Habs Daily: Praising Harris, Waivers, Projected NHL Standings

All the latest Habs news, recent Montreal Canadiens stories, as well as information from around the National Hockey League.

Habs News

• In this week’s Habs Mailbag, we ask everyone to stop trading Jordan Harris, in addition to discussing the projected standings next season, the waivers situation for Jesse Ylonen and Cayden Primeau, why Mats Naslund was a joy to watch in the 80s, Sean Farrell’s potential, the difference between Kirby Dach and Nick Suzuki, as well as how many points we should expect from Lane Hutson. [Habs Mailbag: Stop Trading Harris, Waiver Issues, Dach & Suzuki]
• Some (very) early predictions have come out regarding the NHL standings next season, and let’s just say the outlook isn’t exactly rosy for the Habs. [Montreal Canadiens Projected Standings 2023-24]

National Hockey Now Network

• With Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron retiring on Tuesday, the speculation over who will replace him and wear the ‘C’ next season has already begun.[Boston Bruins]
• The Pittsburgh Penguins did a figurative faceplant to cap the 2022-23 NHL season. With a playoff spot within easy reach, they couldn’t put away one of the worst teams in the league, Chicago who was playing the second of back-to-back games. It was the most glaring failure of the season, but hardly the only one. [Pittsburgh Penguins]
• Elmer Soderblom was the surprise story of the 2022 training camp for the Detroit Red Wings. The hulking Swedish forward wound up cracking the club’s roster and scored his first NHL goal in the season-opening win over the Montreal Canadiens. An injury incurred while blocking a shot ultimately derailed his season. [Detroit Red Wings]
• The deal is done, as the Colorado Avalanche have locked up Nikolai Kovalenko to a 2-year, entry-level contract. [Colorado Avalanche]
• Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Matvei Michkov and Cutter Gauthier are ranked in the top 13 of The Athletic’s Top 50 prospects. Michkov, the Flyers’ first-round draft pick last month, is the second-ranked prospect. He was the seventh overall pick. Gauthier, the Flyers’ first-round draft pick last year, is ranked 13th. He was the fifth overall pick in 2022. [Philadelphia Flyers]
• President of hockey operations George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon have made a number of big decisions in their six years of running hockey operations for the Vegas Golden Knights. [Vegas Golden Knights]