Record - 22-49-11 (55 points), 8th in the Atlantic Division
Goals For: 221 (27th in the NHL), Goals Against: 319 (32nd in the NHL)
Leading Goal Scorer - Cole Caufield (23)
Leading Point Scorer - Nick Suzuki (61)
It's not often that you see a team go from Stanley Cup finalists to dead last in the league in just a year's time, but that is exactly what happened to the Montreal Canadiens in 2022. Just one season removed from a truly improbable run to the Cup finals, the Canadiens find themselves at the rock bottom starting from scratch. There's no nice way to put it, last year was a disaster for them. Before the year even started they had lost their All-Star goaltender Carey Price and their captain Shea Weber to season long injuries. They knew coming into the season that it would be a struggle for them, but I don't think anyone in Montreal could have predicted a last place finish. They were terrible in just about every category. From special teams to even strength play, defense to goaltending, the Canadiens were abysmal last season. The one true bright side to their season was how well up and coming prospect Cole Caufield responded to the new system put in place by the, at the time, Interim Head Coach Martin St. Louis. He scored 22 of his 23 goals in the final 37 games of the season that St. Louis was behind the bench for. So they had that going for them...which was nice. Still, it was a season to forget for the Habitants.
General Manager Kent Hughes was a busy man this offseason making several moves that could really help shape the rebuild. The team won the draft lottery and selected Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky with the number 1 overall pick. This move surprised many as Shane Wright, the star studded center from Ontario, was the favorite to go number 1 up until the week of the draft. Slafkovsky was already slated as a top 3 pick, but his performance at the World Championships put him over the top as the guy the Canadiens wanted to take with the top pick. At just 18, he already has more size than most wingers in the NHL, and he has loads of talent highlighted by his excellent shot. It'll be interesting to see how HC Marty St. Louis uses him in his rookie season and how he adjusts to the NHL's style of hockey.
Not long after selecting Slafkovsky with the top pick, the Canadiens front office made a three team trade that shocked the hockey world. They sent defenseman Alexander Romanov to the NY Islanders in exchange for the 13th pick in the draft. They then sent that same pick along with a 3rd rounder over to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Kirby Dach, who was the 3rd overall pick in the 2019 draft. In a matter of an hour the Canadiens acquired two top 3 picks and have since signed them to contracts keeping them in Montreal for foreseeable future.
Outside of the draft, the Canadiens acquired Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames for practically nothing. Although Monahan's production has been down the past two seasons after starting his career with 7 straight 20 goal campaigns, he's still just 27 years old and has time to find his groove again if he remains healthy. They then traded defenseman Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins and got a younger (and cheaper) defenseman in Mike Matheson in return. Former captain Shea Weber was also dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Evgenii Dadanov. Similar to Monahan, Dadanov hasn't been the same player since he burst onto the scene in Florida. However, I believe he still has some gas left in the tank and is able to provide a veteran presence in a locker room full of younger players. On top of that, it doesn't seem like Shea Weber will play again due to the injuries sustained during their Cup run in 2021, so they might as well get someone that can fill a spot in the lineup.
All in all the Canadiens improved their team in some areas, but still have plenty of gaps to fill. While they literally can't get any worse, they also may not get any better as far as the standings go. They have plenty of young talent, yes. They acquired some solid players in the offseason. And they have a coach that seems to be a great fit for the organization. But with Carey Price going on the LTIR (Long-term Injured Reserve) and his career in jeopardy, they are without a true number 1 goaltender. You can't win if you don't have a goalie. They also have no one on the defensive side that can log the kind of minutes that Weber logged. No one on the backend that can quarterback a power-play. These are things that every team that wants to contend needs to have and this team doesn't have it.
I think this season will be another long one for Canadiens fans. I think they will be more competitive than they were last year, but I don't see them winning a whole lot of games. They certainly won't contend for playoffs. I'm intrigued by how Marty St Louis structures this lineup and who he puts the rookie with. I'm curious to see if Slafkovsky has an immediate impact or if it takes him a year or two to develop. I'm also interested in seeing if Kirby Dach along with Cole Caufield have break out years and accelerate the rebuild for Montreal. With the way Caufield finished last season, it wouldn't surprise me to see him score 35-40 goals this year. Aside from that, though, there isn't much about this team that is worth following. The one certainty aside from missing playoffs is that they will be one of the teams in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes when the 2023 draft lottery comes around.
With that, enjoy today's tune! If you played the NHL video games growing up you may recognize it. Tomorrow we go through the outlook for the Arizona (State University) Coyotes upcoming season.
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