How Canadiens Stack Up Against Toews’ Blackhawks Dynasty

To be perfectly clear, this isn’t a suggestion the Canadiens are on the road to becoming the next Blackhawks, only that they, like any young team, should aspire to stack up well against those Hawks teams, which became the yardstick against which all organizations should measure themselves (with obvious exception to the horribly mismanaged Kyle Beach scandal). Not to put a damper on things, but it would be inexcusable not to at least mention the well-deserved black mark on the franchise, even as it came as the Hawks were developing into the gold standard for on-ice success).

Revisiting the 2010 Canadiens’ Playoff Run

It’s interesting to note, the Canadiens (26.08 years currently, per EliteProspects.com) aren’t that much younger than the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks (26.13). The 2010 Canadiens, who reached the Eastern Conference Final, were actually around that average age too (26.10), which goes to show that young teams can find significant postseason success.

The difference comes down to how sustainable that success is and team construction. The Habs of that era did have the benefit of players like Max Pacioretty (20), Carey Price (22) and P.K. Subban (20) in the system, and it’s a sincere shame management couldn’t build a Stanley Cup-winning team around that trifecta of players in the years that followed, but none had really developed into pillars of the franchise yet.

The 2009-10 Canadiens comprised more of a retooling that brought together a bunch of free agents and the goaltending of an admittedly young, but late-round draft pick in goalie Jaroslav Halak, who came from out of relative nowhere to lead the Canadiens past the Presidents’ Trophy Washington Capitals in Round 1 and the Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2. Falling to the Philadelphia Flyers, who fell in turn to the Blackhawks in the Final, in Round 3, the Habs represented more so a bridge between the Saku Koivu era to the Price era, which culminated in a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2021, rather than the beginnings of a contender in their own right.

How the Blackhawks Built Their Dynasty

In contrast, the core of that Blackhawks team started forming in 2002, when they drafted defenseman Duncan Keith (No. 54 overall), who was on the verge of turning 27 and into a relative greybeard by Spring 2010. Defensemen Brent Seabrook (14) and Dustin Byfuglien (245) followed in 2003. The true centrepieces followed in 2006 with Toews (3) and a year later in 2007 with Patrick Kane (1), who scored the championship-winning goal in Game 6 and, as an aside, to put into perspective just how fast time flies, just became the highest-scoring American-born player ever.

That was by no means it. Other key components like forwards Patrick Sharp (2005) and Kris Versteeg (2007) were acquired via trade. Notable free-agent signings included defenseman Brian Campbell the season before the Cup run (2008) and star-forward Marian Hossa (2009) the preceding offseason.

The ages may not line up exactly, at least compared to the Blackhawks’ first 2010 Cup victory, when Toews was 22 and Kane 21. However there are undeniable parallels relative to Suzuki (26), an arguable Frank J. Selke Trophy-calibre No. 1 centre, and Caufield (25), an American sniper, who is in the midst of establishing himself as an elite scorer. Some may guffaw aloud at the mere suggestion Suzuki and Caufield belong in the same conversation as Conn Smythe Trophy winners like Toews and Kane, with the latter having also captured a Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best player (2016).

Toews and Kane or Suzuki and Caufield?

Look at it this way: Toews was seen as an incredible all-around player in his prime. However, he technically only scored at higher than a point-per-game pace once, in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, when he had 48 points in 47 games. Suzuki has shown more offensive potential and is on pace to flirt with 100 points in 2025-26. It’s almost the opposite situation with Kane and Caufield, where Caufield’s improved defensive play makes him more of a complete player than the former, even if it comes at the cost of more point production. Overall, the Canadiens’ third-ranked offense (3.43 goals per game) matches up well against the third-ranked 3.20 goals the 2009-10 Blackhawks scored.

Now, is it realistic that either Suzuki or Caufield ever capture a Hart? Probably not in an era where Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon trade jabs every season. However, as for the Conn Smythe, you never know, at least not until the Canadiens prove themselves capable of going all the way, and that’s the whole argument being presented in this piece.

While both Toews and Kane were younger than Suzuki and Caufield in 2010, by the time the Blackhawks won the last of their three Cups in 2015, they were older. And, even though the basis for this piece is a comparison between the Canadiens and a veritable dynasty for all intents and purposes, the Habs were always going to fall short. No one is arguing they have the makings of a core capable of winning three Stanley Cups, when they haven’t so much as won one yet. The argument is instead that they are a legitimate contender in the making.

The Canadiens may not have as much of a parallel to Duncan Keith on defense (or Dustin Byfuglien, but who really does?), with the 2010 Blackhawks literally leading the league in terms of defense (a top-ranked 25.1 shots allowed per game). So, there is definite room to grow there, but, between Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson and Mike Matheson, each of whom are under contract for the next five seasons at least, there is a decent defense (27.2) that is poised to become stingier with each passing season. In net, the Habs don’t have Carey Price (or a Halak) anymore, but, as one-time Habs goalie Antti Niemi and his successor in net with the Blackhawks, Corey Crawford, proved, you don’t necessarily need an elite goalie to win it all, just an average one, who can get hot at the right time.

Canadiens More than One Piece Away from a Stanley Cup

To be fair, the Canadiens’ goaltending hasn’t even been average this season on the whole. So, it’s hard to argue they’re a Cup contender this instant or that, even if they were to add a Marian Hossa (or Artemi Panarin, who ironically joined the Blackhawks the year after their last Cup, hypothetically speaking), they could move into the league’s upper echelon of teams right away. So, devoting resources to acquire a high-profile piece right now has the potential to backfire, unless the target in question is the perfect fit, with what the Habs are building and obviously looking to accomplish. Based on how they’ve improved in the standings every season since 2022 and are poised to do so again in 2026, after making the postseason a year ago, eventual Cup contention is a probability to say the least.

However, it’s worth noting the 2010 Blackhawks made their big acquisition the previous offseason. Coming off two consecutive Stanley Cup Final losses, Hossa helped give a young team the experience they needed to take the next step. They didn’t make a big splash at the trade deadline, probably because they didn’t see the need. It’s of course possible a single piece makes all the difference and transforms the Canadiens into a Cup winner, but the hope is, if you’re legitimately a piece away, that trade-deadline piece represents more of a tweak than the addition of a WMD. That kind of defeats the purpose, if you were that far away before.

As the Blackhawks prove, it’s a gradual process, largely devoid of luck. They didn’t draft Toews or Kane by accident, just like the Canadiens were able to draft Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov at Nos. 1 an 5 overall in 2022 and 2024. The fact this is the first time in this piece the names of two projected future pillars of the organization are being mentioned is a good sign.

So is this: There was a time in the late 1990s/early 2000s when the Blackhawks missed the playoffs eight out nine seasons, not counting the 2004-05 lockout season, which fell right in the middle.

Maybe the Canadiens won’t be nearly as good as the Blackhawks were, starting roughly 15 years ago. However, the Habs were never that bad either. An optimist would say that gives them more of a head start and that they’re well on their way. A pessimist would say they haven’t developed as much of a pipeline of top-end talent as a result. A realist? If you actually look their organizational depth chart, you’d see the Habs actually have and it’s more so a case of them having a head start compared to the Hawks than not.

The verdict? The odds are stacked against the Canadiens as far as even a single Cup goes. They always are in a 32-team league, but they nevertheless stack up well. It’s easy to see Cup contention at the very least in their future. Looking at the Blackhawks as a model for success, it shouldn’t be long now.