For three hours and 12 minutes, Montreal waited. Twenty-five names came off the board before the Habs were eventually on the clock at No. 26, after moving up two spots from No. 28. It was the kind of wait fans would have dreaded not long ago, when early draft picks were viewed as lifelines rather than luxuries. 

A reminder of a season that ended just 28 days earlier with the NHL’s youngest team reaching the Eastern Conference Final. A reminder of a club that had climbed 30 points in the standings in only two years. A reminder of how far the organization had come since Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes arrived in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and of the culture Martin St-Louis has cultivated behind the bench in four seasons. Most of all, it was a reminder that Montreal is no longer drafting from the top because it has to. It’s drafting near the end of the first round because it earned the right to be there.

“You have to take the good with the bad, but we’ll take that every time if we get to have the season we had,” Gorton said in an exclusive interview following the draft. “Hopefully it’s a place we’ll be picking at for a long time now.”

The youngest players to have worn the Rocket uniform

According to Steve Simmons, Connor Hellebuyck would play in Canada and would report to Montreal “in a minute.”

The Canadiens sweep both preseason games against the #Leafs, with Mr. Saturday Night scoring the OT winner in one of them.

Hockey fans from the Mauricie region left the arena with a smile on their faces following the Canadiens’ third preseason win in as many outings.

For the second straight game, Cole Caufield scores the OT winner!

The Canadiens defeat the Senators 3-2 in the preseason.

Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer believes Brady Tkachuk may still be with the team if Matthew and Keith Tkachuk wouldn’t have gotten in his ear.

Everyone who was on waivers yesterday cleared.

Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs has stepped down as Chairman of the NHL Board of Governors.

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis was unanimously voted his successor, per Eric Engels.

The Anaheim Ducks have named forward Mikael Granlund the 10th Captain in franchise history.

@BWildeMTL joins @TonyMarinaro to answer all of YOUR Montreal Canadiens questions LIVE at 10:00pm!

Watch: https://youtube.com/live/zmYjlPic-bo
Listen: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SICMED7419279512.mp3

Watch: https://youtube.com/live/0LaLM23hJ9U
Listen: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SICMED9147432178.mp3

Watch: https://youtube.com/live/CiwQW5srEhM
Listen: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SICMED3510273138.mp3

Watch: https://youtube.com/live/L98eHGEiiGs
Listen: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SICMED9123195987.mp3