Montreal Canadiens: 28 Years on, Looking Back on a Magical Playoff Run

I’ll be honest, it’s been difficult trying to put these past few months into words. Not just as an In Other News… post, as I have begun to do more frequently over the past while, and not just as a piece reflecting on the Montreal Canadiens weaknesses (if few) over the course of these Playoffs. Rather, it’s been difficult, merely as a writer, and true appreciator of the vast archives that make up hockey history as we know it today.

Typically, I try to abstain from taking a more personal perspective in my work, but as Cole Caufield lost control of the puck in the dying seconds of the third period, I found myself with a pervasive emotion that I wasn’t used to, nor expecting. Personal frustration, realizing all the more how much I truly wanted to see the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup.

Even as the team continued to march on and on over the course of these playoffs, from coming back from a 3-1 series deficit in Round 1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, to sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in Round 2, to pulling off the shock of all shocks in Round 3, upsetting the Vegas Golden Knights in six, all of it registered in mostly the same mindset. Even as I left my house prior to that Game 6, sporting a vintage Canadiens t-shirt my dad had purchased during their last Stanley Cup Run in 1993, even as I found myself cheering my lungs out in the confines of my friend’s duplex in Longueuil, it still hadn’t set in just how much of an impact these playoffs had had on me.

Yet, as Tampa Bay Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row, it all set in, and it made for an interesting night, to say the least. Needless to say, Montreal might’ve had their highest odds stacked against them in this Stanley Cup Finals series, and in spite of some solid performances here and there, they, unfortunately, played up to those odds.

While one could argue the Tampa Bay Lightning’s ‘cheating’ due to their manipulation of a flaw in the NHL’s salary cap (more so just a smart move from GM Julien Brisebois) gave them a distinct advantage, there were more aspects than just that over-inflated salary cap that contributed to this, and the same can be said for Montreal. In the end, it was merely a well-fought-out series from two very talented teams, who each had their own stories to tell regarding their Stanley Cup journey.

No one outside of the Canadiens players’ immediate family and friends could’ve predicted they’d go this far in these Playoffs, and yet more and more people found themselves latching onto this idea that this could be the year. As I mentioned earlier, the last time the Canadiens made it to the Stanley Cup Final was in 1993, which they ultimately won in a five-game series against the Los Angeles Kings.

28 years on from the last Canadian Stanley Cup Championship, there’s a lot to be excited, and proud of, even as the Montreal Canadiens fell short of it all.

Along with head coach Jacques Demers’s brilliant illegal-stick check on Marty McSorley, to the numerous clutch performances from the likes of Eric Desjardins, John LeClair, and Kirk Muller, to the countless OT winners, 1992-93 is widely seen as one of the greatest seasons in Canadiens history for a reason. Yet, as quickly as Guy Carbonneau and Denis Savard lifted Lord Stanley’s Mug over their head, a seemingly just as quick 28 years have gone by without a Canadian Stanley Cup Champion.

From the 2004 Calgary Flames, to the 1994 Vancouver Canucks, to the 2007 Ottawa Senators, to the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, to the 2011 Canucks and now, the 2021 Montreal Canadiens, this continuing drought has doubtless left a bad taste in the mouth of most Canadian hockey fans. In a first for the NHL this season, the league opted for an all-Canadian North Division due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which, like I had discussed last year, pointed out the numerous flaws that have prevented another Canadian Stanley Cup Champ. With the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators eliminated due to COVID-19 outbreaks, goaltending struggles, and a continually promising rebuild amongst other things, that left the Canadiens, Leafs, Jets, and Edmonton Oilers as the four teams left standing.

However, just like those who missed the Playoffs, they fell victim to their own faults, ones which Montreal exposed, and rode with to fall just 3 games shy of hockey’s ultimate prize. Toronto managed a commanding series lead at first, yet once more couldn’t get the job done, pointing out some of the obvious holes in their lineup that GM Kyle Dubas still seems hesitant to fix. Edmonton couldn’t answer the bell offensively with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl silenced by Winnipeg’s checking lines, and the Jets seemingly rolled over and gave the series to Montreal, just as Edmonton had given the series to them.

So, with the 2020-21 NHL season now concluded, all that’s left for Canadian hockey fans is to look to next year, just as the Tampa Bay Lightning and their numerous deserving players celebrate yet another Stanley Cup Victory. With a 24-21-11 record in the regular season, Montreal looked to be returning to their mediocre form whilst simultaneously drifting farther and farther away from the storied history this franchise is built on. Guy LaFleur coming rather gingerly down the right side, firing a slapshot past Boston Bruins goaltender Gilles Gilbert. Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard being given all three stars after a five-goal performance against the Leafs. Ken Dryden doing what he did best, shocking the Boston Bruins in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

The Montreal Canadiens are one of, if not the most storied franchise in the NHL for a reason, and as fans wondered where that history had gone, the ghosts of the Montreal Forum, prevalent in spite of its continually changing scenery, managed to help Montreal along time and time again over the course of this magical Playoff run. Caufield proving he was worth the first-round pick posting 12 points over 20 playoff games, Nick Suzuki proving his worth as the Habs future No. 1 center, Philip Danault continually shutting down opposing team’s top players time and time again, these Canadiens were everything and more, that they weren’t during the regular season.

While it ultimately came up short, I feel as though there’s nowhere to go but up, and above all else, no Canadiens fan should be hanging their head, or blaming this team for something that wasn’t even expected of them when these playoffs started.

From one Habs writer to another, from one Habs fan to another, and for all the legends, stories, and mythos that make up the Montreal Canadiens as we know them today, the 2020-21 season is yet another chapter in this seemingly never-ending story. To the 2020-21 Montreal Canadiens, folks, here’s to a great 2021-22.