Three Montreal Canadiens Players Who Need To Prove Something Down The Stretch

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into the final stretch drive of their 2023-24 season. They are now down to ten regular season games left to play and will not be extending their season into the playoffs, so that will be the last we see of this year's Canadiens.

Knowing well in advance that the playoffs are out of reach means the games technically don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. At this point, they are pretty much guaranteed to finish between 26th and 28th in the overall standings.

A strong finish would leave the team with a good feeling heading into the offseason and mean they are sitting in 7th when it comes to the NHL Draft lottery standings. A bad finish would only drop them a couple of spots and likely mean they have the fifth best odds when it comes to the draft lottery.

That is the difference of a 6.5% chance of winning the draft lottery and an 8.5% chance of winning the draft lottery. So, like already said, in the grand scheme of things the games don't mean much in the standings.

But, some players individually have a lot more to play for in the final ten games than others. With a deep group of defenders on the roster already and more coming, certain players need to step up to solidify a position heading into next season.

There are other prospects who will be turning pro next season that could push for a spot in training camp and a few veterans on the roster who make big money and need to show they are worthy of keeping around and should not lose their spot to a young and hungry player.

Let's take a look at the three players with the most to prove in the final ten games of the regular season.