3 X-Factors that will make the rest of the Canadiens season exciting
It doesn’t look like the Canadiens are going anywhere this season unless they find a way to embark on a major winning streak or two, but it doesn’t mean they won’t be fun to watch.
While we can’t count the Canadiens out of the running just yet despite the fact they have just 52 points, it will be tough to see them climbing back into the playoff picture this season. This team is primarily young, and they lack a ton of experience, hence the down season.
But despite the bad year, Montreal has so far paced a pair of teams in their own division that were supposed to contend for the playoffs: The Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators. While it’s clear the Sabres and Senators have underachieved, it indicates that the Canadiens could have lapped them, given their better season to date.
Yeah, it’s a bummer that the playoffs are likely out of the picture barring a magical run, but it doesn’t mean the Canadiens can’t be exciting to watch over the last two months of 2023-24. Here are three X-Factors that could very well keep Montreal entertaining from mid-February until mid-April.
Montreal’s youth alone will make the rest of the year exciting
As of February 16th, the Canadiens are the third-youngest team in the NHL and the second-least experienced, which translates to a poor record. But, 52 points so far in what was supposed to be a throwaway season isn’t terrible, so Montreal and their fan base have a lot to be proud of.
One reason behind their success comes from the ability of their youngest players to stay generally healthy and play solid hockey. Nick Suzuki (52 points) and Cole Caufield (45 points) are a pair of players 24 and under who continue to lead this young Montreal Canadiens team to perform better than we expected through the season’s first four months.
But there has also been growth among other young players, including former first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, defensemen Jayden Struble, Kaiden Guble, and Arber Xhekaj. Alex Newhook is another name worth keeping tabs on, so the core in Montreal is brewing, and their growth should be on full display throughout the final eight weeks of the season.
Cayden Primeau’s improvement is more than worth keeping tabs on
Cayden Primeau has made several starts for the Canadiens over the past five seasons, culminating with 28 as of February 16th and 33 starts. Over his sporadic appearances across four seasons in Montreal’s system, Primeau posted a record of 3-12-2 in 17 starts, a 0.871 save percentage, an ugly 4.11 GAA, seven quality starts, and nine really bad starts.
However, things have taken a turn for the better in 2023-24. Primeau is 5-5-1 this year with a sound 0.903 save percentage, a 3.07 GAA, a shutout, and a 0.545 quality starts percentage. Better yet, his quality starts to really bad starts ratio is a remarkable 6:1, so it’s clear Primeau is trending in the right direction.
No, these overall numbers aren't where they need to be yet, but Primeau has shown us enough so far this season that he can at least withstand being part of a future rotation in Montreal. If he starts putting up routine games when his save percentage is 0.910 or better and is allowing fewer than three goals on most nights from now until mid-April, Primeau’s continued improvement should inspire this fan base heading into next season.
If older players will or should stick around for the long haul
Every NHL team, even the youngest, needs a few experienced assets on their side to help guide them through the long haul. This doesn’t mean they need to be a team captain or even wear the ‘A’ patch to be a leader, but their experience regarding the overall demands of the NHL will be valuable to a young team like the Canadiens.
Productive players like Mike Matheson (29), Brendan Gallagher (31) - both of whom are wearing the ‘A’s at the time of this writing, and Josh Anderson (29), are all prime candidates. They still have a few years left on their respective contacts, so there is a strong chance they stick around Montreal.
Goaltender Sam Montembeault (27) will also kick off Year 1 of his three-year extension next season, which could make for a sound goaltending duo between himself and Primeau. Therefore, there are plenty of older players more than worthy of staying in Montreal (assuming nobody gets traded) who could show us more than enough to provide sound leadership along with team captain Nick Suzuki for what will ultimately be better seasons to come.
While the record doesn’t show it, the Canadiens have done an outstanding job of bringing in some younger talent and letting them grow while hanging onto their more productive players who have been in the league for more than a few seasons. It’s this mixture of young and experienced that, if they continue to play close to 0.500 hockey, will make this team fun to watch from now until the regular season ends.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 16th)