Montreal Canadiens center Sean Monahan signed a one-year contract extension earlier this week. He met with the media yesterday after inking a contract with a $1.985 million for next season.
The 28 year old scored six goals and 17 points in 25 games for the Canadiens last season and decided to return for one more. He would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if he waited, but he chose to stick around Montreal and revealed to the media his reasons for doing that, and also discussed his health status which was shrouded in mystery much of last season.
Monahan spoke about his reasons for wanting to return to Montreal and mentioned he felt he had some unfinished business due to his injury. He feels he owes it to the fans, the organization and himself to see what he can do with a full season, obviously hoping for it to be a healthy one.
Regarding his health status, Monahan also mentioned he is already back on the ice a couple of times per week and is feeling good. Heading into the offseason, Monahan has often been recovering from surgeries in the past several years, but he claims he is already close to 100% and is currently feeling better than he has in the past 4-5 years.
Sean Monahan discute de sa prolongation de contrat d'un an avec les Canadiens!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 21, 2023
Sean Monahan speaks about his one-year deal with the Canadiens!#GoHabsGo https://t.co/bSxw1Vifm3
That is obviously good news for the player and the team. Monahan was a regular 30 goal scorer when he was healthy in his earlier days but really struggled in his final two years in Calgary. Now back to full healthy, and still on the right side of 30, he has the potential to get close to his 30 goal form once again.
Monahan also had high praise for Habs head coach Martin St. Louis. He called the Canadiens bench boss a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame person. He credits St. Louis for getting the most out of his game, being easy to talk to and he just wants his players to be better. He also mentions St. Louis runs a great, high energy practice and he brings a positive attitude and energy to the locker room every day.
Hearing about Monahan’s health status is the biggest takeaway from this meeting. Having him healthier than he has been in years could mean he has put his troubles behind him and could be back to a 25-30 goal pace in the coming season.
That would mean he is either going to help the Canadiens push for the playoffs or be a huge trade piece at the deadline that could fetch a big return for Montreal. Of course, he has to stay healthy next season, but what we heard here was very encouraging.
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