The Montreal Canadiens’ 2023-24 season has started with several ups and downs. The good news is that the lineup is one of the youngest in the NHL and is expected to be better than last season’s roster. The bad news? There are several issues that have carried over from the 2022-23 season.
General manager (GM) Kent Hughes’ rebuild plan is no different than most GMs implementing a full rebuild, draft and develop, and relying on your youth to produce exciting matchups. The season has only just begun and there are some good signs for the future. With that, here’s a look at the latest 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus 1 – Suzuki Steps Up
Before the game on Oct. 21 against the Washington Capitals, the Canadiens had only one win in their first three games and had been completely dominated in a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild in their third game of the year. Unfortunately, captain Nick Suzuki is one reason for the difficult start with only one assist and zero goals in those games, and fans and media alike have remarked on the center’s lack of production and impact.
In a press conference the day after the loss to Minnesota last week, head coach Martin St. Louis was asked for his thoughts on Suzuki’s play so far.
“I’d say, and Nick would say it as well, that he has to be better,” St. Louis started. “But it’s a long season and he’s a guy with history in the league and I’m not worried about it coming back. With the number of minutes he plays and his role, Nick for sure needs to give us more, but it’s not something that’s worrying me.”
– Martin St. Louis
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As has often been the case since he was hired, St. Louis was right, as Suzuki stepped up to the level expected of him as the leader of the Canadiens. He led forwards in ice time with 22 minutes, he led in the faceoff circle, winning 11 of 16 faceoffs, and he forced the Capitals to rush their plays in all three zones. Suzuki also had impressive possession statistics as he held a 72.55 percent Corsi For and added two assists, including a primary assist on Cole Caufield’s overtime-winning goal.
Whatever St. Louis told him in their meetings this week seemed to have worked. He was effective in all three zones, he was noticeable on the ice for all the best reasons, and returned to his top form. The pressure on him will remain as the expectations on him now are to continue at this pace, consistently. Not necessarily with the point totals, but the positive impact his two-way game can bring for the Canadiens.
Plus 2 – Canadiens Prospects Producing
The Canadiens’ young prospects are starting to impress. Florian Xhekaj has three goals, six points, and 20 penalty minutes in seven games in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Lane Hutson continues his impressive play at the NCAA level, and even unrestricted free agent signee, 24-year-old Lias Andersson, is playing at a goal per game pace in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The one prospect impressing the most however is 2021 fifth-round pick, Joshua Roy. He scored his first hat trick and had a career-best five-point night against the Rochester Americans and now leads the AHL in goals and points with five goals and 11 points in his first five games. For those keeping track at home, that’s a 158-point pace over a full AHL season. Roy followed up on a strong training camp with a blazing start to the season impressing everyone with his confidence and comfort level at the professional ranks. He didn’t pad his stats in only one game, he has been producing offence consistently so far early in the season, which is why he leads the AHL in goals and points at the five-game mark of the season.
With such an impressive start, the first call-up should have gone to Roy no? Well, no, because Joel Armia got that call. While the call-ups should be by merit, there are no guarantees that he will play in a top-six role immediately, and the best course of action for his development is to let him keep playing in a top role, especially as he builds confidence in himself and his game. With his history of production, from the junior level to the World Junior Championship (WJC), and now with his early steps in professional hockey, the Canadiens may have found themselves the answer to “who can play on the wing with Suzuki and Caufield.” But with the playoffs not being in the team’s future, there’s no rush to call him up to the NHL and take a chance his development is slowed.
Plus 3 – Caufield On Pace for 50 Goals
Over the last 82 NHL games he has played, Caufield has scored 47 goals. With three goals in the first four games of the season, he is now on pace for over 60 goals this season.
There is no reason to believe he can’t continue on his torrid scoring pace, and while he may not become the first 50-goal scorer in a Canadiens sweater since Stephane Richer pulled off the feat in the 1989-90 season, he could become the first 40 goal scorer for Montreal since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.
Minus 1 – Canadiens’ Systemic Injuries
Kirby Dach, Kaiden Guhle, and Christian Dvorak, all three are significant losses to the NHL roster. But the injury bug isn’t only biting in the NHL. Add to that list players in the Canadiens’ farm system, Emil Heineman, David Reinbacher and Lane Hutson.
Related: Montreal Canadiens Injuries Provide Barron Opportunity to Develop
Unless the Habs find a way to reverse the curse, there will continue to be long-term injuries to key players that will continue to haunt the Canadiens. Worse still, these injuries can rob the younger players of important development time as they miss long periods and even full seasons.
Minus 2 – Still More Injuries
See Minus 1. Just like in Montreal, this article will see even more discussion of injuries. There have been so many that fans feel like they get slapped in the face with daily medical updates. If the Canadiens hope to take a step forward in their rebuild, they need their young players playing, and if they’re injured, they cannot. After two straight seasons leading the NHL in man games lost, seeing seven injuries to significant players in Montreal’s system, at all levels, can slow or even cripple (no pun intended) Hughes’ progress in that rebuild.
Minus 3 – Goaltending Depth
There is still no one goaltender who has nailed down the role as starter for the AHL affiliate in Laval, and still no one taking over the role with the Canadiens. This is why seeing Cayden Primeau sitting in the press box for all four of Montreal’s games to start the season is difficult to see. While it is true that Hughes may lose Primeau if he is placed on waivers, the fact remains that a young goaltender needs to play, especially one who was supposed to become an NHL starter in the future. Being left to wither away in a press box isn’t doing him or the Habs any favours.
The 2023-24 season is still young, but the same issues that Montreal faced last season have been seen again. Injuries, inconsistent play, and more continue to haunt them on and off the ice. That being said, the Canadiens are still giving their fans an entertaining brand of hockey, which is providing them some hope for the future.