Canadiens: 2022 Draft Has Chance To Turn Page On History Of Mistakes

In spite of finishing 32nd, the Canadiens now have a chance at Kingston Frontenacs star Shane Wright after winning the first overall pick in the 2022 Draft lottery, bringing back both good, bad, worse, and even worse memories of the team’s previous misfortunes when it comes to player scouting and development. As I said, when looking at the Canadiens dynasties of old one can admittedly be spoiled with what was a largely fruitful, carefree, and unbelievably exciting time for hockey fans in Montreal, yet when comparing it to the current NHL, much of this success stems from well, simply the way the NHL was back then.

In the 70s, the Canadiens benefited from an NHL draft that wasn’t anywhere near as intricate, thought out, or important as it is nowadays, while in the 50s, GM Frank Selke, head coach Toe Blake and crew had a local talent pool that was undoubtedly stacked at their disposal, with the likes of Elmer Lach, Maurice Richard, Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Bernie Geoffrion, Butch Bouchard, etc. etc. the list goes on. Selke and GM Sam Pollock were simply masterminds of their time and used this to build dynasties that exploited the flaws that leagues like the NHL experienced in what were, in many ways, still formative years, with expansion teams coming and going often.

At the end of the teams last dynasty following the 1978-79 season, Montreal took a more depth-oriented approach based around a two-goalie system of Denis Herron and Richard Sevigny and drafted top scorers in Mark Napier and Keith Acton to keep the team competitive, just not necessarily in the postseason. Then, things inevitably started turning downhill. While the Habs still managed the occasional solid pick or draft steal here and there (grabbing Acton in the sixth round, enforcer Chris Nilan in the 19th, Mats Naslund in the second, Guy Carbonneau in the fourth, etc.) there were still some signs that things weren’t going to be as simple as they once were.

Dan Geoffrion managed little but one solid season with the expansion Winnipeg Jets after being taken 8th overall by the Habs in 1978, in spite of being the son of a Canadiens legend in his father Bernie. Alain Heroux played just one half of a professional season after being taken 19th in 1982. Alfie Turcotte, Mark Pederson and Jose Charbonneau became little but occasional role players whilst being taken 17th, 15th and 12th overall in 1983, 1985 and 1986 respectively, and Doug Wickenheiser was the whiff of all whiffs first overall in 1980, struggling to stand out on a stacked Canadiens roster.

However, with the acquisition of players like Vincent Damphousse, Kirk Muller, Brian Bellows, as well as the franchise altering selection of Patrick Roy in the third round of the 1984 Draft, the Canadiens managed to stymy most of it and still came out with two more Stanley Cups off surprising Cinderella runs in 1986 and 1993, as well as a Cup Finals appearance in 1989.

With the 2022 Draft fast approaching, the Montreal Canadiens finally have a chance to turn the page on a history of previous draft blunders.

So, naturally, this should’ve been seen as an opportunity for Montreal to keep building for the future going into the mid-90s and beyond. Well, things didn’t exactly go that way, and when I say they didn’t go that way, they really, really didn’t go that way. To say I’m familiar with this bizarre and unbelievably depressing era in the Canadiens history would be a gross understatement, but in spite of it all, it does make the potential outcome of this upcoming draft all the more enticing. While I had previously mentioned the likes of Geoffrion, Turcotte, and Heroux in the 80s, Montreal at least managed a few solid selections here and there, capped off by a 1987 Draft that saw them pick up Andrew Cassels, John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, and Mathieu Schneider, the latter three of which were crucial to Montreal’s cup run in 1993.

Then, the 1988 Draft happened, and everything since then has been everything most current Canadiens fans are accustomed to and familiar with. Between 1988 and 2001, Montreal selected just one player in the first round who would play a key and consistent role for the team, with 21st pick in 1993 Saku Koivu becoming the face of the Canadiens franchise during one of the team’s most dismal eras, much of which was compounded by well, the draft.

Eric Charron, Lindsay Vallis, Turner Stevenson, Brent Bilodeau, David Wilkie, Brad Brown, Terry Ryan, Matt Higgins, Jason Ward, and Eric Chouinard. All of these players were taken in the first round by the Canadiens during this period, and excluding Stevenson, Brown, and Ward (who found occasional bottom six and depth roles) the most NHL games any of these guys played was Wilkie with 167, with none serving anything beyond a bottom six role.

While things did pick up in bits and pieces over the following years, with guys like Chris Higgins, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Mike Komisarek, Carey Price, P.K Subban, and Max Pacioretty were in many ways Montreal’s definitive picks, being taken fifth, 43rd, and 22nd overall by the team in 2005 and 2007 respectively. Whilst Price went on to be one of the more decorated and beloved tenders in Canadiens history, it wasn’t without some asterisks, and the same unfortunately, can be said for the rest of Montreal’s drafting from this time.

While all these players would serve regular shifts for the Habs and emerge as consistent offensive and defensive contributors, Montreal still struggled to become a legitimate cup contender besides a two-year period from 2013-14 to the middle half of the 2015-16 season, where the team hit a downward spiral that hasn’t really stopped since. You can argue all you want about Price’s accolades and occasional dominant seasons, ditto Subban, yet whilst Pacioretty eventually netted the Habs their future franchise center in Nick Suzuki, Price and Subban left with little to show except injuries, inconsistencies, and a player who simply didn’t want to be here in Shea Weber.

Consider that Anze Kopitar went after Price and won the Kings’ two Stanley Cups (and that Montreal already had Cristobal Huet and Jaroslav Halak in their system) and in spite of everything, Montreal’s drafting continued to bog them down in spite of the occasional solid and even great pick, though that’s a topic for another day.

At the moment, all that matters is that the Canadiens have young promising talent once again, punctuated only further by the potential of acquiring a player like Wright, who, whilst not game breaking, does predict to be a regular top-six contributor and possibly more. Couple that with the presence of Kaiden Guhle, Justin Barron, and Alexander Romanov as the future of the backend, and well, the Habs future now seems a bit brighter.

In spite of all the Canadiens draft blunders over the past decades, it seems as though the lowest of lows in 2021-22 has a chance to net them potentially the highest of highs for the foreseeable future. While it’s been without its hiccups, it looks as though Montreal’s continued draft “process”, might finally be working out.

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