Habs Daily: Lane Hutson’s Excellence, Carrier’s Leaf Sweater

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Friday.

Montreal Canadiens News

Top prospect Lane Hutson will play a big role in helping the Montreal Canadiens turn the corner and hopefully become one of the most competitive teams in the league. His unique skill set has already allowed him to become the most productive defenceman in NCAA history, but fans will have to remain patient as he adjusts to the lack of time available to NHL players. Hutson lands at No.2 in our 2024 Habs prospect rankings. [Canadiens Prospect Rankings: Lane Hutson The Phenom]

Every hockey fan knows of the famous children’s book, The Hockey Sweater, and now we can see proof of his painfully ugly Leafs garb. “I asked God to send me, right away, a hundred million moths that would eat up my Toronto Maple Leafs Sweater”.

Roch Carrier as a kid in his famous Toronto Maple Leafs sweater in the 1940s in Quebec pic.twitter.com/2z3Zp3Y9on

— Old Canada Series (@oldcanadaseries) August 15, 2024

Some unfortunate news about former Canadiens forward Steve Begin. He is one among many professional athletes that has had to declare bankruptcy due to poor financial decisions, or placing trust in the wrong person. [TVA (FR)]

National Hockey Now Network

Alex Nedeljkovic shed a rocky couple of seasons with the Detroit Red Wings to re-establish his upward career trend with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last season, he became the backup goalie after the team traded Casey DeSmith in the Erik Karlsson deal and further locked down his status with exemplary play. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

The NHL Network released their ranked Top 20 Wingers ahead of the 2024-25 season. The state of Florida is well-represented in the top 10. Leading the list was Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by Matthew Tkachuk of the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. When it comes to Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, he ranked 19th out of the 20. [Washington Capitals]

Dawson Mercer, who remains an RFA without arbitration rights, is due for a new contract. So what could an offer sheet to the Devils forward look like? [New Jersey Devils]