A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Positional Grades – Forwards

By Ryan Praught

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 15: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate the game winning goal by Cole Caufield #22 (R) against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on January 15, 2023 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 15: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate the game winning goal by Cole Caufield #22 (R) against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on January 15, 2023 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

So far, in our attempts to recap the Canadiens 2022-23 season here on A Winning Habit, we’ve handed out positional grades to the goaltenders and defensemen. Now, we will conclude this mini-series by evaluating the forwards. You can read the first two editions here:

As far as what might’ve been expected from the positional groups, I think it’s fair to say the forward core had the highest expectations. After all, they had a nice mix of young talent and veterans who could contribute as well. I don’t think anyone expected them to put up incredible numbers, but there was hope they could take a significant step forward. What we got was a mixed bag.

Canadiens celebrate an overtime win
MONTREAL, CANADA – JANUARY 21: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate an overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Centre Bell on January 21, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

When handing out a grade, we don’t just look at the numbers, compare them to the rest of the league and grade the group on that. We need more context. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair. For instance, the Canadiens are a rebuilding squad, so their forward core wasn’t deemed all that great coming into the season. That and many injuries can help explain poor numbers. It doesn’t necessarily excuse them, but it does at least allow us to better understand how we got there. That’s why the other two positional groups had relatively favourable grades despite numbers that are… not stellar.

So with that in mind, let’s look at the forwards. I’ve broken them into three groups. First is the tweeners, the players who didn’t really have much of a role before the season began and may not moving forward. Second, are the Underachievers, the guys who didn’t show up much and performed poorly based on expectations as well as salary. And lastly, we have the studs, the players who performed really well and pretty much cemented their role with the team. So without further adieu, let’s begin.

Home/Analysis