It’s funny when you think about it, but 2022 was one of the most eventful years in Montreal Canadiens history—from the team careening towards last place in the NHL, to the massive overhaul in the front office and on the bench, to obtaining the first-overall pick in the draft for the first time since 1980 and coming out of the gate this past fall with a more entertaining product than anyone imagined we’d see.
It was crazy. You could even say it was exciting. And it certainly was eventful, but in a different way than ever before, especially since the words “eventful” and “Montreal Canadiens” have traditionally been coupled to describe some sort of gripping playoff run typically culminating with a Stanley Cup parade.
Meanwhile, Canadiens fans seem happy just the same without one for the time being. And while the team may be far off from enjoying the type of year that typically would’ve been classified throughout their history as “eventful” for more traditional reasons, that doesn’t mean there isn’t much for them to look forward to in 2023.
Here are five things we think Canadiens fans will be excited about over the coming year.
The Canadiens’ 2023 draft lottery odds improving
The Canadiens went into the Christmas break having slipped out of the playoff race on the heels of losing six of eight games and not winning any in regulation. They plummeted to 25th in the 32-team NHL and, according to this list, which is based purely on the current standings, they’re coming out of the break facing the second-hardest schedule from here to the end of the season.
The Canadiens may not fall to the bottom of the barrel, where the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks are all festering—all of them at least 10 points behind the Canadiens and in premium lottery positions—but when you consider that they haven’t even faced the league-leading Boston Bruins yet or played against a Carolina Hurricanes team that is in the midst of a franchise-best run of 14 games collecting at least one point in the standings, falling behind the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks for a place in the bottom-five of the NHL seems entirely achievable.
Factor in continued absences for veterans David Savard, Mike Matheson, Brendan Gallagher and Sean Monahan and expect general manager Kent Hughes to water down the talent and experience of the roster via trade between now and the deadline, and it seems entirely likely.
Will the Canadiens land Connor Bedard? We wouldn’t necessarily bet on that outcome.
But it seems far more possible now they’ll have at least an 8.5 per cent chance of doing so than it did at the end of October, or halfway through November, when Canadiens fans were excited about the product they were seeing on the ice but a little concerned about the wins taking them further from the premium talent near the top of this draft class.
Yes, this team going from bad of late to worse in the standings over the coming months and alleviating that concern is something to get excited about. And it would be a bonus if the entertainment value doesn’t dip quite as much as it did over the last three weeks.
The Florida Panthers giving the Canadiens more balls in the draw
If Canadiens fans were pleased with the return for rental defenceman Ben Chiarot at the 2022 trade deadline, they have to be over the moon about it right now.
Because the Panthers traded away their 2022 first-round pick to get Sam Reinhart they triggered the Canadiens receiving Florida’s unprotected 2023 first-rounder in that deal and, right now, they sit with the NHL’s 22nd-best record and are facing the fifth-hardest schedule from here to the end of the regular season.
Getting a 20-year-old prospect in Ty Smilanic and using the fourth-round pick that also came in the trade for Chiarot to select centre Cedrick Guindon, who currently has 38 points in 31 games with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack, could bear fruit for the Canadiens as well. But the possibility of the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners finishing closer to the bottom than the top of the league a year later and netting the Canadiens a second top-10 pick in this year’s draft makes a home run trade a grand slam for fans of the bleu-blanc-rouge. Especially considering that scouts and prognosticators from around the hockey world are suggesting that the top-10 this year is loaded with potential franchise players and others who could make an immediate impact on whichever teams they land with.
Can you imagine if, after giving up what they did to get Chiarot, getting swept in the second round of the playoffs and losing Chiarot to a divisional rival in free agency, the Panthers have to watch Canadiens fans rejoice over their 2023 pick landing Montreal Bedard?
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Again, we don’t think that’s likely. But just the possibility of it is really something to get excited about.
Cole Caufield chasing 50 goals
Prior to this season starting, we’re not sure how many Canadiens fans would’ve bet on Caufield getting to 50, even if he ended the last one with 22 goals in 37 games.
It was fresh in Canadiens’ fans minds that Caufield also started last season with one goal in his first 30 games. And they’re certainly aware that going from 23 to 50 is an astronomical leap, especially for a 21-year-old who entered the season with less than 100 games of NHL experience.
But Caufield has 19 in 34 games this season and is currently on pace for 46 over 82. Three goals over his next two games puts him right back on pace for 50—a pace he’s been on at different points through this campaign—and it’s not a stretch to believe he will score three goals over his next two games.
Even if Caufield doesn’t, and even if he falls short of 50 by season’s end, that he’s chasing such a big number is thrilling for an entire generation of Canadiens fans who have yet to see one of their players score close to as many.
The pick and prospect pool growing
If all the games Monahan has played with the Canadiens haven’t considerably upped his value since he was acquired along with a first-round pick from the Calgary Flames, all the games he’s missed have at least reinforced it.
The Canadiens are so clearly missing his ability to stabilize the centre line, his presence on the power play, his solid two-way play and his calm demeanor on the bench and in the room.
Teams that have been scouting them throughout the season have certainly noticed, and you can expect the ones hoping to make deep playoff runs will be willing to sacrifice a valuable piece of their future for what Monahan can offer them shortly after he returns from healing a broken foot.
Would one of them give up a 2023 first-round pick for Monahan, who has 17 points in 25 games? We’re skeptical.
But the Canadiens retaining half of Monahan’s prorated $6.3-million cap hit will only help them net a 2024 first-rounder or a lower pick and a quality prospect.
And there are other players Hughes can use to bring in more of those types of assets. Like Joel Edmundson, who’s still under contract for one more season and is sure to be in higher demand as the next two months of the season unfold.
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The maturation of prospects already in the system
Watching players develop in an organization finally properly developing players for the first time in over a decade is what Canadiens fans should be most excited about in 2023.
That several of them are already evolving on Montreal’s blue line, with Justin Barron coming up for the final games in 2022 after starting the season with as one of the highest point-producing defencemen in the AHL, should be considered the biggest key to the Canadiens advancing ahead of schedule in their rebuild.
What’s happening outside of Montreal, with the Canadiens having the most prospects currently participating in the world junior championship of any NHL team, is another big part of that. Fans will delight not only in watching Joshua Roy with Canada, Filip Mesar with Slovakia, Lane Hutson with the USA, Oliver Kapanen with Finland, Adam Engstrom with Sweden and Vincent Rohrer with Finland but also in seeing them complete what have been banner seasons in their respective leagues.
Owen Beck, who was drafted at the top of the second round of the 2022 draft before impressing at Canadiens camp, may have fallen short of making Team Canada but is having a sensational season in the OHL. With 10 goals and 20 points in 24 games, 2021 first-rounder Logan Mailloux is having a good one with the London Knights. Sean Farrell, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, is following up a tremendous freshman season at Harvard with an even better sophomore one and could end up with his first professional contract when it ends. And we’ll see if Jayden Struble signs his with the Canadiens once the senior’s season at Northeastern wraps.
Riley Kidney, Luke Tuch, Jakub Dobes and Emil Heineman are other Canadiens prospects to keep an eye on, with each of them flashing different skills that could make the bright future of the team come about faster.
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