Habs Daily: NHL Trade Deadline Options, Draft Lottery Competition

Catch up with the latest Montreal Canadiens news, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.

Habs News

• The NHL’s Trade Deadline is set for Friday, March 8, at 3 pm ET. There are several options for the Montreal Canadiens, especially when it comes to their surplus of defencemen. But the Habs will have to be careful when it comes to some of their blueliners. On the flip side, they can’t afford to ignore offers when it comes to their veterans. [Exploring The Trade Deadline Options For the Montreal Canadiens]

• There are only 21 games left in the Canadiens’ season. Here’s how things are lining up for the Canadiens, as well as their ‘competition’ in the race to the bottom of the standings. Thanks to a very difficult strength of schedule and some mediocre goaltending, there’s a strong possibility the Habs can improve their Draft Lottery odds. [Canadiens Tank Watch: Examining NHL Draft Lottery Competition]

• This is going to SHOCK Habs fans, but David Reinbacher’s team, EHC Kloten, was shut out in the last game of the season. As a reminder, the situation regarding Reinbacher’s arrival in North America is a little more complicated than most. His arrival depends on teams playing in the Swiss League, not just the National League playout. [Important Dates For David Reinbacher’s Arrival]

Kloten gets shutout again in the final game of their regular season.

Someone save David Reinbacher 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1agZnXRRwF

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) March 4, 2024

• Boston College made a nice montage showing some of Habs prospect Jacob Fowler’s saves during his shutout performance to secure the Hockey East title. You’ll note that Fowler is not involved in any desperation saves. That’s often the case. It’s really hard to find any ‘highlight-worthy’ plays involving Fowler because he’s almost always set. His anticipation is excellent, which leaves opponents with very few options.

Fowls was on point between the pipes to bring the hardware home. pic.twitter.com/mPQSO3jCiJ

— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) March 4, 2024

• Newcomer Colin White had an unfortunate fall at practice on Monday, but thankfully the centre seemed to be alright once he had a chance to recover.

Colin White just crashed hard into the net at practice and went straight off the room

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 4, 2024

National Hockey Now Network

• Remember how there were rumours the Devils were shopping for a goaltender, and that the Habs may be involved in the discussion? It made sense, seeing as the Devils had one of the worst team save percentages in the league a few months ago. Fast forward to March, and the Devils still have one of the worst team save percentages in the league. On a completely unrelated subject, they chose to fire their coach, Lindy Ruff, on Monday, without ever swinging a deal to rectify their goaltending woes. [New Jersey Devils]

• The Devils did shop around, though. Ultimately, they couldn’t get a deal done with the Calgary Flames. According to reports, Flames ownership put the kibosh on a deal involving Jacob Markstrom. [Calgary Flames]

• Speaking of goaltenders, it’s a poorly kept secret that the Philadelphia Flyers are looking for more stability from the backup goalie position. Cal Petersen had the opportunity to provide the Flyers with that but came up short. Felix Sandstrom performed well in his first real opportunity, but it is consistency that matters most to the Flyers at this time of year. According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Flyers are willing to reunite with a former friend. [Philadelphia Flyers]