Young Montreal Canadiens Take Major Strides This Season

There is a sense of disappointment and sadness that comes with the losing feeling because the team couldn’t bring it back to Montreal for one more game, the Montreal Canadiens players have no reason to hold their heads down. Instead, they should hold their heads high because they have come so far in three years.

There has been a lot of pain and suffering for Montreal Canadiens fans since their trip to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. They saw players like Carey Price and Shea Weber stop playing. A memo from ownership and management to the fans expected some tough times because the team wouldn’t be suitable for many years.

With realistic expectations from Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes went to work rebuilding the Canadiens with a young core for sustained success. Through drafting and developing by acquiring picks and young players, and using them as assets to move, the Canadiens knew what it would take to achieve their goal.

The future of the team was Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Sam Montembeault, David Reinbacher, Logan Mallioux, Ivan Demidov, and others. Hughes and Gorton were restocking the cupboard even while there were growing pains on the ice for their club. But when they saw an opportunity, they took it to get players like Alex Newhook, Patrik Laine, and Kirby Dach to help the team.

Hiring Martin St. Louis as the head coach was a brilliant move, as it allowed the players to grow within a system every year. Despite the rumblings and rumors, management was not changing course. The coach and players were going to learn and grow together as a unit. It might not be pretty, but in the end, it would be effective.

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This is similar to what we saw with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jon Cooper. St. Louis knew when to push his players and when to back off, showing them what it took to win in the NHL. There was a lot of learning for these young players throughout the past couple of seasons.

The Canadiens were rewarded for their hard work this season. However, at times it felt like feast or famine, due to a massive winning streak or a massive losing streak. Montreal was 31st in the standings back on December 1st. But there was a belief in the room led by their captain, Nick Suzuki. He told Hughes not to make any moves at the deadline. Suzuki felt that something special was happening this season with the Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens play forced Hughes’s hand to re-sign Jake Evans instead of trading him. Cole Caufield took the next step, finishing with a career high of 37 goals. Nick Suzuki showed he was a number-one center in the NHL, recording 89 points (30 goals and 59 assists). Suzuki was the first Canadiens player to reach the 80-point mark in 17 seasons.

Both Caufield and Suzuki were left off their respective Four Nations Faceoff teams, but once the season resumed, they showed why they should be on their respective Olympic teams. In addition, Lane Hutson tied Larry Murphy‘s record with 60 assists, the most for a rookie defenseman.

He also finished with 66 points, which is the most by a rookie defenseman in Canadiens history. In addition, Hutson’s 66 points and 60 assists passed Chris Chelios for most points (64) and assists (57) in franchise history. But he did not look out of place in the defensive zone using his skating and stick to his advantage. Not to mention, he was being physical at the right time as well.

The will and heart of Martin St. Louis rubbed off on the players. You can see every player in Montreal, similar to Rod Brind’Amour in Carolina, follow the coach’s lead and buy into how to play. The veteran players on the Canadiens meshed well with the rookies, allowing them to be in every game and not back down from any opponent.

Every player took a step in their development this season. Again, while it was not stated publicly, internally, playing meaningful hockey and gaining experience on what it took to make the playoffs was the ultimate goal for this club this season.

Now the work begins to meet the expectations of making the playoffs again next season, but not losing sight of how it was done through drafting and developing. The Montreal Canadiens have a bright future ahead, and it’s just getting started.