Canadiens: Reasons we are happy season is over

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The Montreal Canadiens season ended with quite a bang on Friday night.

The Habs were in front of their Bell Centre fans for the final time this year and they put on quite a show against the best team in the league.

Well, it wasn’t exactly the best team in the league that they were facing. The Florida Panthers are the President’s Trophy winning team in the NHL, but knowing that before Friday night’s contest they chose to rest almost all of their regulars. Even Anton Lundell and Gustav Forsling who dressed for the game, didn’t play at all and just stayed in the dressing room after the second period.

So, the Canadiens 10-2 win was a fun way to end a bad season, but it wasn’t that surprising that they were able to pile up goals against the Panthers minor league squad and Jonas Johansson who is the team’s third string goaltender.

It was a nice sendoff for the fans who were in attendance and showed up to cheer the team on as much as they could this season. We all knew since November that the playoffs were out of the question, but the team had a bit of a rebirth under Martin St. Louis. At least for a little while.

Eventually, the team suffered through a nine game losing streak with St. Louis behind the bench, but they closed out the season on a nice note with consecutive wins.

It was a long and gruelling season at times for fans, so there are reasons that we are happy it is finally over.

May 8, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Joel Edmundson. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

They were awful

There is no way to spin the Habs 2021-22 season as anything other than a failure and a disappointment.

Sure, there were extenuating circumstances like a number one defender that is still under contract but will never play again. A star stating goaltender who missed all but five games and finally collected his first win of the season in Game 82. Covid outbreaks, a crazy number of injuries and ineffective play from previously reliable veterans.

But the reality is that the team was not supposed to be anywhere near this bad. They played in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, but realistic fans knew they were in for a battle this season with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning all in the same division.

What was not expected was the lack of battle shown from the Habs. It became a bit of a joke in the middle of the season about how long the Habs could keep a game at 0-0. It usually wasn’t very long. Their lack of defensive structure and absence of offence in the first 45 games was hard to watch.

Seeing Cayden Primeau, Jake Allen and Sam Montembault get peppered with 45-50 shots per night and unable to steal games was not the most satisfying way to spend an evening.

There was a glimmer of hope after Martin St. Louis was hired, but even with him behind the bench, the team struggled through a nine game losing streak late in the season. That was a little easier to watch because we knew the end was near.

It finally arrived on Friday night and like when a beloved family pet is mercifully put down, there was some relief among Habs fans that we wouldn’t need to see this team suffer any longer.

SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY – JULY 23: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Focus shifts to NHL Draft

Now, the focus shifts to the fun stuff. The possibilities at the NHL Draft are almost endless for the Canadiens team.

The former management team started to pile up draft picks year ago and the Canadiens could be busier than ever at the 2022 NHL Draft. They currently hold 14 picks in the seven round event, including two picks in the first round, two in the second round, three picks in the third round and three fourth round picks as well.

That is ten of the first 128 picks of the draft belonging to the Canadiens.

Before we get there, we need to find out how early the first pick of the Canadiens will be. Thanks to their awful season, they have the best chance of landing the first overall pick and the right to add Shane Wright to the organization. Still, there’s only a 25.5% chance of that happening while there is a 18.8% chance they fall to second overall and a 55.7% chance that they fall to third overall.

The excitement around the NHL Draft Lottery on May 10th will be extremely high in the city of Montreal.

Oh, and did I mention that the NHL Draft is being held in Montreal on July 7th – 8th? The Habs could have the first overall pick and already hold 14 selections to a draft that will be held inside the Bell Centre. The amount of anticipation and excitement around the NHL Draft this season will be at an all-time high for Canadiens fans.

MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 19: Newly appointed general manager of the Montreal Canadiens Kent Hughes. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Crazy offseason has now begun

Forget the NHL Draft, the rest of the offseason is going to be even more busy and crazy than the draft. In fact, but the end of this wild offseason, the draft itself might just be an enormous sidenote.

The first thing to take care of is signing a head coach for next season. It certainly sounds like Martin St. Louis will stick around behind the bench, but nothing is finalized yet. There is mutual interest in getting a contract signed so it is likely to happen, but it will be big news when it occurs.

Then there is all the health situations to keep tabs on. Will Carey Price be back and healthy next season? If not, has he already played his last game in the NHL? That’s a fascinating storyline that is sure to take much of the summer to decide.

Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher, Jonathan Drouin, and Joel Armia were out of the lineup at the end of the season? Will they be ready to go at training camp? And which ones will still be on the team by training camp?

Jeff Petry wanted out of Montreal this season but didn’t get his wish at the trade deadline. His name is sure to be prominently in trade rumours in the offseason. Mike Hoffman and Armia trades would open up lots of cap space so general manager Kent Hughes is sure to try and find takers for them, but will be he successful?

How busy will the Canadiens be in free agency? There have been dots being connected between Montreal and Patrice Bergeron as well as Kris Letang since their former agent, Hughes, took over as the Habs general manager. Will one of those prominent, Montreal area stars sign with their hometown team?

There are a lot of questions to be answered in Montreal this offseason. Can they clear cap space and sign high priced veterans to go for it now? Will Price, Letang AND Bergeron be playing here in October? Or none of them? Will the Canadiens be contenders again, or contenders for drafting first overall once again?

The hirings, trades, signing and draft picks are always a big story of the NHL offseason. But the Montreal Canadiens appear like they are going to be big players in all facets of the offseason.

While we won’t have games to watch in the coming months, there are plenty of reasons to be happy the games on the ice are over so that the games off the ice can really begin.

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