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
2 of 5
Next
Harvey-Pinard, Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL, CANADA – MARCH 30: Rafael Harvey-Pinard #49 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the third period against the Florida Panthers at Centre Bell on March 30, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Florida Panthers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

When you think of players on the Canadiens who didn’t have a role with the team before the season began but did when it ended,Rafael Harvey-Pinard is likely the first guy you think of. He was so good for the Canadiens down the stretch, providing a scoring touch that was missing after Cole Caufield went down. RHP put up 14 goals in 34 games, tying him for fourth on the team in goals at the end of the year. It feels safe to say he won’t be starting the year in the AHL next season.

The Habs actually got pretty good production from a few guys in this group, in addition to RHP. Alex Belzile and Michael Pezzetta also provided depth scoring from the fourth line, making their case for a spot on the team next year. But some guys did struggle, like waiver wire addition Chris Tierney. And after a hot start, Denis Gurianov cooled off down the stretch after arriving after the trade deadline.

And there were some young players I’d throw in this group as well, like Jesse Ylönen and Sean Farrell, with the latter appearing as though he could use some time in the AHL to get used to the men’s game. As for Ylönen, I liked what I saw, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him stick in the NHL next year. I’d also throw Juraj Slafkovsky in the mix here, as he best fits in with this group. He showed some flashes but will need to take a step next year, hopefully, given the opportunity to play on the PP and in the top six.

All in all, the Canadiens got decent production from this group, considering most of them were not full-time NHLers before the season began. Expectations for most of these guys were low, but most at least met them. It’ll be interesting to see who plays where next season, as some made a solid argument they belong in the NHL, while others showed why this league is so tough. But only so many spots are available, and some players are far more expendable than others.

Home/Analysis