Four games remain on the 2022-23 regular season schedule for the Montreal Canadiens and it’s no secret that the team is limping to the finish line as their injuries continue to mount and the losses continue to pile up.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been highlights, milestones, achievements, and performances to celebrate over the past six months as the Habs continue the daunting task of completing a successful rebuild. Despite Montreal’s place near the bottom of the NHL standings, several players are deserving of recognition with a year-end award.
MVP: Nick Suzuki
Through all the lineup changes this season there was one constant. Nick Suzuki is on track to appear in all 82 games for the second straight year and the captain set career-high offensive numbers even though it was a revolving door of wingers on his line during the second half of the campaign after Cole Caufield was shut down in January to undergo shoulder surgery.
The captain was a model of consistency and handled his new responsibilities admirably in the face of challenging circumstances. It’s hard enough being a young leader in the NHL, but in Montreal on a rebuilding team, the scrutiny is immense and can be a lot of weight to carry.
While some still wonder if Suzuki can be a bona fide no. 1 centre on a contender, he proved that he’s the Canadiens’ best, most complete player and showed that he can produce at a point-per-game pace when he plays with fellow top-six players like Caufield and Kirby Dach.
Rookie of the Year: Kaiden Guhle
There were a lot of candidates for Rookie of the Year, but Kaiden Guhle stood out above the rest and quickly established himself as an important member of the Canadiens’ future core.
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He’s already a top-pairing defenceman and probably would have received some votes for the Calder Trophy if injuries didn’t derail his season. His defensive skills, gap control, and physicality were well-documented when he arrived in the NHL, but his skating and ability to join the rush have helped him take his game to another level. He’s a modern-day blueliner who is going to be a Hab for a long time.
Best Defenceman: Mike Matheson
Speaking of defencemen, Mike Matheson has thrived during his first season with his hometown Canadiens and has exceeded the expectations of many even though injuries derailed the first half of the year for him. Not only is he Montreal’s best defenceman, but he’s also a key piece for his young team going forward.
He’s put up eight goals and 30 points in 43 games. That’s a scoring pace of almost 60 points over a full 82-game schedule, an output which would double his previous career-high of 31 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021-22. He’s one of the best skaters in the league and is naturally aggressive in all three zones. He can dictate the pace of the game and drive Montreal’s highly effective transition game. His skating ability creates scoring opportunities and allows him to correct mistakes in the defensive end. Not to mention that he epitomizes the way that head coach Martin St. Louis wants the Canadiens to play.
Breakout Player: Kirby Dach
General manager Kent Hughes stole the show during the opening round of the 2022 NHL Draft last summer in Montreal when he acquired Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. It was considered by some to be a risky move considering that he had underperformed during his first three years in the league, but the Canadiens saw untapped potential that could blossom with a change of scenery and that’s exactly what happened.
The 22-year-old set new career-highs in goals, assists, and points this season despite missing 20 games with injury. Most importantly, his presence changes the dynamic of the lineup entirely and he makes the players around him better. The Habs want to develop him as a centre so it’s easy to envision the formidable 1-2 punch that he and Suzuki can become down the middle for years to come.
Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy: David Savard
The Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy is awarded annually by members of the media who cover the Canadiens to a player who played a dominant role during the regular season, without earning any particular honour.
Alexander Romanov was the winner in 2022 and David Savard should get the nod this year. He helped stabilize Montreal’s young defence corps, especially in the absence of Matheson and Joel Edmundson early on. He’s exactly the type of quiet, unassuming veteran leader that a rebuilding team needs. He leads by example and sees himself as a big brother in the locker room. On the ice, he plays the game the right way and can be relied upon to play tough minutes in all situations. Like Matheson, Savard is rising to the occasion while suiting up for his hometown squad.
While there hasn’t been much to cheer about for Habs fans in 2022-23, especially down the stretch, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future and this season was the first building block on the road to becoming a contender.
