Offseason Review: Habs In Flux After Wild Summer On Heels Of Cup Final Run
The Montreal Canadiens’ shocking run to the Stanley Cup Final was followed up by an equally shocking offseason.
To go through the list quickly, the Habs’ summer featured: Losing a former top draft pick to a revenge offer sheet, learning that their captain’s career has likely come to an end due to injury, exposing the goaltender that carried them through the playoffs in the Expansion Draft and getting shamed by the Canadian Prime Minister (among many, many others) after drafting Logan Mailloux with their first-round pick in the NHL Draft.
Just another day at the office for Les Habitants.
What happened in 2021?
A lot.
The Habs came into 2021 as the All-Canadian Division’s wild card.
They weren’t good at all in 2019-20 and only made it to the playoff bubble because the NHL needed an even 24 teams. That said, the Habs boasted a good head-to-head record against other Canadian teams that season, so there was some optimism they could do well.
Early on, the Habs got off to a great start, as they didn’t lose their first game in regulation until the end of January. Their hot start evaporated in February with a five-game losing streak that ultimately resulted in head coach Claude Julien getting canned.
Dominique Ducharme took over the bench and didn’t do any better. Montreal was 9-5-4 under Julien and they went 15-16-7 the rest of the way with Ducharme.
Montreal limped into the playoffs looking like a team that had no interest in being there. The Canadiens dropped their final five games of the regular season and likely would have been caught in the standings by the Flames or Senators if the runway was longer.
The heavily-favored Leafs got off to a 3-1 lead in their first-round series and then suddenly everything clicked. On the brink of elimination, Montreal won Game 5 and Game 6 in overtime and then pulled off the comeback with a commanding Game 7 win.
The Habs then went on to sweep the Jets, the team that had just swept Connor McDavid and the Oilers, and then they took down the Golden Knights, who tied for the best record in the league, in six games. The Habs’ Cinderella run was eventually stopped by the seemingly unbeatable Lightning, but it was one hell of a ride.
What happened in the offseason?
Notable Additions: Christian Dvorak, Mike Hoffman, Cedric Paquette, Mathieu Perreault, David Savard, Samuel Montembeault, Sami Niku, Chris Wideman.
Notable Subtractions: Shea Weber (injured), Phillip Danault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Tomas Tatar, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, Jon Merrill, Erik Gustafsson.
If you thought the Habs’ season was a wild ride, buddy, just wait until you hear about their offseason.
In late July, the Habs announced that captain Shea Weber would miss the 2021-22 season due to injuries and it’s unlikely that he’ll ever play again. On the same day, it was announced that star goaltender Carey Price would undergo surgery on his knee.
Price was left exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft. There was some thought the Kraken would take Price, as he’s from Pacific Canada, played for the Tri-City Americans in the WHL and was coming off a legendary playoff run. The Kraken decided to avoid Price and his mammoth contract and the signing bonus that they would have had to pay him a few days later.
Next up, we have the NHL entry draft, where the Habs went ahead and selected Logan Mailloux, who had previously renounced himself from consideration due to him being charged in Sweden for taking and distributing an offensive photo following a sexual encounter.
In free agency, Montreal let stud two-center Phillip Danault walk, along with a handful of veterans from their run, like Tomas Tatar, Corey Perry, Eric Staal and Jon Merrill. The Habs added some new blood into the mix in free agency, signing David Savard, Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Perreault.
Finally, there’s the Carolina Hurricanes revenge tour.
Back in 2019, the Habs signed restricted free agent Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet and the Canes went and matched it. In August, Carolina got its revenge, signing former No. 3 overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet. The Habs would let Kotkaniemi go and used the draft picks they got as compensation to acquire center Christian Dvorak from the Coyotes.
All told, this is a very, very different team than the one we saw in June. Even with their new players, internal progression of young talent and a full season of playoff superhero Cole Caufield, it’s difficult to argue they’re better.
What to expect in 2021-22?
I mean, it’s hard to write this team off because they just keep overcoming odds.
It was very unlikely the Habs would beat the Penguins in a five-game play-in series, but they did. It was very unlikely the Habs would come back after going down 3-1 in the first round to the Leafs, but they did. It was very unlikely the Habs would beat the Golden Knights in a seven-game series, but they did.
There’s no doubt that the Habs are worse now than they were in June when they played Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final. Losing Danault and Weber is a massive blow and there’s no saying how effective Price will be upon his return from surgery.
It seems very unlikely that the Habs will manage to find their way back to the playoffs given all they’ve lost this summer, but, well, you know by now.
One bold prediction…
To circle back to an earlier prediction, the Habs will miss the playoffs in 2021-22 and they’ll finish beneath the Ottawa Senators in the standings.
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