As the Montreal Canadiens gear up for the 2023-2024 season, fans are eagerly anticipating the fresh start that comes with it.
After two injury-riddled seasons of finishing in the basement of the NHL standings, and a roster full of young talent with a couple of new additions, things are all up from here.
We may still be in the midst of a busy offseason, but it’s never too early to start speculating.
Here are five bold predictions we have for the Habs next season.
They will miss the playoffs, but not by much
After two years of rebuilding and drafting in the top five, the Canadiens are finally ready to start being competitive again. That means putting their best foot forward every night.
With that said, they find themselves in a dominant Atlantic Division that features talented teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Boston Bruins. With company like that, it’s unlikely Montreal gets into the postseason, but they will not finish at the very bottom of the league yet again.
Instead, we anticipate them closing out the year between fifth and sixth place in their division.
Caufield scores 40
While a shoulder injury derailed him last season, forward Cole Caufield was already on pace to break the 40-goal barrier after scoring 26 goals in 46 games.
And despite missing the remaining 36 games, the 22-year-old still finished the year at the top of Montreal’s scoring leaderboard.
If the young sniper, who recently signed a long-term contract extension, can remain healthy, there’s no reason for him not to surpass 40 goals this year, especially if he continues to be paired with Nick Suzuki.
Montembeault becomes the starter
Goalies Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen split the crease pretty evenly last season, playing 40 and 42 games respectively.
Ultimately, Montembeault concluded his campaign with slightly better numbers in the SV% and GAA columns.
After the season ended, the 26-year-old answered the call to represent Canada at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. A handful of brilliant performances from the BĂ©cancour native on the international stage helped Canada beat out the competition and win a gold medal.
Montembeault may have been picked up by the Canadiens after being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers in 2021, but he’s quickly evolved into someone who can step up in big moments.
Slafkovsky has a breakout year
After being selected first overall at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, some Habs fans were expecting Juraj Slafkovsky to dominate right out of the gate.
That was not the case. Instead, the Slovakian forward seemed to struggle to find his footing in the NHL, netting four goals and 10 points over 39 games with Montreal last season. As his production dwindled, there were talks of sending him down to the Laval Rocket, but a lower-body injury ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Many have been quick to call Slafkovsky a bust, but he still possesses all the tools to be an elite force on one of Montreal’s top two lines.
We predict him bouncing back this year and scoring between 20 and 25 goals.
Matheson gets the “A”
With the departure of Joel Edmundson, the Canadiens lost a veteran blueliner and an assistant captain.
Fellow defenceman Michael Matheson is a strong candidate to inherit the letter. He may only have one Habs season under his belt, but the Montreal native has already shown leadership qualities.
The 29-year-old actually wore an “A” on his sweater during a preseason game last fall. He followed that up with an eight-goal, 34-point season, leading Montreal’s defencemen in scoring.
Throughout the year, Matheson has also made an effort to communicate with fans in both French and English, even taking to the microphone to thank them after the last home game of the year.
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