The Canadiens will open the NHL regular season Wednesday at the Bell Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports).
Here are grades for different categories as they head into the third full season of a rebuild after missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
Front Office
Grade A: Jeff Gorton had a ton on his plate when he took over one of the worst teams in the NHL almost three years ago as executive vice-president of hockey operations and looked to modernize a franchise that was stuck in the past in many ways. Gorton has made many good moves both on and off the ice — including building an analytics department and adding significantly to the player-development staff. Gorton has a solid rebuilding plan in place and is determined to stick with it, along with GM Kent Hughes, head coach Martin St. Louis and the support of owner/president Geoff Molson.
They are all on the same page with the focus on player development. That doesn’t mean this rebuild will work and in the end management could end up with an F. But at this point, the team definitely seems headed in the right direction under Gorton with plenty of young talent to work with. The catchphrase this season is “in the mix” — meaning management hopes the team can can be in the mix for a playoff spot.
Coaching Staff
Grade B: Martin St. Louis had no experience behind the bench as an NHL coach when Gorton and Hughes hired him to replace Dominique Ducharme on Feb. 9, 2022. They were looking for a “modern-day” coach for their rebuilding plan and believed St. Louis could be one. They weren’t 100 per cent certain, which is why St. Louis was only named interim head coach at first. St. Louis did enough to have that interim tag removed, but he is still learning on the job after the Canadiens exercised the option on his contract — meaning he is signed for three more seasons.
The players are buying what St. Louis is selling and want to play for him, which is huge. He will take over control of a power play that ranked 27th in the NHL last season with a 17.5 per cent success rate following the decision by Alex Burrows to step down as an assistant coach this summer. St. Louis also has to improve the penalty-kill, which ranked 24th last season at 76.5 per cent, and the overall defence, which ranked 27th, allowing 3.43 goals per game.
Leadership
Grade B: At age 23, Nick Suzuki became the youngest captain in franchise history two years ago and he’s still growing into that role. Suzuki is a naturally quiet person and leads more by example. Veteran Brendan Gallagher called Suzuki the “heartbeat of our team” when he was named captain and the weight of wearing the “C” in Montreal hasn’t slowed Suzuki down. He set career highs last season in goals, assists and points with 33-44-77 totals.
Suzuki is still finding his voice as captain and has two veteran assistant captains in Gallagher and Mike Matheson to help him continue to grow into the leadership role. The Canadiens made the right decision when they gave Suzuki the “C” to help lead this rebuild. “I was pretty young when I got named captain and I’m still young and learning,” Suzuki said. “It’s just getting easier each and every year, gaining the respect.” That will continue this season.
Forwards
Grade D: The Canadiens were a one-line team last season when it came to scoring with Suzuki (33), Cole Caufield (28) and Juraj Slafkovsky (20) the only players to hit the 20-goal mark. That was expected to change this season with the arrival of Patrik Laine in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the return of Kirby Dach, who suffered a season-ending injury in the second game last year.
But Laine is now out for 2-3 months after suffering a sprained knee in the second game of the pre-season. Joel Armia will take Laine’s spot on the second line with Alex Newhook and Dach to start the season. Newhook scored 15 goals last season while being limited to 55 games because of injuries. Armia scored six goals in the last 12 games last season to finish with 17 and is entering the final season of his contract, which should give him added motivation.
The Canadiens will be hoping veterans Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson — who combined for only 30 goals last season — can provide much more offence. That trio will earn a combined US$16.45 million this season.
Defence
Grade C: This could be a tough season on defence for the Canadiens since they will be even younger than last season, when they allowed the third-most shots on goal in the NHL — an average of 33.4 per game. Jordan Harris was traded to Columbus and Johnathan Kovacevic was dealt to New Jersey to open spots for younger defencemen on the blue line — namely Lane Hutson.
This could also be a very exciting season on defence with the arrival of Hutson, who had 30-67-97 totals in 77 games over the last two seasons at Boston University. The 5-foot-10, 162-pounder should also give the power-play a boost. Waiting in Laval is Logan Mailloux, who brings size, toughness and a big shot at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. As with all young NHL defencemen, expect some growing pains. Meanwhile, veteran Matheson is coming off a career year in which he posted 11-51-62 totals while averaging 25:33 of ice time — the third-highest in the NHL. Defence is the biggest question mark heading into the season.
Goaltending
Grade C: Goaltending is the second-biggest question mark after the Canadiens spent most of last season with three goalies — Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. Allen was finally dealt to New Jersey at the trade deadline and Montembeault enters this season as the No. 1, with Primeau looking to push him for playing time. Consistency has been a problem for Primeau, who is entering the final season of his contract at age 25, while Montembeault starts a new three-year deal.
This is Montembeault’s first real chance to prove he can be a No. 1 goalie at age 27 after playing a career-high 41 games last season while posting a 16-15-9 record with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Waiting in the wings is Jacob Fowler, who had a 32-6-1 record as a freshman last season at Boston College, along with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
Overall
Grade C: Rebuilds take time and don’t expect the Canadiens to go from 28th in the overall NHL standing to making the playoffs in one season. However, they should score more goals once Laine returns — including on the power play — and be exciting to watch. The problem is they will probably give up a lot of goals also.
The young defencemen will gain experience this season and the forwards will get another boost next season when Ivan Demidov — the No. 5 overall pick at this year’s draft — is expected to join the team after finishing the final year of his contact with St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL. Defenceman David Reinbacher — the No. 5 overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft — is expected to miss this season after having surgery on his knee, but could help the Canadiens in the future. The future for the team does look bright, but this rebuild will take more time.