MONTREAL — Nick Suzuki is tired of watching talented teammates pack their bags and move on to Stanley Cup contenders every spring.
After three seasons of missing the playoffs and stockpiling draft picks, Montreal's captain hopes the Canadiens' rebuild — fittingly the subject of a docuseries released this fall — is finally behind them.
“I don't want to be sellers at the deadline. It's been tough to be in that position the last couple of years,” Suzuki said at the Canadiens' season-opening golf tournament last month.
“We want to make the playoffs this year, get back to where we used to be."
The Canadiens open the 2024-25 season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night as the storied franchise looks to avoid missing a fourth consecutive post-season for the first time. But it’s a tall task.
Last season, Montreal finished 28th overall with 76 points — 15 shy of the playoffs. The Atlantic Division also features Florida coming off a Cup win, while Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay remain playoff contenders. Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit are also trying to leap out of rebuilds, and are arguably a few stages ahead of Montreal.
From ownership through management, the Canadiens' company line a month ago was to be "in the mix" for playoffs this season and play meaningful games.
“That's where we want to be,” executive vice-president Jeff Gorton said. “But I'm not going to put it past this team to (make the playoffs). I know the players in that room feel really confident about their team."
The buzz around the team grew exponentially early in training camp after the Canadiens acquired sniper Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19.
Then the former 40-goal man collapsed to the ice from a worrisome knee-on-knee collision early in his second pre-season game, dampening excitement with the playoff-deprived fan base.
Initially feared to be a season-ending injury, Laine — who’s excited for a fresh start after a difficult past season on and off the ice in Columbus — is only expected to miss two to three months with a sprained left knee.
“Dodged a bullet,” Laine told reporters in Mont-Tremblant, Que. “Could’ve been much worse. I’m not happy with the injury, but it is what it is and (I’ll) just try to stay positive. We’ll be back.”
In the meantime, the Canadiens still have reason for optimism with their young core bolstered by another year of NHL experience on a roster that didn’t undergo wholesale changes during the off-season.
Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky — all 25 or younger — are expected to take another step after establishing themselves as a bona fide first line late last season.
Second-line centre Kirby Dach, a talented 23-year-old drafted third overall in 2019, is healthy after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the second game of 2023-24.
Then there’s rookie defenceman Lane Huston, a potential Calder Trophy candidate as NHL rookie of the year who lifts Canadiens fans out of their seats with his jaw-dropping skill.
But the question is whether those trends in the right direction are enough to lift a team that ranked fifth-worst in goal differential (minus-53) into the playoffs.
"This year is just an opportunity again to say, 'OK, where are we?'” head coach Martin St. Louis said. "I know we're going to keep progressing. It's not going to be (linear), it's going to be (up and down).”
LANE AND LAINE
Injury aside, Laine carries some risk with a US$8.7-million salary cap hit for two seasons. The 26-year-old scored 44 goals with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18 but hasn’t broken the 30-goal plateau since 2018-19.
Last season, he had six goals in 18 games before breaking his clavicle and later seeking help from the NHL's player assistance program for his mental health.
With Laine on the mend, Hutson will be the main attraction. Amid concerns about his five-foot-nine, 162-pound frame transitioning to the NHL, the 20-year-old American’s shifty moves and intelligent play have made him an indispensable name on the opening-night roster.
“He attacks ice, he attacks space,” St. Louis said. “He sees plays develop before they do, and when he doesn’t have a lot of space, he’s really good at creating space. … He can get in a phone booth and create space.”
NO. 1 MONTY
The Canadiens played most of last season with three goalies on the roster. This year they’re back to the traditional two — with a clear No. 1 in Sam Montembeault.
The 27-year-old played a career-high 41 games last season, producing a personal-best .903 save percentage on a team that leaked Grade A chances. He’ll be under more pressure this season as the starting goalie ahead of backup Cayden Primeau.
LOCKED UP
The Canadiens signed Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle to long-term contracts during the off-season, locking up more of their young core with Suzuki and Caufield already in Montreal for the long haul.
The 20-year-old Slafkovsky, the top pick of the draft in 2022, signed for eight years and $60.8 million after a second-half surge that quieted concerns he might not live up to top billing.
Guhle, a 22-year-old defenceman who’s already shouldering major minutes on Montreal’s blue line, signed a six-year, $33.3-million deal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press