Three Reasons Montreal Canadiens Season Is Huge Success

The Montreal Canadiens are not going to make the playoffs this spring. They won't be offically mathematically eliminated for weeks, if not months, from now, but it just isn't going to happen for them.

And that is just fine. While most teams measure success by whether or not they make the postseason, or based on how well they perform in the playoffs in the spring, that isn't the measuring stick for the Montreal Canadiens in 2023-24.

Instead, they entered the year just hoping to show improvement from the previous year, and to have their young players develop. Things got off to a tough start as Kirby Dach was lost for the season in the second game of the year due to a knee injury. Young players like Alex Newhook, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jordan Harris miss considerable time with injuries as well.

The Canadiens are now sitting 7th in the eight team Atlantic Division with a record of 22-25-8 and have 52 points after playing 55 games. They are ten points back of a playoff spot and would need to go on quite a run in the final third of the season to get anywhere near a plyoff spot.

However, although some young players have missed time and the team is not going to win any playoff games, this doesn't mean the season has been a disaster. In fact, there are several things that have happened in the 2023-24 season that should make Canadiens fans believe that successful seasons, including playoff victories, are not that far off into the future.

A few tweaks of the roster here and there and the continued development of players already in the organization are going to ensure the 2023-24 season is the springboard to success for the Montreal Canadiens.

Here are the three main reasons why.