The Montreal Canadiens are rebuilding the right way. After going deep in the 2021 playoffs (during the Covid-19 season) only to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning, they have yet to return to the postseason. But since that wild run there has been a lot of changes on and off the ice for the team. Under the leadership of both GM Kent Hughes (former agent) and head coach Martin St. Louis, both (along with the other excellent staff) have brought in key pieces to build around and really helped a lot of players shine. They are currently 20-21-8 in the first half of the season (right before the All-Star Break) and have their young captain Nick Suzuki, representing the team at the events. Now as of writing this, it sounds like they have traded Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 third-round pick (conditional on Winnipeg winning the Stanley Cup). Monahan, 29, who was drafted 6th by the Calgary Flames in the 2013 NHL Draft, has played 74 games for the Canadiens and put up 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points. He has come a long way after some injuries while playing for Calgary. But Monahan has had a resurgence, and has played well at centre for the team, especially with injuries to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. They will need some more depth down the middle moving forward, but they also have some depth developing with Filip Mesar, Owen Beck, Riley Kidney and Jan Mysak.
But they also have current players who are developing well such as Cole Caulfield, who has 17 goals in 49 games and has really thrived under the coach, who also was a shorter player but was tenacious and a great goal scorer himself (391 goals in his NHL career). He has really found his game and has great chemistry with Nick Suzuki on the top line (along with Josh Anderson). But they also took a big risk in picking Juraj Slafkovsky, who hasn’t been a generational player, but has quietly built up his career by learning the game and has 7 goals and 13 assists in 49 games. He does still need a bit more time to develop, but he is young (19) and Montreal fans should be excited about his capabilities with what he was able to do in his earlier years. He will find his stride as he is 6 feet and 230 pounds and can be an effective top 6 forward in a few years time. He has simply been injured, and has had a bit of a shock adjusting to the NHL ice.
The other area of excellence for the Montreal Canadiens is their goaltending. They currently have a 3 goalie rotation: Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau & Sam Montembeault and there are a lot of trade rumours around the team, moving one of them, given the need for a goalie (Carolina, New Jersey, Toronto, etc.) Whatever may happen, they have some great talent between the pipes and have helped the team be competitive. Now not having Carey Price is a big loss (still on LTIR), but Allen has a .901 SV% in 17 games, Cayden has a .899SV%, while Sam has .905 SV% in the 2 games he appeared in. These aren’t great numbers but they still provide some consistency and give the team a chance to win.
Finally they also have the makings of a solid blueline. From players like Mike Matheson, who is 5th in the league for ice time per game (around 25 minutes) along with Kaiden Guhle (who I got to watch compete on the Edmonton Oil Kings), who has 4 goals and 8 assists in 45 games and has played very well. But they also have Jordan Harris and Jayden Struble, both young 22 year defenseman who make an impact each night. I also want to highlight the play of Arber Xhekaj who can fight, block, battle and really make an impact on the ice (he has been super fun to watch) and they still have David Reinbacher and Justin Barron in the pipeline ready to come up as soon as next season, and make an impact. This team is stacked with prospects that the Athletic had them at Number 6 in NHL Pipeline Rankings for 2023. That’s a great thing to see and a bright future for the team. Now certainly their penalty isn’t good (29th in the league at 73.5%) so special teams does need some work, but their powerplay is 19th in the league at 19.9%, so they are able to score and be lethal on the man advantage, and can make their opponents pay if you take them lightly.
I think Montreal Canadiens fans should be excited about their future and will have a very competitive team in the not too distant future. But what does Kent Hughes do now? Does he trade anyone else like Josh Anderson? Or will there be another Free Agent they may sign, as they currently have $7 million in cap space, or will we see one of the younger players come up? Nous avons hâte de les voir continuer à se développer.
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- Pawel ‘The Cat’
References – MONTREAL, CANADA – JANUARY 21: Josh Anderson #17 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates Johnathan Kovacevic #26, Mike Matheson #8, Nick Suzuki #14 and Rem Pitlick #32 during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Centre Bell on January 21, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
