Training camp and preseason are over, and the Montreal Canadiens have made their final cuts. The 2023-24 NHL season is long finished and, after a whirlwind offseason, the Habs are ready to start another grueling step forward in what is hopefully near the end of their rebuild. Here is a look at the upcoming season for the Canadiens and what fans should look forward to in the coming months.
Canadiens Had Productive Offseason
To move forward with any season, a team must use the offseason to help build their team for the current and future. The Canadiens did both by having an excellent draft where they picked highly skilled Ivan Demidov and Micheal Hage in the first round. Both players look like they could be top players for Montreal soon. A quiet free agency followed up the draft, and their only significant signing was Alex Barre-Boulet. General manager (GM) Kent Hughes followed that signing by securing some in-house contracts when he signed Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Ghule long-term; Hughes then signed Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron to low bridge deal contracts. The offseason was then topped off with the acquisition of Patrick Laine and a second-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jordan Harris.
The Canadiens also have some young players ready to move to the NHL with the likes of Lane Hutson and Oliver Kapanen having solid camps. Defencemen David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux, goaltender Jakob Dobes, and forwards Owen Beck and Joshua Roy are getting a year closer. The Habs’ offseason showed fans that the management team are not only looking to the future but also trying to put in pieces that can help the team move forward now; it may not be enough to make the playoffs, but it should be enough to have meaningful games later in the season.
Canadiens Annual Setbacks and Controversial Moves
It wouldn’t be a new hockey season in Montreal without the usual setbacks in the preseason and, of course, fans being divided on who should or shouldn’t make the team. The first blow to the team was when Ghule ended up having his appendix removed. Then, during a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, both Laine and Reinbacher left the game with knee injuries. The Reinbacher injury looked innocent enough, and fans hoped it wasn’t anything too serious; the Laine injury, however, looked very bad, and many knew it would be long-term. As it turns out, the Laine injury was not that bad – he will still be out long-term but only for around two months instead of four to six months, as many thought. Reinbacher, on the other hand, will be out for four to six months, which could be a massive setback in his development.
Related: Canadiens Injury Woes Provide Youth Opportunity
The controversy isn’t as considerable as in other years, but it deals primarily with who should and shouldn’t be on the team to start the season. Many fans wanted to see Roy get more significant minutes as well as move one of the Canadiens players on an expiring deal to make room for Kapanen. Roy was sent to the Laval Rocket, but Kapanen made the team with Emil Heinemen and Barre-Boulet. Mallioux was another young player who looked like he could make that extra step to the NHL but was also sent to Laval, and Barron was kept with Montreal; this could be because Mailloux isn’t limited to waivers where Barron is along with the fact Barron had a solid camp. After that, the only actual “controversies” are whether it’s beneficial to keep guys like David Savard, Christian Dvorak, or Jake Evans until the deadline when it will make room for young players if they are moved now. These three will be more valuable at the deadline, and the young players missing out will get more benefit playing top minutes in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Laval than in Montreal.
The Canadiens Still Have a Season to Look Forward To
The preseason was up and down for the Canadiens. They won a few games, and some players looked good, but the power play (PP) was dismal, and Laine’s injury took a lot of wind out of their sails. However, they have much to look forward to this coming season, especially with future star Lane Hutson beginning his first entire season with Montreal. The Canadiens should also get an entire season out of Kirby Dach on the second line after he only played four periods last season. They will also see a whole season of their top line together with Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, hopefully leading the way offensively for the Canadiens.
If the Canadiens can avoid the injury bug, the offence should improve, with the first line leading the way, the second line of Dach and Alex Newhook, and eventually Laine. Adding Hutson to the back end with Mike Matheson gives the team two dynamic offensive defencemen who can help push the offence and hopefully improve the PP. The fact that they have three players in contract years can also give the team added offence as players are showcasing for a better contract next season. The younger players pushing themselves and each other for more minutes will bring an exciting dynamic to the team.
On defence, they have the top four pretty much set in stone with Matheson and Ghule on the first pairing and Savard and Hutson on the second, but on the third pairing, there should be good competition between Xhekaj, Jayden Struble and Barron. All three will be vying for minutes and trying to showcase their skills, as Barron will try to prove he is better than his last two seasons, and Struble could be one of the most underrated defencemen on the team. Xhekaj will try to prove he is more than just a fighter; he could also be a top four potential player.
As you can see, there is much to look forward to, especially with a young team trying to advance to the playoffs. There will be setbacks, and players we thought would have good seasons could have awful seasons like Josh Anderson did last season. Then again, Anderson could come back this season and have a monster one. No one has a crystal ball. All you can do is hope everything goes as planned, but whether it does or not, we know this team will be exciting and play every game to win. The Canadiens are predicted to finish with between 77 and 82 points, depending on where you look; if you ask me, 85-90 is not unrealistic. If the team improves even a little and the players who need to progress do just that, then the season will be a success.
