MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens' brass has used words like "growth," "progress" and "evolving" to describe what it wants to see this season.
The word "playoffs" hasn’t been as common.
Montreal enters the regular season hoping to take another step in a rebuild that began two seasons ago when the club finished last in the NHL. Last year, the Canadiens were 28th.
After subtle changes in personnel, the goal this season is to keep trending in the right direction.
“It’s the growth, it’s getting better, it’s getting better as a team. It’s all these young players — where are their ceilings?” vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton told reporters at the Canadiens golf tournament in September. “We’re trying to find out who’s going to be here as we get to that next level.”
Captain Nick Suzuki, 24, and star sniper Cole Caufield, 22, lead a young Canadiens lineup that features a half-dozen players playing their second NHL seasons. Caufield had 26 goals in 46 games last season before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Now Caufield and the Canadiens are healthy after an injury-riddled campaign last season.
But even a fully fit roster may not be enough in the highly competitive Atlantic Division, which features perennial playoff teams Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto and Florida to go with up-and-comers Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit.
And the days of Carey Price making the difference are in the past as promising-but-unproven Samuel Montembeault and veteran Jake Allen get set to fill the crease for another season.
The expectation that the still-rebuilding Canadiens might be outside the playoff picture once again is only realistic.
“You’re trying to keep evolving,” said head coach Martin St. Louis. “What you ask of a two-year-old baby and an eight or nine-year-old is not the same. So there’s an evolution, but you have to be fair.”
General manager Kent Hughes preached much of the same.
“We want to see progress, most of our players are under 25, so typically they haven’t yet reached their max potential,” he said. “If we see it individually, if we see it as a team … we’ll be happy and we’ll probably see an improvement in the standings as well.”
The players taking the ice aren’t entering the season thinking it’s a foregone conclusion, however. Not in an NHL where teams like the New Jersey Devils can jump from 27 to 52 wins in one season.
“We don’t play to not make the playoffs,” said Suzuki. “I think it should be every team’s goal to make the playoffs, to win the Stanley Cup.”
For any of that to happen this season for Montreal, they’ll need to start strong and build from there.
“At some point here we’re going to have to make a jump, make a push and start improving in the standings,” said Brendan Gallagher, who’s entering his 12th season as a Canadien. “If it is gonna be this year it has to happen early, so we’re gonna have to start the season strong, the first couple weeks are gonna be important.”
SOPHOMORE SLAFKOVSKY
Juraj Slafkovsky's four goals and six assists in 39 games last season before a season-ending knee injury didn’t live up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick.
The 19-year-old winger from Slovakia is a key piece to the Canadiens’ rebuild. They’re hoping he can bounce back in Year 2 after a solid pre-season.
"I'm just hoping for him to grow, to keep growing, and growing is not necessarily in a straight line,” said St. Louis. “There's going to be some dips and stuff, but I'm pretty sure that from now to the end of the season when we connect these dots, it's going up."
1-2 PUNCH
The Canadiens are running with Suzuki and Kirby Dach as their first and second-line centres to start the season.
Montreal acquired Dach — the third-overall pick in 2019 — from Chicago last year after a slow start to his career as a Blackhawk.
Dach, 22, showed signs of his pedigree as a Grade A prospect with 38 points in 58 games for the Canadiens last season.
“Kirby’s ceiling is really high, we’re happy to have him,” said St. Louis. “To have Suzuki and Dach down the middle, it’s promising.”
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
This off-season, the Canadiens traded for Alex Newhook — another former top prospect they’re hoping can break out with more ice time in Montreal.
Newhook, 22, was a 16th-overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2019 and had 30 points in 82 games last season. The Canadiens signed him to a four-year contract, just as they did with Dach.
St. Louis said the key is to avoid over-coaching him.
“They’re young players, they have flaws in their game. I think as coaches it’s easy to want to correct everything right now, and sometimes it’s too much,” he said. “For me, it’s taking my time with him the same way I did with Dacher — let him play.”
The Canadiens also added veteran forward Tanner Pearson to the roster via trade with Vancouver.
Moving on from Montreal: Jonathan Drouin (Colorado), Mike Hoffman (San Jose) and Denis Gurianov (Nashville), among others.
SCHEDULE WATCH
The Canadiens open their season in Toronto on Wednesday as the latest chapter in their storied rivalry with the Maple Leafs begins.
Montreal then hosts a special guest for its first home game on Saturday against phenom Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Another Connor makes his way to Montreal a few months later as McDavid and the Oilers pay a visit to the Bell Centre on Jan. 13.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press