Canadiens Wrap-Up: Habs Up Draft Lottery Odds, Farrell Watch

MONTREAL — There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens, but many fans lead a very busy life, meaning it’s not always possible to keep up to date with every news story.

But don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Every Sunday we will recap the most exciting and relevant news stories that you may have missed throughout the week.

Monday

• Montreal Canadiens prospect Emil Heineman will be coming over to North America, as he’s set to join the Laval Rocket for the rest of the season. [Heineman To Report To Laval]
• The Montreal Canadiens got some good news on Monday morning, as three veterans returned to practice in non-contact jerseys. Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans, all of whom have been out of the lineup for over a month, returned to the Canadiens’ practice after rehabbing lower-body injuries. [Canadiens Practice Notes: Familiar Faces Return To Practice]
• Check out the Habs Mailbag, which covered several topics, including the best usage for Denis Gurianov, what to expect from Emil Heineman, the lack of transparency from the Canadiens on injuries, unrestricted free agents the Canadiens may pursue, and more. [Canadiens Mailbag: Gurianov’s Usage, Potential UFAs, Injury Woes]

Tuesday

• With five rookies playing on the Canadiens’ blueline, expectations were rather low, but the young players in the Canadiens’ defensive group did not disappoint. [Canadiens Rookies Outplaying Veterans]
• The Montreal Canadiens have had the luxury of calling up some quality reinforcements in the face of injuries, making for some tough decisions ahead. [Laval Rocket Playoffs Lead To Difficult Decisions]
• Kirby Dach’s return from the injured reserve is great news for the Canadiens, but there is one unfortunate side effect when you consider the upcoming Draft Lottery. [Dach’s Return Is A Good News/Bad News Situation]
• Dach did not waste any time making an impact, scoring less than 10 minutes into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Dach Scores In Return]

Wednesday

• The Montreal Canadiens exacted some revenge on the Tampa Bay Lightning and it didn’t hurt their Draft Lottery outlook, thanks to some help. [NHL Draft Lottery]
• The top players in the Canadiens’ prospect pool have not disappointed as the 2022-23 season approaches its final stretch of games. As per usual, Lane Hutson stole the show, but he was far from the only player to impress. [Canadiens Prospects]
• The Montreal Canadiens practiced before heading off to Boston; receiving some good and bad news on the injury front. [Canadiens Injuries]

Thursday

• Canadiens forward Jake Evans returned to the lineup, and though it may not seem fair, he’ll be under pressure to pick up where he left off if he’s to maintain his position in the organizational depth chart. [Evans Under Pressure]
• By scoring in Boston University’s 5-1 win over Western Michigan, exciting prospect Lane Hutson surpassed Brian Leetch’s Under-19 scoring record. The 18-year-old now has 15 goals and 33 assists in 37 games. [Lane Hutson Breaks Longtime NCAA Record]
• Jonathan Drouin and Mike Matheson were among the most productive players in the last 10 games. [By The Numbers: Hottest And Coldest Players]
• The Canadiens lost a hard-fought battle against the Boston Bruins, which featured goals from Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach. [Young Canadiens Shine In Loss]

Friday

• Every game the Canadiens lose improves their odds of drafting among the first five teams at the upcoming Draft lottery. But it will be difficult for the Habs to crack the top four. Or rather, the bottom four. [Canadiens Trending Toward Good Draft Pick]
• We asked a few Habs prospect experts to give us their opinions on three players that may make their professional debuts relatively soon: Riley Kidney, Joshua Roy, and Sean Farrell. [Draft Experts Discuss NHL Readiness]
• Speaking of Farrell, his team, the Harvard Crimson, was embarrassed by Jakub Dobes’ Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, losing 8-1. Now that Harvard is eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Farrell is free to sign his entry-level contract with the Canadiens. [Farrell Eliminated From Tournament, ELC Looms]
• Mike Hoffman called out the NHL’s Department of Player Safety following the ruling A.J. Greer’s blatant cross-check to the face was only worthy of a one-game suspension. [Hoffman Calls Out DoPS]

Saturday

• General manager Kent Hughes took a gamble on pending RFA Denis Gurianov, and it’s certainly paying off as of late; but has it been enough? [Denis Gurianov]
• The Canadiens can now sign top prospect Sean Farrell out of college; and here’s how and when it could go down. [Sean Farrell]

The Season So Far

If you’d like to go back and comb over some of the biggest news so far this season, here’s a list of each weekly Wrap-Up so far:

Mar 19th – Habs Youth Movement, NHL Draft Lottery

Mar 12th – Habs Prospect Rankings, 2023 NHL Draft

Mar 6th – Habs Trade Analysis, NHL Draft Lottery

Feb 26th – Habs Trade Proposals, NHL Trade Rumours

Feb 19th – Habs Trade Outlook, 2023 Draft Targets

Feb 12th – Habs Likely Trade Chips, Prospects Thriving

Feb 5th – Habs To-Do List, NHL Trade Rumours

Jan 29th – Habs Prospects Take Over, NHL Trade Talk

Jan 22nd – 2023 Draft Plans, NHL Trade Chatter

Jan 15th – Trade Deadline Targets, NHL Trade Rumours

Jan 8th – 2023 Draft Odds, Habs Prospects Traded

Jan 1st – Big 2023 Draft Lottery Odds, 2019 Re-Draft