Canadiens’ Olympians Set for Quarterfinals: What to Expect
Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, stories, and content you may have missed on Tuesday.
Montreal Canadiens News
We’ve reached the top 10 Montreal Canadiens prospects, as voted on by you, Habs fans. Towering Kelowna Rockets forward Hayden Paupanekis kicks off the top 10, thanks to his impressive size and untapped potential. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.10 The Towering Paupanekis]
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Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Oliver Kapanen should be in uniform on Wednesday morning, representing their respective countries at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The quarterfinals get off to an early start, as Slafkovsky and Team Slovakia will be facing Team Germany at 6:10 am ET. [Canadiens Olympic Schedule: Three Players In Quarterfinals]
Suzuki anchored the third line at Team Canada practice on Tuesday, between Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, and Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart.
As for Slafkovsky, he’s clearly been one of the best players in Italy, and is being recognized as such by a bevy of outlets.
The Habs were back in action on Tuesday, though there were a few players missing from practice. Obviously, the Olympians were not in Brossard, but Patrik Laine, who was set to return to play in the near future, missed practice with a lower-body injury that is considered day-to-day.
Alex Newhook practiced, but he was wearing a non-contact jersey. Newhook’s original recovery period was four months, which means he should be ready in mid-March. That being said, his recovery seems to be going quite well, perhaps even better than anticipated when the injury first took place.
New goaltending coach Marco Marciano was also hard at work, spending time working on the finer details of the game with his new students.
Shockingly, or not, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov were among the first players who jumped on the ice at practice.
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Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Miro Heiskanen, Roman Josi, and Rasmus Dahlin are some of the NHL’s best of the best defencemen. All play for their respective countries at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which make them some of the best blueliners in the world. And yet, through the preliminary rounds, none of them rank as the top defenceman in the offensive zone. That ranking goes to New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec. [New Jersey Devils]
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The Toronto Maple Leafs were back at it on Tuesday for their first practice of the Olympic break. And there was some good news, as a couple of the walking wounded reported feeling good after the time off. [Toronto Maple Leafs]
The first Pittsburgh Penguins practice since the Olympic break began brought good news, and very good news, both professionally and personally Tuesday at the UPMC Lemieux Complex. [Pittsburgh Penguins]
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