The season is over, but optimism prevails in the Canadiens locker room

“We're not far from being a playoff team and competing for the Stanley Cup,” says captain Nick Suzuki.

Published on April 17, 2024 • 4 minutes of reading

Canada's Nick Suzuki is surrounded by media as he speaks from the Habs locker room on April 17, 2024 at Complex Sportif CN in Brossard. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette

If the Canadiens started each season with boundless optimism, the same sentiment permeated the locker room at the end of an 82-game marathon despite Montreal missing the playoffs yet again.

“I think we have a lot of room to grow and it's exciting,” captain Nick Suzuki said Wednesday at the team's season-ending media availability at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. “We're not far from being a playoff team and competing for the Stanley Cup.

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“That's our goal next season, to make the playoffs and make a run.”

A team must learn to crawl before it can walk, and the Canadiens are taking baby steps in that difficult process, missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons after making a surprise run to the Cup final during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Montreal is also two points behind the Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division for the third straight season.

The Canadiens are 30-36-16 and the team has improved significantly over the past three seasons, going from 55 points to 68 and then 76 this season. But the Detroit Red Wings, a division rival, went on a 41-game winning streak to beat Washington for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. And only four teams — Columbus (27), Anaheim (26), Chicago (23) and San Jose (19) — have won fewer games than Montreal.

Competing for an NHL championship seems like nothing more than a pipe dream at this point.

“I think we did a lot as a group (offensively), especially the second half of the year,” said Suzuki, who led the team with 33 goals and 77 points in 82 games. “We tried a lot of new things offensively this year. I think it really helped us. There is already a lot of talent in the room. We have talented young people growing up. I think there are a lot of good pieces that work well together.”

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Contrary to Suzuki's belief, the Canadiens need offensive help beyond their top line. Montreal has scored 236 goals this season, with the central Suzuki trio of Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkowski accounting for 81 of the total (34.32%). The departure of Sean Monahan, who scored 13 goals in 49 games before being traded to Winnipeg, and Kirby Dutch's season-ending knee injury two games later didn't help matters. However, the Canadiens need more offensive balance.

General manager Kent Hughes made the admission Wednesday morning before the player became available.

“I think it's been an encouraging season. Exciting,” said Alex Newhook, who was acquired in a trade from Colorado last season and set career highs in goals (15) and points (34) despite being limited to 55 games. “We have a lot of important parts here. We play right. We are about to become a very dangerous team and a top team in this league. I look forward to taking the next step next year.

“We have a lot of young guys here,” he added. “It takes a few years to figure out what it takes to be a winner in this league and to be a winning team. Maybe we learned a lesson from what we experienced this year. I think we are right there. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this group.”

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After Montreal beat Philadelphia 9-3 on April 9, the season ended with four straight losses, all in overtime or a shootout. Those losses were a microcosm of another of this team's weaknesses — its inability to hold on to leads. In a pair of games against the Red Wings this week, the Canadiens have blown three-goal and two-goal leads. Montreal's record in games decided by one goal was 17-11-16. The 27 one-goal losses were the most in the NHL.

“You can't just sit back and (suggest) we're a lot closer and we're going to be great next year,” quarterback Mike Matheson said. “You can say it, but it's not going to change next year going to the rink, putting in the work and seeing where it takes you. That's what the mentality should be. Get better every day and see where it takes us.”

Warning: Matheson, whose wife is expecting a baby in May, has turned down a chance to play in Canada's upcoming World Cup. Suzuki was invited but declined, while last year's gold medal-winning goalkeeper Samuel Montembo passed to focus on his summer training. Caufield is expected to play for the USA, while Slafkovski is expected to represent Slovakia.

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