Rebuilding the Habs: Breaking the Mold

Montreal Canadiens fans have endured their fair share of disappointment in recent years. The promises of a brighter future and the “trust the process” mantra are starting to wear thin. Many are saying: Enough is enough.

But let’s pause and take a closer look. The Canadiens’ current rebuild isn’t your standard NHL reconstruction. It’s not starting from an empty cupboard, and it doesn’t deserve to be compared to the long, painful rebuilds of other teams. Here’s why.

The Standard Rebuild: A Tale of Sacrifice and Suffering

Rebuilding an NHL franchise is often a slow and painful process. Teams pursuing a Stanley Cup run frequently trade away their future—top draft picks and prospects—in exchange for veteran talent to win now.

Consider recent examples:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning (2020-21): To cement their back-to-back championships, they sacrificed two first-round picks for players like Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. 
• The Tampa Bay Lightning (2023): For a playoffs’ push, they traded away young defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks which included a first, second, third, fourth and fifth round pick for one player: Tanner Jeannot.
• The Florida Panthers (2023): Aiming for playoff dominance, they traded a haul, including a first-round pick and prospects, for Matthew Tkachuk.
• The Vegas Golden Knights (2018-2023): Since their inception, Vegas has consistently traded top prospects and picks for big names like Jack Eichel and Mark Stone.

These moves emptied prospect pools, leaving teams with little to rebuild from when the championship window closed. That’s the reality of a “typical” rebuild: a lengthy wait for new talent to develop while fan patience wears thin.

The Canadiens’ Reality: A Foundation Already in Place

When Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes took over, they didn’t inherit a bare prospect cupboard. Far from it. Montreal had already begun accumulating talent through their 2018 “reset,” creating a foundation most rebuilding teams can only dream of.

By the time this new management duo arrived, the team already had young stars like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Alexander Romanov making an impact. Beyond that, they inherited a strong prospect pipeline, including:

• Jordan Harris
• Jayden Struble
• Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
• Kaiden Guhle
• Luke Tuch
• Jakub Dobes
• Logan Mailloux
• Oliver Kapanen
• Joshua Roy

Additionally, the Canadiens had accumulated a wealth of draft picks. When Gorton took over from Marc Bergevin, the Habs already had 11 picks for the 2022 NHL Draft. They didn’t sacrifice these assets to load up for their surprise Stanley Cup Final run in 2021, either. The most significant trade during that period? A modest third-round and fifth-round pick is the highest pick given up for Eric Staal. Compare that to the haul other teams gave up for playoff pushes, and it’s clear: Montreal’s pipeline remained intact.

While it has been almost three years since new management has taken over and cataloguing it as such, this isn’t “Year 3 of the rebuild” in the traditional sense. The groundwork was already laid when Gorton and Hughes arrived. Rather than starting from scratch, they were tasked with refining and building upon an already strong foundation. This is a situation force upon the franchise upon the career-ending injuries suffered by Carey Price, Shea Weber and, to a lesser point, Paul Byron.

Yes, the Canadiens have signed veterans since the 2018 Reset to fill roster gaps, but this is standard practice during any rebuild (or reset). Prospects need time to develop, and in the meantime, you need players who can compete at the NHL level, to field a team. And yes, Bergevin tried winning for his veteran star players and he did it without jeopardizing the future.

No Excuses: A Unique Opportunity

Montreal’s rebuild isn’t burdened by the same challenges that others face. It’s a head start, not a traditional bottom-up reconstruction. Both Hughes and Gorton have acknowledged this. The challenge isn’t in starting from nothing—it’s in delivering results with the resources they’ve inherited. One proof of that is management’s comments, prior to this season’s start, about “wanting to be in the mix”.

Fans aren’t asking for miracles. They’re asking for progress. The Canadiens’ situation is unique, and it’s time to acknowledge that this isn’t your typical rebuild.

So, spare us the excuses. Some of us weren’t born yesterday, and we can see the difference. Yes, patience is required and yes, there will be growing pains along the way. This rebuild isn’t just about building a team for tomorrow—it’s about seizing the opportunity today.

Cheers to a brighter future, and let’s also hold management accountable for delivering it at the same time.