Habs Daily: Caufield Honours Gaudreau, Price’s HHoF Situation

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

Montreal Canadiens News

Sniper Cole Caufield has announced he will wear No.13 in the upcoming season to honour fellow American Johnny Gaudreau. Caufield is one of the many players who drew inspiration from Gaudreau during their ascension to the NHL.

Is Carey Price worthy of the Hockey Hall of Fame? Should the Montreal Canadiens retire his number? There’s a strong case to be made that both honours are in order, however the bar has been set at an unreasonable level in Montreal due to the dynasty teams of yesteryear. [Carey Price, The Canadiens, And The Hockey Hall Of Fame Discussion]

David Reinbacher is one of the rookies who will have a legitimate chance to earn a roster spot at training camp, but to do so he’ll have to hit the ground running. Fortunately, he seems to have found a new gear since leaving EHC Kloten.

After watching every games he played with Austria last week, I am confident that Reinbacher could end up being a top line D in his prime

If you want to see every defensive, offensive, transition play that he did during the Olympic qualifier. I did a nice video on it

Link in bio pic.twitter.com/RCajLygdlX

— TC Hockey (@TcHockey8) September 3, 2024

The newest member of the Habs, Patrik Laine, hit the ice for the first time on Tuesday. As a reminder, Laine hasn’t played in an NHL game since 2023, which means it’ll likely take him some time to get up to speed with his new teammates.

Patrik Laine skating with the Habs for the first time today. pic.twitter.com/5C9dluD0uo

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) September 3, 2024

National Hockey Now Network

Every summer, we have a new player sign a contract that will eventually make them the highest paid player in the NHL. First it was Connor McDavid. Then, it was Nathan MacKinnon. Last summer, Auston Matthews signed a deal that currently has him making more money on a per-season basis than any other player in the league. Starting next season, it will be Leon Draisaitl. [Colorado Avalanche]

The Philadelphia Flyers may have found this season’s Ryan Poehling in the form of one of their latest signings, Latvian centre Rodrigo Abols. After a four-season hiatus away from the North American ranks, Abols, 28, returns with a legitimate chance to make the Flyers’ 2024-25 roster and, perhaps, his NHL debut, too. [Philadelphia Flyers]

Former Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan took care of the team for one more offseason, before handing the reins over to new GM Chris Patrick. [Washington Capitals]