Habs Daily: Canadiens Draft Lottery Odds, Slafkovsky’s Shot

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

Habs News

• The Montreal Canadiens started their trade period off early this year by moving Monahan, but securing a 1st-rounder is not the only benefit to their early move. With the 2024 NHL Draft shaping up to be one filled with stellar talent and depth throughout the top 12, the Montreal Canadiens firmly securing their place within that range is imperative to advance their rebuild. [Timing of Monahan Trade To Impact Canadiens’ Draft Lottery Odds]
• The chemistry between Habs forwards Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky continues to grow, both on and off the ice.

Les mots "ami", "petit frère" et "j'ai un meilleur tir que lui" ont été utilisés.

Pas de doute: Slafkovsky et Caufield ont une relation solide comme le roc. C'est évident.

Slafkovsky est d'ailleurs convaincu que cette belle relation l'aide énormément sur la glace.

🤜❤️🤛 pic.twitter.com/TctkCsuPV1

— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) February 8, 2024

• Slafkovsky has scored three goals in his last two games, indicating the hard work he’s put into working on his shot is starting to pay off. As the adage goes, practice makes perfect.

25 min ahead of practice, and here’s Juraj Slafkovsky working with Dr. Shot again. Kaiden Guhle also taking reps. pic.twitter.com/e8Bv95oSg8

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 8, 2024

• Speaking of shots, Caufield is scoring much less often with his one-timer this season.

One timers 📉 pic.twitter.com/dj5haZzKqf

— Meghan Chayka (@MeghanChayka) February 8, 2024

• Former Hab Mikhail Sergachev suffered an unfortunate and serious injury against the New York Rangers.

From Mikhail Sergachev after his injury last night. Jon Cooper said there were a lot of emotions coming out of him in the moment. It’s obvious in this post. The care and love that these players have about what they do never ceases to amaze me. This is raw and it is real. pic.twitter.com/zDcqeGwrUY

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 8, 2024

National Hockey Now Network

• Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon already led the NHL in total hits, but his lead grew substantially following a league-wide audit during the 2024 NHL All-Star break. [Nashville Predators]

• Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon has been suspended three games for an illegal hit to the head on Pittsburgh Penguins center Noel Acciari Tuesday night. That means Dillon will not play in the Penguins’ rematch with the Jets on Saturday night in Winnipeg. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

• Now it’s officially official. And it’s only fitting that Connor Bedard makes that official call. Live at Wrigley Field in a Blackhawks jacket, Bedard was on hand with the TNT crew to make the official announcement for Chicago. “On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks,” Bedard told the TNT crew.  “We’re very excited to announce we’ll be hosting the 2025 NHL Winter Classic vs the St. Louis Blues here at Wrigley Field–so we’re all pretty pumped.” [Chicago Blackhawks]