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Canadiens Wrap

Habs Wrap: NHL Trade Rumours, 2025 Draft Targets, Prospects

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montreal canadiens kent hughes

MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens news to be absorbed on a daily basis, but there are only so many hours in a day. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.

Monday

Top 2025 NHL Draft eligible prospect Carter Bear spoke to Nicolas Cloutier over at TVA Sports, stating that he’d be very excited if he happened to be drafted by the Montreal Canadiens. [Montreal Canadiens NHL Draft Target: The Case For Carter Bear]


Roman Rotenberg was fired following yet another disappointing season as head coach of SKA Saint Petersburg. Rotenberg was a nepotism hire with absolutely no experience playing or coaching hockey, and it showed. His treatment of top Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov was ridiculous, especially when we consider Demidov led SKA in scoring as a rookie.  [Canadiens Prospect Ivan Demidov’s KHL Coach Finally Fired]

Nick Suzuki once again received Selke consideration from a few voters, connoting he continues to improve with surprising consistency. The Selke votes were in addition to finishing as the sixth-highest scoring centre in the NHL.  [Suzuki Selke Votes Demonstrate Canadiens Captain Growth]

Speaking of Suzuki, here are some pictures alongside Ruby, taken by the Asista Foundation.


Former Hab Scott Gomez is the new coach of the USHL powerhouse organization Chicago Steel.

Tuesday

Jason Robertson’s name has popped up in trade rumours, a rarity since he’s among the elite in the NHL. Regardless of how serious Dallas is about moving the highly talented 25-year-old, any trade would have to involve a top prospect or two, as the Stars are unlikely to accept a trade that offers them the sum of the parts. [Canadiens Trade Talk: Evaluating Robertson Trade Rumours]

The Charlotte Checkers completed their sweep of the Laval Rocket, a disappointing end to a fantastic regular season for Montreal’s AHL affiliate. We’ll discuss the individual performances in the near future, but suffice it to say the team was hoping for key contributions from key players, and that was not the case in the Eastern Conference Final.

Unfortunately, the series-clinching goal came late in the third period, with Zach Hayes and Jacob Fowler crossing their wires while trying to anticipate the puck’s trajectory on what can only be described as awful ice.

Fellow Canadiens prospect Bogdan Konyushkov was happy to see Ivan Demidov make his way to Montreal. According to Konyushkov, they were shown Demidov’s first career goal at least five times in a row. He also expects Habs fans to fall (even more) in love with the 19-year-old forward as they get more opportunities to watch him play in the offensive zone. [RG]

With franchises planned for Seattle and Vancouver, the PWHL is set to hold an expansion draft. Teams can only protect three players, which means there will be a ton of talent available. Sarah Nurse and Hilary Knight are among the players who weren’t protected. The Montreal Victoire predictably protected Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Ann-Renee Desbiens, leaving a pair of high-level defencemen available, Cayla Barnes and Erin Ambrose.

Wednesday

The Laval Rocket’s season came to an unfortunate end, a 4-0 series sweep by the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference Final. Despite the relatively disappointing playoff run, there’s a lot to like when it comes to Montreal’s AHL affiliate. Several players took significant steps forward in their development, with Adam Engstrom standing out on the blue line among defensive prospects. That’s not to say Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher had poor playoffs, but more time in the AHL may be in order before they’re comfortable playing 82 games in the NHL.[Canadiens Prospects – Coaching & Defencemen In AHL Playoffs]

To be fair, it took the Canadiens four picks to finally land Lane Hutson, but there’s no doubt Seattle scouts missed a gem despite having several appearances at the plate.

Lo(w) and behold, The triple low-five is back! In ECHL form. Speaking of which, the Trois-Rivières Lions now have a 2-1 series lead in the Kelly Cup Final. [ECHL]

The Canadiens will NOT meet Kashawn Aitcheson at the NHL Combine this week. What does this mean? Well, it could mean they’re not interested in drafting him. Or it could be mind games. Or it could be a combination of both. Frankly, the options are endless.

Thursday

Many of the veteran forwards in the Laval Rocket lineup stopped producing in the Eastern Conference Final, but prospects such as Oliver Kapanen, Joshua Roy, and Owen Beck elevated their games when the pressure mounted. [Canadiens Prospect Playoff Report: Kapanen, Roy, And Beck]

Speaking of veterans in the AHL, it’s unlikely Alex Barre-Boulet will sign another contract with the organization. He has his sights firmly set on an NHL job.

Rocket defenceman Gustav Lindstrom has signed a five-year deal in Europe.

Brandon Gignac reportedly has a few offers on the table. His future with the Rocket is also in doubt.


Former Hab Sean Monahan is the winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy, given to the NHL player who displays the most perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. On top of extending his career via Montreal and Columbus, Monahan was good great friends with the late Johnny Gaudreau, which is why Meredith Gaudreau delivered the good news. [NHL]


Prospect David Reinbacher enjoyed his time in the NHL while recovering from his latest injury. He also mentioned he’s almost at 100 percent, connoting that he should have plenty of time to fully heal before the start of training camp. [Canadiens Prospects – Coaching & Defencemen In AHL Playoffs]

Friday

The Calder Trophy is set to be awarded on June 12, and despite phenom Lane Hutson having the clear-cut best season among rookies this year, not to mention one of the most productive rookie seasons from a defenceman in NHL history, there are some concerns he may not win the award. It remains to be seen whether or not the voters got it right, but until then, we can speculate wildly about the potential outcome.

To add a little gasoline to the fire, an NHL executive suggested the Calder Trophy ceremony led to “a different reaction than we expected,” when they taped the segment.  [Canadiens Calder Trophy: The Strong Case For Lane Hutson]

Igor Larionov is the new head coach of SKA Saint Petersburg, and one of his first comments drew a lot of attention, suggesting that he’d like to work with top Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov for a season before returning him to the NHL.

To be perfectly fair, Larionov has shown a penchant for trusting young players with an abundance of ice time, which was the opposite situation to how Roman Rotenberg stumbled through his coaching duties, but the Demidov boat has sailed, and there are no return trips scheduled. [SKA Coach Wants Canadiens Forward Demidov Back In The KHL]

We haven’t had a chance to dig into their rankings, but it’s worth noting the Habs finished as the No.1 team in McKeen’s NHL prospect pool rankings.

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