Habs Daily: Likely Canadiens Trades, Player Analysis, Slafkovsky

All the latest Montreal Canadiens stories, news, events, and highlights from the past day.

Habs News

• According to Hockey Insider Chris Johnston, the Montreal Canadiens have three players among the top 25 in the league when it comes to potential trades. Goaltenders Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault are ranked seventh and eighth, whereas veteran forward Sean Monahan is listed a little lower.  [Top Three Montreal Canadiens Players Likely To Be Traded First]
• Head coach Martin St-Louis decided to change things up a little. Montembeault was given the start against the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition, forward Joel Armia replaced Michael Pezzetta in the bottom six. [Canadiens Game 22: Montembeault To Start, Armia Returns To Lineup]

• The changes paid off, as not only did Armia score the game-winning goal, but Montembeault earned another win. Juraj Slafkovsky may have had his best game of the season, as well. [Slafkovsky Excels and Caufield Scores In Win Versus Blue Jackets]

• We asked fans to identify five Canadiens players they’d like to see evaluated to establish whether they’re off to a better or worse start than last year. The results for Juraj Slafkovsky are somewhat encouraging if we acknowledge that his development hasn’t been ideal. Of course, Slafkovsky hasn’t controlled his usage, so it’s difficult to blame him for much when it comes to his stats. Kaiden Guhle is enjoying a much better year, however, players like Josh Anderson, Sean Monahan, and Mike Matheson are all suffering through a significant downtick in results. [Five Canadiens Players Who Have Improved Or Slowed Down]

• The Montreal chapter of the new PHWL league will have its home opener at the Centre 21.02 on January 13. The tickets, which aren’t on sale yet, seem to be priced quite reasonably.

Voici les prix pour les matchs de la LPHF qui seront présentés à l'Auditorium de Verdun. Premier match, le 13 janvier. pic.twitter.com/xiPez9FaWP

— Christine Roger (@ChristineRoger) November 29, 2023

National Hockey Now Network

• It’s not just the Habs who are struggling lately with the man advantage. The Pittsburgh Penguins devoted the final segment of their 35-minute practice at Bridgestone Arena Wednesday afternoon to getting their power play in order. [Pittsburgh Penguins]
• The Boston Bruins have been out-scored 25-15 in their last five games and are mired in a three-game losing streak. On Wednesday, though, it wasn’t the blue line that got a makeover but rather the forward lines at practice. Captain Brad Marchand received a demotion from the top line.  [Boston Bruins]
• The most pressing question regarding the future of Patrick Kane garnered an answer on Tuesday when he was signing a one-year contract for $2.75 million with the Detroit Red Wings. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t still some pressing matters on the table regarding the newest member of the Red Wings. [Florida Panthers]