Habs Daily: Hughes Discusses Trades, Drouin Ovation, Suzuki

Here’s all the latest Montreal Canadiens news, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.

Habs News

• Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes met with the media to discuss the team’s progress, long-term plans, the goaltender situation, and other issues at the midway point of the season. Hughes recognized a trade using the team’s defensive depth may be in order, but he’s not going to force any type of move that would lead to the Canadiens acquiring a forward in the near future. [Canadiens GM Hughes Discusses Trades & Lack Of Elite Forwards]

• Head coach Martin St-Louis did not make any changes to his skater lineup ahead of the game against the Colorado Avalanche. He did, however, give veteran goaltender Jake Allen the start against the high-flying Avs. [Game 43: Drouin Returns To Montreal, Allen Starts]
• The decision to start Allen paid off, as the Canadiens emerged with a well-deserved 4-3 win against Colorado. Allen played well, as did Joel Armia, but as per usual, it was captain Nick Suzuki who led the offensive charge for the Habs. [Suzuki & Armia Star In Exciting Canadiens Win Over Avs]
• Unfortunately, forward Jesse Ylonen was forced to leave the game due to an injury.

L'attaquant Jesse Ylönen ne reviendra pas au jeu ce soir.

Forward Jesse Ylönen will not return to play tonight.

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 16, 2024

• Canadiens fans gave Drouin a nice ovation in the first period after his former team aired a tribute video during an intermission. It was a heartwarming moment and a nice way to put an end to the Montreal chapter of his career. [GOTTA SEE IT: Canadiens Fans Give Jonathan Drouin An Ovation]

National Hockey Now Network

• Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin, who missed Colorado’s last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, is entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. [Colorado Avalanche]
• Not long after the Philadelphia Flyers traded for Jamie Drysdale, fellow Anaheim Ducks player and best friend Trevor Zegras became the butt of trade rumours. The connection between Drysdale and Zegras made the Flyers an obvious speculative trade partner. However, many were quick to cite John Tortorella as a reason Zegras wouldn’t work out in Philadelphia. It turns out the head coach is a fan of the talented forward. [Philadelphia Flyers]
• The Pittsburgh Penguins tried something radically different Monday against Seattle. They actually competed for 60 minutes, rather than spending the first period seeming like disinterested onlookers, as they had in their previous two games, overtime losses against Vancouver and Carolina. [Pittsburgh Penguins]