not been stated and may not even appear. Move Evgeni Malkin from center to the left wing. It’s been written and said before in this space, but it should now be a very serious consideration and near the top of the priority list for all involved. The Penguins should investigate a significant structural change and take full advantage of the rare bumper crop of free-agent centers to facilitate their makeover for next season.[Pittsburgh Penguins]