Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes’ plan should realistically be to compete for a playoff spot with the Patrik Laine trade. Still, there are obviously no guarantees. So, fans should stop short of looking forward to postseason hockey for the first time since the team’s 2021 Stanley Cup Final appearance (however unexpected it was in its own right).
Even if the Canadiens don’t make it in the end, 2024-25 won’t amount to a lost season, by any stretch. With its start just around the corner, it’s fair to say, even without any grandiose expectations to that aforementioned effect, fans are looking forward to watching hockey again.
So, if not playoff hockey though, what then? Ranked in increasing order of likelihood, here are the top things Habs fans can look forward to… and count on happening beyond a reasonable doubt in 2024-25:
5) More Goals (Not Just from Laine)
One thing (a healthy) Laine does guarantee is more goals. Granted, he’s coming off a 2023-24 season in which he scored just six times in 18 games. However, he’s proven himself as a consistent 30-goal threat (over 82). Granted, he’s a question mark in terms of to what degree he’ll fit in, with the resulting chemistry in the locker room being a concern for some.
Logically though, Laine, who has now made two successful trade requests, knows he’s sticking it out for better or worse until his current contract expires in 2026. He has to play his best to cash in at that point, when he’ll still be 28. Consider how little the Canadiens gave up to get him. If his value on the trade market is that low, while someone will undeniably give him money, it won’t be nearly as much as it can be if he rediscovers his scoring touch.
Even if Laine doesn’t or doesn’t stay healthy the Canadiens are looking at more goals, almost no matter what. Their goals scored have increased each season since they finished in last place in 2021-22 (218). In 2022-23, they scored 227. Last season? 232. It’s just the natural progression of an improving, young team, which Laine on paper makes significantly better.
4) More Prospect/Young Star Development
Take Cole Caufield as an example. Even in a “down” year, failing to live up to expectations he could become the team’s first 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse, he still increased his goal total. True, he only played 46 games in 2022-23, when he scored 26. Still, the 28 he just scored last season were complemented by a career-high 65 points, as he developed his overall game further, playing on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Slafkovsky gets a lot of attention as former first-overall pick whose game just improved by leaps and bounds in his sophomore season. However, Suzuki is obviously no slouch himself. He continues to improve year after year, having just flirted with a point per game for the first time. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Suzuki just turned 25. And, as team captain and its No. 1 center, he’s in effect a personification of one of the youngest cores in the league.
There will always be players in decline. However, when one of your elder statesmen in Mike Matheson just posted career highs at Age 30, it’s a sign of things to come. And they’re all good.
3) More Trades
If Hughes does have designs on a making the playoffs, you can probably expect more trades, as holes on the roster definitely remain, at least before the Canadiens can be considered legit contenders. However, even if the plan is simply to progress slowly in the standings and not make a run at a playoff spot, Hughes has six pending unrestricted free agents projected to make the roster in some capacity. Maybe they won’t all get traded. At least some will.
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Thankfully, Hughes isn’t exactly facing a conflict of interest. His pending UFAs aren’t necessarily critical to the team’s short-term success. To put it in perspective, the one who scored the most last season is fourth-liner Jake Evans with 28 points. The second-highest scorer is Joel Armia, who, despite his veteran status, didn’t even make the team out of training camp. That’s a fact.
Now, you’re not necessarily getting a lot for these guys. However, especially with Laine’s $8.7 million cap hit, if you’re Hughes, you’re probably salivating at the extra cap space, not to mention the roster spots that will open up for more players on entry-level contracts. Players are going to get moved, because Hughes needs to move them.
2) More Stability in Net
Goalie Cayden Primeau is a good example of how much trust placed in a young player can help. It took the Canadiens a good long while to get there, but, after finally trading veteran Jake Allen at the last deadline, Primeau earned a .921 save percentage the rest of the way, suddenly finding himself in a position to get more starts and find a groove.
Last season’s list of things Canadiens fans can look forward to had “More Clarity on the Goaltending Situation” at No. 2 instead. With the Allen trade and Samuel Montembeault emerging as the team’s No. 1 goalie for all intents and purposes, fans got exactly that.
This season, with a traditional two-goalie system (as opposed to last season’s three), fans can expect more stability, but also better statistical performances, as both will be able to get in proverbial grooves more easily. However, it goes beyond that with the defense in front of them projected to improve as well.
Realistically, the defense will comprise one rookie. Many say it will be Lane Hutson. Others Logan Mailloux, with a spot ready for the taking on his right side. Hutson probably makes for better odds of a Calder Memorial Trophy, but no one should expect it. In contrast, with everyone else an additional season into their respective pro careers, it’s fair to expect fewer goals against, which like goals scored, have been trending in the right direction since 2022.
Will the team’s average goaltending be able to cover up for all the mistakes the defense makes? Not by a long shot. However, you can count on fewer mistakes overall, as Kaiden Guhle continues to grow into a leadership role and, for example, Arber Xhekaj, who took a detour to the American Hockey League last season, presumably stays for good after having signed a one-way extension and taken steps to become a more complete hockey player.
1) More Wins
The same goes for both Montembeault and Primeau, for the record. They’ll each post more wins. Taking everything into account, the Canadiens will be better, as they have been in each of the last two seasons, as the rebuild has progressed.
The degree to which the Canadiens improve in the standings is of course unclear, but they will improve. No one should doubt that, based on the Laine trade, the young core that’s still developing and will be one year older and the future moves Hughes will make to further improve this team. The tear-down portion of the rebuild has long since passed. 2024-25 is all about taking steps toward something better, however far they end up getting.
