Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise, and an entire league, for that matter. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word on Hockey’s Summer Series looks at these defining moments. Today, we feature the biggest defining moments of the Montreal Canadiens in recent times.
The Montreal Canadiens have a long and storied history, as alluded to in our earlier Summer Series article, which takes a look back in the history of the Montreal Canadiens. Moments like the Maurice Richard suspension, and subsequent riot, and the trading away of Patrick Roy have shaped this franchise. However, today we are looking into the more recent history of the franchise. Let’s take a look at the moments that have shaped the new era of Montreal Canadiens hockey.
Montreal Canadiens Defining Moment: Landing the First-Overall Pick
After their 2021 Stanley Cup Final run, the Montreal Canadiens were in tough. The run took a toll on superstar veterans Carey Price and Shea Weber. The two were forced into an early retirement the following season (Price still never has officially announced his retirement but hasn’t played since 2022). As a result, the Canadiens had a rough 2021-22 campaign finishing in the basement of the league. This gave them the best odds at the first-overall pick in the NHL Draft.
As luck would have it, the ping pong balls fell the Habs’ way. They earned the right to select first in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, centre Shane Wright was the consensus number-one selection. However, Montreal ultimately passed on him, opting to instead, draft Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky first overall. The move stunned the Montreal faithful at the draft, which was coincidentally held in Montreal. However, it has paid dividends for Montreal as Slafkovsky is coming off back-to-back seasons of 50+ points and looks to be blossoming into the dominant power forward the Canadiens lacked. Slafkovsky has been the most productive player in his draft class up to this point. Selecting him not only has proven to be the right move for Montreal. But more importantly, it was the first stepping stone in a rebuild that has been a resounding success, just some three years later.
The Aftermath
The Juraj Slafkovsky selection was just the tip of the iceberg for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens in their rebuild. The Canadiens have turned a bare prospect cupboard into an abundance of young top-end talent that is one of the league’s best young cores, positioning them well for the future.
Montreal already had young players like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kaiden Guhle when Hughes took the helm. Slafkovsky was the first piece added to this core, but Hughes wasted no time adding more young talent. At the 2022 draft, he would also make two massive trades which ultimately landed the Canadiens former third-overall pick, Kirby Dach, while they parted ways with defenceman Alexander Romanov. More importantly, they stole defenceman Lane Hutson in the third round of the same draft. Hutson has quickly become a superstar defenseman after winning the Calder trophy and breaking records this past season.
The Canadiens continued to struggle in the two seasons that followed. However, this put them in a position to select fifth overall in back-to-back drafts. They would use these picks to take defenceman David Reinbacher in 2023 and Russian super-prospect Ivan Demidov in 2024. Montreal would also select Michael Hage at 21st overall in the 2024 draft.
Present Day
Fast forward to the present day, and the Canadiens are exiting their rebuild after qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2021. Now-captain, Nick Suzuki has steered the ship, becoming the first Canadiens player to hit 80 points in over a decade. Caufield has blossomed into an elite goal scorer, while Slafkovsky is coming into his own and has given Montreal a dominant top line. Lane Hutson’s emergence was also one of the biggest reasons for Montreal’s success this season. Ivan Demidov made an immediate impact for Montreal in his NHL debut against the Blackhawks, notching a goal and an assist. He looks to be the second Canadiens Calder winner in as many seasons. Demidov, Hage, and Reinbacher are the next wave of prospects looking to make an impact at the NHL level and be a part of this exciting core.
Montreal’s success has allowed Hughes to be aggressive this offseason. The Canadiens held the 16th and 17th overall selections in this year’s draft, respectively. Rather than add to their already deep prospect pool, Hughes opted to swap those picks as well as Emil Heineman for defenceman Noah Dobson. Dobson is one of the league’s premier defencemen and already has a 70-point season under his belt at 25 years old. Then on the opening day of free agency they swapped prospect Logan Mailloux for rookie Zachary Bolduc who had 19 goals in his rookie year for the Blues.
Montreal has assembled one of the NHL’s best young cores. After only three years of the rebuild, they were able to qualify for the postseason. Now with their new additions, Montreal hopes to officially exit their rebuild and vault itself into contention.
Honourable Mentions for Montreal Canadiens Defining Moment
Hiring of Kent Hughes
Kent Hughes has been pegged as a saviour for the Montreal Canadiens. Their newest general manager took over for Marc Bergevin in early 2022. Bergevin helped the Canadiens to several deep playoff runs, but could never assemble the talent to support all-world goaltender Carey Price and get them over the hump. Hughes officially sent the Habs into a much-needed rebuild and has made a significant roster overhaul in only three-and-a-half years. Montreal fans should be excited about the state of their team, and Hughes is in large part to thank.
Artturi Lehkonen’s Historic Goal
When fans think of the last decade of Montreal Canadiens, they often look back fondly on Artturi Lehkonen’s iconic goal. With the Canadiens leading 3-2 in the Conference finals against the Golden Knights in 2021, Vegas would tie the game late in the third, sending Game 6 into overtime. This opened the door for Lehkonen to become Montreal’s saviour. He buried a pass from Phillip Danault and sent the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. Despite Montreal ultimately coming up short, fans of the Canadiens will always remember where they were on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day when Lehkonen and the Canadiens shocked the hockey world.
Drafting Carey Price
Back in 2005, the Montreal Canadiens held the fifth-overall selection in the draft. They took B.C native goaltender Carey Price. This decision ultimately shifted the dynamic of their franchise for the next two decades. Price became the Canadiens’ starter for the better part of a decade. The future Hall of Famer was considered the best goalie in the world at the height of his career. His 2015 campaign, which he cleaned up at the NHL Awards, will always be remembered. Carey Price became a legend in Montreal, and the trajectory of the Canadiens could have looked much different had they not taken Price in the draft 20 years ago. Goalies can have a lasting impact on a franchise and much like the loss of Patrick Roy, Price’s career-ending injury would change the outlook of the team and thrust them into the rebuild that we see today.
Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
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