Patrik Laine, the center and defenseman: stop holding your breath for him

This morning, the Canadiens held practice. Naturally, with everything that's been going on over the past few days, there was quite a bit to keep an eye on, as you can imagine. There's no shortage of stories with the Canadiens.
What did we notice? 1. Cole Caufield was present. He was also on a regular line and in his spot on the power play, which is good news. Remember that he's been sick recently and didn't play on Wednesday.
The fact that no one was absent due to a virus is a good thing.

Cole Caufield is on the ice this morning in Brossard.@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #Caufield #NHL pic.twitter.com/8pJkJv4UEr
— Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) March 13, 2026

2. The three goalies were there, of course. Jacob Fowler wasn't traded to the Rocket, and Samuel Montembeault seemed to be taking him under his wing. Jakub Dobes came out before Fowler. Will he play tomorrow? That would make sense…

Samuel Montembeault seems to have a great attitude and is very encouraging toward Jacob Fowler. The two goalies often take the time to chat with each other.@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #Montembeault #Fowler #NHL pic.twitter.com/v9Utkuer2R
— Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) March 13, 2026
3. Brendan Gallagher was in his usual spot on his regular line, and Alexandre Texier was the one left out. Texier, along with Joe Veleno and Patrik Laine, were the ones left out. Note that the Canadiens announced that Patrik Laine was rotating at center with Oliver Kapanen.

Cole Caufield was back at practice on Friday
Read ↓ #GoHabsGohttps://t.co/anlB5RDRSc
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) March 13, 2026
After recently practicing as a defenseman, seeing him at center makes us think the Habs don't want anything to do with playing him… which isn't exactly a surprise in itself. And the fact that they didn't trade him at the deadline means we still have to talk about him.

In a nutshell– Interesting.

Quebec, here we come!
The Montreal Alouettes will set up camp at Laval University's PEPS, in the Rouge et Or facilities, from May 10 to 29 for their official training camp.
The detailed training camp schedule will be available soon! … pic.twitter.com/cG7jTJBWsk
— Montreal Alouettes (@MTLAlouettes) March 13, 2026
– Read more.

The Canadiens will try to turn things around tonight. https://t.co/wLS1kZKEtC
— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) March 13, 2026
— Oh?

After scoring only one goal in his last 10 games, Alexander Zharovsky is on Ufa's fourth line for today's game.
He still has a respectable 38 points in 55 games, but there's been a noticeable slowdown in his offense. The rigors of pro hockey on an 18-year-old.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) March 13, 2026