The Montreal Canadiens are still rebuilding, and general manager Kent Hughes understands that. Despite a good showing to start the season, the team has dropped to two games under .500, sits last in their division, and second last in the Eastern Conference. But, they are right where they should be.
It wasn’t expected that goaltending would carry the team, but the netminders have won the Canadiens a few games this season. The defence, like most of the offence on the team, is young and inexperienced. The organization has approached rebuilding in the right way, getting young players acclimated in the NHL and finding chemistry wherever it may be.
This brought up a couple of great questions for Hughes. He was asked if he is satisfied with his team and if he feels he’s missing a bigger star, especially to impact the game offensively. This brought about an interesting answer. Hughes responded with:
“We have to keep getting better, otherwise we wouldn’t be in a rebuild phase. We have some good offensive players in our group and we need more. Do we need a star? The Edmonton Oilers are sitting at the bottom of the standings right now with two of the biggest stars in the NHL. It takes more than that to win…There are lots of ways to build a team that can have success…But ultimately our job is to take what we have in terms of draft picks and everything else and try to build the team that can win.”
Kent Hughes via Sport.sk
There is this notion that the Canadiens need more stars because those were the teams that won the Stanley Cup back in the day. That is more difficult in today’s game with a salary cap and the number of teams. There are many different ways to build a team that can win. Look at the last three champions. The Tampa Bay Lightning had an elite goaltender and a few superstars, but they also had gritty depth players. The Colorado Avalanche ran through opponents with a run-and-gun offence that couldn’t be stopped. Then the Vegas Golden Knights had size and physicality on the back-end with four great forward lines and a hot goalie. The Canadiens could mimic one of these teams or pave their own path to success.
A prime example of a successful team without stars is the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues who won the Cup. They had one player score over 70 points and just two record over 55 points that season. The team was built around a lot of strong pieces.
How the Canadiens Go About Building a Winner
The Canadiens’ struggles are clear. They begin with a lack of offence. Some players have had no problem producing, like Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson, but a number of players have been on a cold streak since very early in the season.
The lines have changed a lot this season, but part of that is also due to injuries. Even as soon as next season, there are a few players who will be playing elsewhere, like Sean Monahan, Tanner Pearson, and even Christian Dvorak. This will make room for new players. Hughes didn’t specifically mention prospects making a difference in moving the team toward a Stanley Cup. I think some of the picks the team has or will receive will be used in trades, as he did with the acquisitions of Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook (from “Stu Cowan: Canadiens have a long way to go in rebuilding process,” Montreal Gazette, Nov. 21, 2023).
While these players are still young and will grow with the team, the next addition could be a prominent player looking for a new home, like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alex DeBrincat who were moved and signed to big deals during the offseason. Both the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings believe they are at the point where that move makes sense.
Neither are considered stars, but both are very good players. They have fit in and didn’t cost over $10 million AAV so other areas of the team are neglected. A team with no holes or weaknesses and strong depth will beat out a team with a few stars. If the stars go cold, the team sinks, but if a couple of players go cold on a depth-filled team, that team can still execute and win.
Related: Why Canadiens Should Keep Ylonen on Fourth Line for Now
If the Canadiens have the draft capital, most times trades of this nature work out better in the short and long term than seven-year, free-agent signings. The team’s window hasn’t opened yet, so there’s no rush. They have a lot of great-looking prospects in the system and young players on the team. Who knows if prospects like David Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy, Filip Mesar, Owen Beck, and more will become stars but many or all of them could become very good players.
With the right move(s), more stars aren’t necessarily needed. The Canadiens could very well find what they’re looking for internally and build a championship team their way. Whether that includes the young players I mentioned or going out and getting strong players from around the league who are more experienced, they are well on their way.
