Habs Daily: Canadiens At Trade Deadline, Slafkovsky, Waivers

Check out the latest Montreal Canadiens news, highlights, and stories you may have missed Tuesday

Habs News

• The Montreal Canadiens may have traded away their most coveted trade chip when they moved Sean Monahan, but it doesn’t appear like Kent Hughes is done. There are plenty of options for the Habs prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, including the possibility of moving another veteran. [What’s Next For Canadiens Heading Into The NHL Trade Deadline]

• Head coach Martin St-Louis decided to re-insert Arber Xhekaj into the lineup versus the Washington Capitals. Defenceman Jordan Harris made his way to the pressbox to accommodate the roster change. [Canadiens Game 50: New Lines, Xhekaj Returns To Lineup]

• The Canadiens marched on Washington and burned the Capitals thanks to a pair of goals from both Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky, in particular, played with a lot of confidence, with both his goals coming off clean shots rather than rebounds. Sniper Cole Caufield also extended his point streak to a career-high 10 games. All things considered, it was a very encouraging win despite the Capitals’ lack of talent in the lineup. [Canadiens: Suzuki And Slafkovsky Quick Attack Burns Washington]

• Slafkovsky, Caufield, and Suzuki drove the offence for the Habs, but we should also send some praise Arber Xhekaj’s way. The 22-year-old blueliner had yet another solid outing. He continues to lead all Canadiens defencemen in a bevy of important 5v5 possession metrics. Unless we ignore the stats, the confusing narrative that Xhekaj needs to work on his defensive play is not based in reality

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Montreal Canadiens on 2024-02-06:#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/rchgrycd97

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) February 7, 2024

National Hockey Now Network

• Montreal Canadiens legend Nick Bonino was placed on waivers by the New York Rangers. [New Jersey Devils]

• Nashville Predators 2020 first-round pick Yaroslav Askarov is considered one of, if not the top goaltending prospect in the world, and he showed exactly why with his performance during the AHL All-Star Classic. [Nashville Predators]

• For the sake of the team and the sake of the future, the Philadelphia Flyers need to find a way to get Marc Staal into the lineup and onto the ice more often. Staal, 37, has played in just three of the Flyers’ last 13 games. Philadelphia has carried eight defensemen on its roster since Jamie Drysdale’s arrival via trade with the Anaheim Ducks. Staal, the elder statesman of the group, has been the odd man out virtually every single night. [Philadelphia Flyers]