ESPOO, Finland – When Cole Eiserman got off the plane in Helsinki earlier this month, he had one goal on his mind: winning gold for the second year in a row at the U-18 World Championship.
Now that the Montreal Canadiens have completed their second complete rebuild season, it’s time to take a closer look at where the organization stands in terms of its long-term plans.
Mike Matheson scored 62 points for the Canadiens this season. It’s a season worthy of the Canadiens’ greatest defensemen of the past few decades, let’s face it.
Two years ago (2021-2022), the Canadiens recalled just about everyone they could for the holiday season. Remember when COVID-19 hit Dominique Ducharme’s club?
At the next camp, the Habs will have a lot of center players fighting for a spot. Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Jake Evans and Christian Dvorak, barring a change of plan (injury, transaction, etc.), are sure to make Martin St-Louis’ club.
Now that the Montreal Canadiens have completed their second complete rebuild season, it’s time to take a closer look at where the organization stands in terms of its long-term plans.
Samuel Montembeault is coming off an eventful season. Initially part of a three-man rotation, his role grew after the deal that sent Jake Allen to the Devils.
Mike Matheson’s value is high. The reason is simple: he’s in his prime, he just finished 9th in scoring among defensemen this season… And he earns a salary of $4.875 million a year, making him a bargain for a number-one defenseman on a National League team.
Kent Hughes has a plan for the summer, and it’s no secret. The Habs GM would like to add a scorer to his line-up, a guy who can produce offensively and who will play on the top-9 in Martin St-Louis’ line-up.
Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher impressively turned back the clock to end 2023-24 with a strong finish to the season. Unfortunately you can only fight time for so long.
If the Canadiens don’t have a great team on the ice, they do have a great team to follow in the off-season. After all, you’d think the Habs would be looking for a forward.
Defensively, the Habs won’t have much salary negotiation to do with players for the 2024-2025 season. Mike Matheson, David Savard, Jordan Harris, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Johnathan Kovacevic, David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux, Jayden Struble and William Trudeau are already under contract.
Carey Price, Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher played together for a long time in Montreal. The three guys have become friends off the ice, and that’s cool because they’ve each had their part to play in the team’s success over the past 10 years.
Following the conclusion of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, rebuilding and other non-playoff teams have begun to look towards the future — the draft, free agency, or simply following the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Cayden Lindstrom seems to really like the Montreal market. Backin February, he said he loved the “craziness” of the fans in town… And with just over two months to go before the draft, he’s back at it again, saying he wants to play in an environment like Montreal.
The Montreal Canadiens have a few clear-cut targets for their first pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, but few would be as good a fit as Cayden Lindstrom. When
Would you like a laugh? According to Olivier Primeau, who is increasingly involved in the world of sports betting, Carey Price didn’t have a big series in 2021, the year of the final.
The Jean-François Houle issue is the talk of Laval. Will the coach, whose contract expires in the next few weeks, be back with the Habs’ club-school or not?
I don’t know when the rumours of Trevor Zegras in Montreal will die down, but right now, it’s one of the most talked-about rumours in Montreal. Some are for a potential arrival, some are against.
As the 2023-24 NHL season has ended and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun, non-playoff teams can start to look towards the future, such as the draft, free agency, and the following season.
The veteran defenseman is hanging up his skates.
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