MONTREAL – All eyes (wearing proper protection, of course) will be pointed at the moon and sun from southern parts of the Island of Montreal on Monday, but the city’s stars have also earned a look of late. Hockey stars, that is.
In honor of the rare Apr. 8 total solar eclipse that’s due to cast its shadow over Montreal for the first time since 1932 as of 3:26:55 p.m., here’s a look at some of the Canadiens players who have likewise overshadowed previous personal and team bests during the 2023-24 season.
So, hang on to those solar eclipse glasses well beyond Monday’s celestial dance, because as you’ll see below, the future on the ice looks bright in Montreal.
Juraj Slafkovsky
As far as rare occurrences go, it’s the Hab who’s had the shortest wait for Monday’s event – by virtue of his young age – who outshone the longest-standing mark on this list. Juraj Slafkovsky eclipsed the team record for most points by a teenager in a single season just days shy of becoming ineligible for the honor on his 20th birthday. On Mar. 26 in Colorado, the then 19-year-old registered an assist on Nick Suzuki’s goal to record his 40th point of the season and best the previous mark (39) set by a teenage Mario Tremblay in 1974-75. En route to the franchise record Slafkovsky also became the first teenager in team history to go on a nine-game point streak (Mar. 9 to Mar. 28), while on a personal note he enjoyed his first career three-point outing against Anaheim on Feb. 13.
Nick Suzuki
It’s been a career year for Suzuki by all accounts, who has already established personal bests in goals (33), assists (41), points (74), power play goals (12), and power play points (31) with five games to spare in the 2023-24 regular season. The 30-goal and 70-point marks were firsts for the Canadiens captain, who also became the third Hab to hit the former before age 25 in the last three decades, joining Alex Galchenyuk (30 in 2015-16) and Max Pacioretty (33 in 2011-12) in that category. Now in his third consecutive campaign with 20-plus goals and 40-plus assists, Suzuki is the first player to achieve the feat since Mark Recchi did so from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Unlike eclipse totality, which is expected to last a mere 77 seconds above Montreal, it’s safe to say Suzuki will be impressive to watch for a very long time.
Cole Caufield
Speaking of impressive to watch, ditto for Cole Caufield’s progression as a complete NHLer. While on pace to suit up for all 82 games for the first time in his career, the 23-year-old reached the 50-point plateau for the first time on the strength of personal bests in assists (35), power play goals (8) and game-winning goals (7).
Mike Matheson
Another Hab to make it 50-plus points for the first time this season is Mike Matheson, who also becomes the first Canadiens defenseman to do so since P.K. Subban’s 51-point campaign in 2015-16. Entering the final full week of the regular season, Matheson ranks ninth among the NHL’s defensemen in assists (47) and rounds out the list of the League’s top 10 blue-liners in points (57).
Cayden Primeau
No stranger to protective eyewear, the Habs’ masked man, Cayden Primeau, registered his first career shutout on Feb. 13 against Anaheim, then followed it up with a second clean sheet on Mar. 12 against Columbus. In stopping all 41 shots he faced versus the Blue Jackets, Primeau established a new franchise record for most saves by a rookie in a shutout win.
Honorable mentions
As of Monday, Joel Armia is seeing a partial eclipse of his personal best 16 goals in a single season. The Finnish forward needs one more tally in the team's final five games to set a new career high in that department. Also not quite there yet but on the path toward totality is Alex Newhook, who is producing a career best 0.60 points-per-game. Currently sitting on 30 points, Newhook is four shy of calling the 2023-24 season the most productive campaign of his five-year NHL tenure.
