The Montreal Canadiens went out with something of a whimper in a five-game first-round loss to the Washington Capitals. However, even their most ardent critics would be hard-pressed to argue the 2024-25 season was a failure by any measure. After all, they made the playoffs when the official goal heading in had simply been to “be in the mix” and play meaningful games down the stretch.
Resulting in a playoff spot this spring, their linear growth up to this point, starting with a last-place finish in 2022, has been impressive. However, the playoff spot all on its own shouldn’t define their 2024-25 season. In fact, even without having clinched a berth, the campaign would have been a success, at least based on the following five arguments:
5. Canadiens’ Special Teams Show Significant Progress
Obviously, the Canadiens’ power play struggled to end the season. However, where it ended is definitely an encouraging sign for the future. Despite scoring just three power-play goals in their last 14 games of the regular season (33 opportunities; 9.1%), it ended at 20.1%.
In the playoffs, they struggled to so much as enter the offensive zone on the man advantage to start. It nevertheless got going later in Game 1, clicking in the end at an impressive 33%. What was most encouraging though was how, in Game 4, even though they lost 5-2, their two power-play goals were scored by Juraj Slafkovsky (21) and Cole Caufield (24), with Lane Hutson (21) and Ivan Demidov (19) picking up assists on each marker.
It’s a sign their power play is in good hands for a long time. And, while the 20.1% regular-season mark only ranked No. 21 in the league, it was still the first time since 2017-18 that it hit 20% at all. Coincidentally, it was the first time since 2009-10, when they upset the Capitals in Round 1, that their power play fired at at least 20% and penalty kill hit 80% (80.9%) in the same year. Only eight teams accomplished the feat in 2024-25.
4. Caufield’s 37 Goals
It’s not the 40 (or even 50) some saw Caufield as capable of reaching a few years ago. However, the 37 he did manage to lead the team are the most of any Canadiens player since Max Pacioretty scored that same amount in 2014-15 (when the Habs won the Atlantic Division). They’re obviously a new career high too, which gives the impression this season will serve as a launching point for Caufield towards greater things, especially taking into account the team growing around him.
3. Suzuki’s Point-Per-Game Season
What many outside Montreal don’t realize is Nick Suzuki, as a defensively responsible player, gets significant ice time shorthanded… or at least he did. He played only 0:38 per game this past season when it has been as high as 1:39 (2022-23). The drop was by design, as, more and more, fans saw Suzuki stay on over the course of entire power plays, ultimately leading the team with 3:25 per game on the man advantage. The reasoning is clear: Suzuki simply has more to offer offensively as arguably the team’s top all-around weapon up front.
So, it’s far from a shock Suzuki just eclipsed the point-per-game mark for the first time in his career (with 89), especially considering he scored 77 points in 2023-24. However, just a few short years ago, it would have been inconceivable to as much as imagine the soon-to-be 26-year-old as a potential 100-point player. Now it’s just the next item on his to-do list, as he has quietly established himself as a No. 1 centre in the entire league.
The overall implications are probably less clear. It’s not just the Canadiens have a point-per-game player for the first time since Alexei Kovalev in 2007-08 (when the Habs finished first in the then-Northeast Division). Not only do they have a legitimate No. 1 centre. They have the depth to shelter him to a degree and still ice a more competitive team top to bottom.
2. Hutson’s Calder Memorial Trophy (Probably)
Caufield may have missed out on the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top first-year player back in 2022, but defenseman Lane Hutson is poised to make up for that. His accolade-rich rookie season further shines a light on just how bright the future of this team, the youngest ever to make the playoffs according to some sources, is.
Will Hutson win the Memorial Trophy? Almost certainly. Does he need to? Not by a long shot. He’s already proven how good he can be, literally finishing as one of the top scoring defensemen in the league overall with 66 points. Even if he were to be robbed of the honour — and it would be highway robbery — there’s no taking away from what he accomplished this season and how he projects as a legitimately elite defenseman (if he’s not there already).
Hutson didn’t even have to make the Canadiens this season. There wasn’t necessarily room, with Mike Matheson coming off a career 62-point 2023-24 season (as a veteran; let that sink in). However, Hutson made room on his own, effectively forcing the coaching staff to put him on the first power-play unit instead. Aside from Hutson’s sheer brilliance, the fact that the Habs have effectively gotten out of their own oftentimes overly traditional ways to streamline the rightful ascension of a rookie to the relative top of the lineup puts them ahead of schedule (in more ways than one).
1. .621 Point Percentage from Dec. 3 on
While it was a possibility, no one should have realistically anticipated a playoff berth a year after the Canadiens finished fifth from last. There came a point when, after this team had proved how good it can be, every subsequent win became gravy. That point arguably came exactly at the halfway mark, when, in the middle of a 16-6-1 run that started on Dec. 3 (at which point they had been in last place in the Eastern Conference), the Canadiens beat none other than the Capitals 3-2.
Related: Canadiens Fans Have Justifiably Higher Second-Half Expectations in 2024-25
That the Canadiens held the Capitals, who at that point were in a tie in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, to a season-low 17 shots (in an overtime game no less) further reinforced how far they had come. Keep in mind, the Habs had also beaten the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights (who were also tied for first place), Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning — the last four Stanley Cup champions — over that stretch. Based on how slowly the Habs had started the season, it seemed like they really didn’t have anything left to prove beyond their capacity for sustainable success… but for next season.
And then, sure enough, the Canadiens suffered through a few injuries and began to falter going 1-7-1 before the 4 Nations Face-Off, effectively giving back all the ground they had gained in the playoff race. But they weren’t done. Upon returning, they went on another run. It went down to the wire, but in winning their 82nd game of the season they secured their first postseason berth since 2021, when they reached the Stanley Cup Final.
When all was said and done, the Canadiens had earned a .621 points percentage from Dec. 3 on, which, prorated over an entire season, puts them on par with the Avalanche and Lightning. Granted, you can’t really pick cherry pick the date at which a season starts to make a campaign seem more successful than it was. By virtue of the fact the Habs ended up making the playoffs anyway, it’s hard to diminish the significance of the turnaround. Breaking it down though, there was a lot more to it.
