With the way the Montreal Canadiens’ roster is set up, most fans would argue that the team is not a contender. In fact, many have concluded that they’re not even close.
But after two consecutive seasons of finishing towards the bottom of the NHL standings, it’s safe to say that this Canadiens team is bound to show some improvement over the upcoming campaign.
With new additions on the ice and behind the bench, we foresee a substantial improvement all around. Don’t believe us?
Here are five reasons why the Habs are bound to be better than they’ve been in a while.
One year older
With youngsters like Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Kirby Dach leading the pack, Montreal is a team bursting with youth and energy.
In fact, According to CapFriendly, the Habs’ projected 23-man roster should have a median age of 25.9 to start the year, making them the third-youngest team in the league.
But with most of those fresh faces being forced to take on big minutes last season, the Canadiens are more mature than they were a year ago. Sure, we’re bound to see more costly mistakes from their young blue line and forward group, but they have NHL experience on their side now, which counts for a lot.
Fewer questions between the pipes
Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen may have split the Montreal crease down the middle last season.
But after Montembeault finished the year with slightly better stats than his veteran counterpart, he went on to help lead Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in May with a stellar tournament performance.
As of now, all signs point to him taking on more of a starter role. If he can handle the pressure, the team will have fewer questions to answer in goal, allowing them to focus more on other areas.
And if he can’t, Allen has proven dependable in the past, taking over after Carey Price’s job on multiple occasions.
New medical team
While medical trainers can’t ensure that guys stay healthy, they should be able to supply them with the proper timeframe and rehab needed to get them back to full capacity.
As Montreal’s general manager Kent Hughes recently admitted, that was not the case last year, with many players being rushed back to action prematurely.
āI think we learned last year, sometimes we have a timeline, and that timeline doesnāt always hit,” Hughes told reporters during training camp. “What we might think is six weeks could be eight weeks.ā
For example, key pieces like Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach, and Brendan Gallagher missed a good chunk of the 2022-23 campaign.
Now, the Habs have made significant changes to their medical staff over the offseason in the hopes of keeping their top players healthy throughout the year.