Turning promise into performance

MONTREAL – Everything in life has an expiry date. Patience is one of them.

However, it’s important to remember that patience is one of the most critical ingredients in a rebuild. Sacrificing the future of the team for immediate results often leads back to square one. Trusting the process, however, is the recipe for sustained success.

For three years, the Montreal faithful has trusted said process, and Kent Hughes has exercised that same level of patience in his reconstruction of the team. With the Canadiens management staying the course, this could be the year where patience and promise turn into performance.

Naturally, after an offseason of excitement, expectations are climbing. The group’s core is a year older, the emerging young stars have an extra season of experience under their belt, the majority of the team’s veterans are back, and a healthy Kirby Dach will return to the lineup after missing nearly the entire 2023-24 campaign with a knee injury. Oh, and did we mention Patrik Laine? Again, that’ll take patience. More on him below.

Not shying away from those hefty expectations, players and management at the team's annual golf tournament in September repeatedly used the term 'in the mix' to define their realistic goal for this season.

Here’s how they could line up to get there:

There is no offseason in the life of a general manager. Hughes proved that true when, in the immediate aftermath of the season, he announced the team had chosen to exercise the two-year option on head coach Martin St-Louis’ contract, locking in the Canadiens bench boss through the 2026-27 season.

Extending St-Louis’ contract reinforces the belief the organization has in the Hall-of-Famer and fortifies continuity in what he’s trying to build. The culture in the locker room starts at the top, and if one thing is clear, the players are buying what St-Louis is selling.

“Every year you’ve got to keep convincing. Next year, maybe we’ll have to change our product a little bit,” explained the head coach who's entering his third full season at the helm of the Canadiens. “It’s like, ‘Why do you have an iPhone 14 or 15? Why don’t you still have an iPhone 8?’ Because there’s something better. The software improves. So, for me, it’s constantly trying to improve the software, so to speak, and trying to sell that.”

Like any savvy salesman knows, the product must continuously evolve to keep the customers coming back. In hockey, the same holds true—especially between the pipes where the stakes are always high.

Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau are tasked with that responsibility heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. The Canadiens’ tandem in the blue paint each posted career highs in games played and save percentage last year, in what was Montembeault’s first go at the No. 1 job and Primeau’s inaugural campaign as a full-time goalie in the National Hockey League.

That being said, Montembeault and Primeau are far from finished products; they’re just getting started, and this year, the Habs goaltending duo will look to keep the bus moving forward in their respective developments.

The next stop is the blue line, where youth meets experience—and a bit of congestion, too. Jordan Harris and Johnathan Kovacevic’s departures this summer (both via trade) created space on the back end, but the bottleneck on the Canadiens’ depth chart remains. The good news is it’s jammed with numerous worthy candidates; the bad news is only seven spots are available.

To start the season, Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, David Savard, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj will account for six of those seven spots. The other: Lane Hutson, who was a standout at Canadiens Training Camp. The 20-year-old has Habs fans buzzing about his potential and, rightfully so, has earned his chance to showcase his talents at the NHL level right from puck drop on Wednesday.

While Montreal’s defense is decided for October 9, don’t overlook high-end prospects like Adam Engström, Logan Mailloux and William Trudeau, who are all knocking at the door of the big club.

With several new names vying to make their mark on the Canadiens’ defense, Habs fans can expect some very healthy competition on the blue line as the season plays out.

Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský and Nick Suzuki are expected to be the beating heart of Montreal’s forward group once more. The trio, aged 23, 20 and 25, respectively, led the charge offensively for the bleu-blanc-rouge last year, each hitting career highs in points. Caufield tallied 65, Slafkovský produced 50 and Suzuki led the way with 77—all over a full 82-game slate.

With the new season approaching, the Canadiens will undoubtedly lean on their young stars to drive the offense again.

As Montreal’s core continues to blossom, patience is of the essence with Patrik Laine. The eight-year NHL veteran has all the potential to bring a new dynamic to the Canadiens’ offensive arsenal, but the former 44-goal scorer will not be on the ice with his teammates once the puck drops on the regular season after sustaining a sprain to his left knee during the preseason.

Luckily for Laine and the Habs, surgery is not required; his rehabilitation period is set to last between two to three months. Acquired from Columbus this summer, the 2016 second-overall pick will look to rediscover his form in what he calls the “biggest hockey market there is” once he’s ready to play again.

While Laine will hopefully benefit from a fresh start in Montreal down the line, Dach is hoping to pick up from where he left off in 2022-23, when he set career bests in goals (14), assists (24) and points (38). The forward is back—and more importantly, healthy—after missing most of last season recovering from a torn knee ligament. Two years removed from a breakout season in his first audition with the Habs, and still just 23, Dach is primed to play a crucial role down the middle for the Canadiens in the upcoming campaign.

Alex Newhook will be looking to solidify a spot in St-Louis’ top six. Newhook, 23, put up a career-best 34 points in a 2023-24 calendar that was hampered by injury.

While Montreal’s lineup is front-loaded with youth, expect the veterans to take on key roles throughout. Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher will continue to serve as a guiding light for the team’s younger players, like Emil Heineman (22) and Oliver Kapanen (21), both looking to prove they belong in the NHL after making the Canadiens out of training camp.

Lastly, Alex Barré-Boulet, Michael Pezzetta and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who is slated to start the season on the injured reserve, will continue bringing needed depth to the lineup, with a proven track record of productive minutes offensively and elite defending on the penalty kill.

With October under full swing, anticipation continues to build toward opening night. And when the puck drops on Oct. 9, the Canadiens and their fans hope to see past the regular season’s expiry date for the first time since 2021. Until then, there’s only one thing left to endure.

Patience.