The Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild is still far from complete. There are several excellent young players — some on the roster and others still coming up the pipeline — but they need to be properly supported. Looking ahead, the rebuild is still in need of some key pieces.
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It isn’t just about finding the best players. It’s also about finding the best fit for the franchise. What is the goal? It can’t just be to build a fun regular-season team because that gets frustrating for fans. One look at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ struggles in the playoffs over the last decade proves that. Montreal needs to find a balance between skill, size, and the ability to perform under pressure.
Canadiens Need to Balance Size
Fans can see that the NHL is adding more and more smaller, skilled players. But can those players lead teams to playoff success? In the last 24 years, only the 2002 Detroit Red Wings and 2015 Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup while icing a roster with an average below 200 pounds. The trend for forwards is that they are getting lighter, and in some cases, the smaller ones find significant success, yet there is still a need to have some size up front. The same goes for the blue line, where the defensemen are getting lighter but aren’t getting shorter. The height allows for better reach and the lighter frames indicate that the NHL is focused more on mobility than brute strength.
There have been studies on the impact of size and physicality in the NHL and how it applies to championship teams. The last 10 Stanley Cup winners are usually more physically imposing than their competition. They’ve had a size advantage and a higher hit total than their opponents in 55% of their series. Those numbers have jumped to 70% and 65% for the last five champions. Coaching can play a factor in this as well. Some may believe that a hard-nosed approach is required to get players to play that style. Using Toronto as an example again, they hired Craig Berube to get their roster to play a meaner brand of hockey. Some point to Philadelphia Flyers’ John Tortorella and his approach. Because of this, some fans believe Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is not equipped to get the team to play a more rugged style, but NHL coaching legend Mike Keenan has a different take. He points to discipline and self-control as the foundations of championships.
“The Panthers won the Stanley Cup with Paul Maurice last year. I wouldn’t say that he’s really tough, but he’s not soft, and the players played hard and played physical for him. And I’m happy about that,” said Keenan about the evolution of coaching. “During every generation, players change. I coached for five decades, and, if you don’t adjust, you won’t last that long. So, I think there’s still room for demanding coaching, but maybe your methodology has to change.”
There is more than just the message from coaches that matter; the message from the veterans on the roster matter as well. During a rebuild, having a young team can be fun to watch, but those young players need to be properly supported by veterans.
Canadiens Shakeup
Like some coaches, the messages veterans share can become stale, and new voices could be beneficial. TSN insider Darren Dreger can see a shakeup coming in Montreal, and for good reason — they have been far too inconsistent. But what would it be? It won’t be a fire sale. There is no quick fix for the inconsistencies, and before the recent 9-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal seemed to have been turning a corner and playing the competitive style fans had hoped to see consistently this season. As much as David Savard fits the bill as a veteran with the right pedigree to mentor the youth, RDS sees his trade as inevitable. Also, it is common knowledge around the league that general manager (GM) Kent Hughes is looking for a more long-term solution at right defence who can fill that role and help them compete for a playoff spot next season.
Montreal’s blue line is the most glaring example of what the rebuild plan is leading to. There is a balance being created between skill and size. Every defenseman in the system has something to offer. On the current NHL roster, there is Kaiden Guhle, a big, physical defender who has elite skating skills and can play top pairing shutdown role. Then there is Arber Xhekaj, who has steadily become a solid defender, can make the safe plays, and also flash that intimidation factor with a big hit or a definitive fight win. Then there is Lane Hutson, whose play this season is one of the best stories in the league. At only 20 years old, the diminutive defender has shown he can play 25 minutes a night and provide a significant boost to the offence. At the 30-game mark of the season, Montreal has scored 82 goals, and he has had a direct impact on 25% of them.
But those are all on the left side. On the right, the wait is still on. The expectation is to see Logan Mailloux graduate from the American Hockey League (AHL) soon. He is still not quite ready yet, but the big, mobile offensive defenseman is expected to add some offence and snarl to the lineup by next season. Then there is David Reinbacher; Tthehe Austrian is dealing with a long-term injury and that will slow his progression. Yet, he does play the style that helps teams in the playoffs and is a safe, reliable physical defender who can move the puck up the ice with aplomb.
Montreal Needs Offence
While the blue-line plan seems to be coming together, there is a need up front for more offence. While Cole Caufield and his 17 goals in 30 games put him on pace to be the first 40-goal scorer in this century for Montreal, his size does mean that he needs to be insulated, as he had been during the 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final. Size did factor into Hughes’ drafting decisions for his top offensive picks during his tenure. Juraj Slafkovsky is a large power forward in development. Then there are the two first-rounders from the 2024 draft class.
With the 6 foot, 192-pound Ivan Demidov, size may have been a factor in the selection but his skill level is off the charts and he is expected to be the elite scoring forward Montreal has been searching for. While his development is being controlled by Montreal from a distance, one of the most skilled players to wear the Canadiens sweater, Alex Kovalev, feels Demidov needs to be more assertive. According to Kovalev, it doesn’t matter that he’s set to leave the Kontinental Hockey League’s SKA in a few months —Demidov and his representation need to put their foot down and fight for more playing time.
“You also have to talk to your coach so that he can explain to you what you need to do so that he trusts you more. What if he is not given time in Montreal? Should he sit and wait, too? That is the wrong approach. You have to fight for every minute, by any means possible.”
Being more assertive with the coaching staff isn’t a necessity for the other 2024 first-rounder, Michael Hage at the University of Michigan. The 6-foot-1 190-pound centre has the frame to be a reliable two-way center in the NHL. The 18-year-old not only leads his team in scoring but is also near the top of the list in NCAA scoring among rookies. Leading Michigan in goals (10) and points (18) as a freshman after only 15 games bodes well for his offensive future.
But the Canadiens do still need more offensively-gifted centres to join the club, which is why they have interest in Caleb Desnoyers for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Desnoyers would add size (6-foot-2), but more importantly, the skill and ability to thrive in a pressure environment. He is an excellent skater with an explosive first step and fluid edgework. He plays with speed and pace and is rarely out of position. Add all that with a high hockey IQ and his highly-competitive nature and there is a high ceiling for this young centre.
Even if size and physicality are traits that the last 10 Cup champions share, it’s not fair to say that bigger, more physical teams are definitively the better playoff teams. Other factors such as health, reaching peak performance at the right time, defensive play, offensive efficiency, special teams’ outputs, and goaltending all play a role. Size is a factor, but isn’t the only one, so Montreal’s roster needs to balance their skilled players with some that provide size as well.