The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as one of the youngest teams in the field. Now, they are one of four teams left, as they clinched their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. On Monday night, the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in overtime in Game 7, following a clutch goal from Alex Newhook. Now, they are set to take on the Carolina Hurricanes with a spot in the Stanley Cup Final on the line.
This is a huge step in the right direction for Montreal, as they were once the team that finished dead last in the entire NHL back in the 2021-22 season. They spurred on their rebuild, as they focused on drafting to build a young core that can contend for years to come. After making the playoffs last year and losing in the first round, the Canadiens look like they could be a serious problem in the Eastern Conference.
After the Game 7 victory on Monday, head coach Martin St. Louis was asked about how the Canadiens were able to hit the fast forward button through their rebuild and into Cup contention. St. Louis credited their process and the team having the mentality to "win that day."
"Honestly, we didn't have a set time. We wanted to improve every day, every year," said St. Louis. "I feel we've done that. I definitely think that you don't grow without a real process in place. I feel like I love our process and I love how we do it. The guys are excited to come to the rink, and there's days that are better than others, but we just come every day trying to win that day. Maybe it's that mentality that has accelerated us because we just try to take care of each and every day."
Martin St. Louis credits Canadiens' process from speeding through rebuild
When it comes to rebuilds in sports, it's never a given that a team can successfully turn the corner to turn them into championship contenders. It takes a perfect combination of the front office making the right move, the top prospects panning out like anticipated, and the coach bringing the most out of their players.
For the Canadiens, they pushed all the right buttons. The front office combination of Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes has worked out tremendously. The Canadiens have a young core of stars like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Jakub Dobes, who are helping push the team through the playoffs. Then there's St. Louis, who is game-planning and getting the most out of the young team.
What makes it most impressive is that the Canadiens are advancing in these playoffs through a tough path. First they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have one of the top coaches in the game in Jon Cooper and a Hart Trophy finalist in Nikita Kucherov. Then, there were the Buffalo Sabres, who shocked the NHL by not only making the playoffs, but also winning the Atlantic Division. Now, the Canadiens' next step will be to take out a Hurricanes team that is a perfect 8-0 in the playoffs.
However this season ends for Montreal, fans have to feel legitimate confidence that they can make similar runs as this one for the foresseable future.
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