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Montreal Canadiens: 3 Reasons For Optimism In 2023-24

By Ken MacMillan

Apr 4, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) shoots a puck during warm-up before the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) shoots a puck during warm-up before the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Montreal Canadiens just wrapped up their rookie tournament, having played three games in Buffalo.

The Habs prospects started a bit slow with their first game on Friday evening. It remained tied for most of the first forty minutes, but the Buffalo Sabres rookies showed they had more depth and more gas in the tank when they pulled away for a 6-3 win.

Jakub Dobes was pretty sharp in goal in that loss, keeping things close for a long time and ensuring it was not a blowout loss for the Canadiens rookies. Goals came from Xavier Simoneau, Miguel Tourigny and Joshua Roy in the loss.

The Canadiens bounced back from that performance to beat the Boston Bruins rookies on Saturday afternoon, and took out the Ottawa Senators prospects yesterday. It was a 4-1 win over the Bruins, with Quentin Miller shutting the door in goal, and Cedrick Guindon, Jan Mysak, Joshua Roy and Ty Smilanic finding the back of the net.

In the tournament finale, the Habs took down the Sens 2-1 with Riley Kidney and Jan Mysak firing home the goals and Jan Spunar playing well in goal.

With the rookie camp wrapped up, it is time to look ahead to the team’s main training camp. The Canadiens will gather in Montreal today for media day and start to prepare for the 2023-24 season as they will hit the ice for the first time on Wednesday.

After two down seasons, many are predicting the Habs will once again be near the bottom of the standings. But that should not be a guarantee. There are reasons to believe the team will be better in 2023-24 than they were in 2022-23 and 2021-22.

Why should we be so optimistic? Let’s take a look at the top three reasons why Habs fans should be hopeful and optimistic about the Canadiens chances in the upcoming season.

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