The young stars are making the Montreal Canadiens fun, even if the results aren’t

Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

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The Montreal Canadiens are a very bad hockey team.

Shocking, I know. The Habs became the first team in NHL history to finish 32nd last season, a year removed from a shocking Stanley Cup final appearance. Most fans seemed to agree the 2021-22 season was going to be rough – except team management, who didn’t do much to address the team’s issues and was eventually sacked, as was head coach Dom Ducharme. The Canadiens ultimately landed the first overall pick and took Juraj Slafkovsky, setting the rebuild into full effect.

And now, they’re here. Still bad. Still not going to make the playoffs. And that’s a great thing if you’re a fan of the bleu, blanc et rouge.

Like with any rebuilding team, the focus is on what happens next – even if the definition of “next” doesn’t include the near future. In the Canadiens’ case, they’ve done an excellent job of accumulating draft picks and building a foundation they can work with long-term, especially with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield up front. The young kids are playing, especially on defense with Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj. Suzuki and Caufield are putting pucks in the back of the net and even Slafkovsky is starting to look more comfortable.

The Canadiens are like a car crash – it’s not great, but you can’t keep your eyes off it. And that’s because the Habs have enough young talent to keep you intrigued. After all, you know they’re doing everything they can. And when they’re finding personal success, it’s exciting. You want your future stars to keep developing, but you must focus on the bigger goal: landing Connor Bedard.

It’s not about the defensive systems or the line chemistry or the Corsi or the Fenwick or the dipsy doodles or the top six puck possession. There’s no need to nitpick the errors on the ice. The Habs are a bad team. It’s not worth fighting that. Embracing it, and building for the future, is the name of the game. Players will never agree to tank, especially those looking for new contracts. They want to showcase what they’re capable of every night. If they’re bad, they’re bad, but they won’t purposely start playing terribly for the sake of doing so. So when you’ve got players playing well, but the team isn’t good enough to actually pull off victories – thus helping you secure a better draft pick – it’s a good thing.

Looking at the team’s stats, Suzuki, Caufield and Kirby Dach sit 1-2-3 in scoring. Dach has been a huge piece of the team’s core since coming over from Chicago, where he struggled to find his groove. Of the three, Suzuki – the team’s captain – is 23. Guhle and Xhekaj, two of the club’s better defensemen, are 20 and 21, respectively. The fact the team sits 18th in the standings isn’t slowing these guys down, and that’s what matters.

Frankly, the Habs could afford to lose a bit more right now. They’re 5-4-1 in the past 10 games with a 10-9-1 record overall. They’re ahead of teams like St. Louis, Minnesota and Edmonton, tied with Calgary and just one point behind the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners from Florida. This is far better than anyone expected, but they’re still getting outscored and outplayed way too often to give you any illusions of on-ice stability.

When you’re in a rebuild, no matter the stage, it’s all about celebrating the little victories. Wins along the way are nice, and you don’t want to be a complete embarrassment. But when the focus is on the future, seeing those pieces you’re going to rely on finding success is precisely what you want to see.

So, Habs fans, take this season for what it is. The playoffs aren’t likely in the cards, and they shouldn’t be. Another high pick could do wonders for the Canadiens. There are still many questions to be answered, including who’ll tend the crease in the long run, but the team has a promising future. Montreal has a strong prospect crop, and the young core is improving.

Take the season for what it is. If you don’t try and microanalyze everything during a non-playoff year, you’ll have more fun.

The young stars are making the Montreal Canadiens fun, even if the results aren’t

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