The Seattle Kraken visited the Montreal Canadiens last October embarrassing the local heroes 8-2. It might have been the low point of the entire season.
Optimism is much higher this year, but optimism isn’t a result. The Canadiens wanted to prove against Seattle that the times are changing.
It wasn’t easy, but they did with a thrilling 5-4 overtime win.
Wilde Horses
The Canadiens have had some good teams this century, but one aspect of the good that didn’t translate to a lot of excitement is that the cornerstone of it all was Carey Price. It’s a hard reality, but the goalie being the MVP year after year isn’t actually exciting.
Fast forward to 2025 and the Canadiens aren’t just good; they’re dynamic. They have some of the most creative players in all of hockey. Already established is Lane Hutson who played his best game of the season by far against the Kraken.
Nick Suzuki is a thrill to watch. Suzuki already has six assists this season.
His linemate Cole Caufield has great stick skills. Caufield counted in the second frame with a perfect shot into the top corner. Not many in the NHL could have found that spot in that moment. Also, not many could have found the top corner from a bad angle in overtime to win it.
All the stars shone on that OT goal as Martin St. Louis called a time out in overtime to give them rest for an offensive zone face-off. Hutson won the puck and deftly fed Caufield who counted his third goal of the year in four games. It is exhilarating how well that man can shoot.
However, it is the newest addition who may lift the fans out of their seats the most in the next decade. Ivan Demidov made it 1-0 with a tremendous move to set up Alex Newhook.
Demidov won the blue line with speed and stickhandling. He cut back then found a streaking Newhook with the perfect pass. It was an easy one for Newhook who isn’t lacking in excitement either with his speed.
Late in the contest, down 4-3 was when Demidov shone the brightest. The Canadiens were in desperate need of a goal. Demidov made a move that Joey Daccord bit on so hard that when Demidov finally sent a backhander upstairs, Daccord wasn’t even in the correct half of the net to stop it.
The Canadiens are not just a good team now; they are a fun team. Defending 50 seconds, then having Price make an award-winning save is a low level of enjoyment compared to Hutson, Demidov, Suzuki, Matheson, Caufield, or Newhook going end-to-end like they can.
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Fans are embracing this club like we haven’t seen in a long time. Perhaps the last time fans were in this mood was when Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu were providing the offence. This has a chance to be a far better team than then, and certainly more exciting.
On defence, Mike Matheson is playing his best hockey since joining the Canadiens. Kaiden Guhle delivers bone crushing hits. Arber Xhekaj can throw them like Chris Nilan. This generation of Canadiens has as many as eight ‘worth the price of admission’ players.
The club still has some holes certainly. They can get dominated down the middle the odd night, and that does need to change, but the excitement that this core group brings is unmatched this century.
This isn’t Price and a prayer anymore. It’s Martin St. Louis and his difference makers.
Wilde Goats
The only worrisome aspect of the Canadiens this season so far is Samuel Montembeault has not found his form yet. Montembeault let in four goals on 22 shots against Seattle for an .818 save percentage.
Overall, in three starts, Montembeault is at .870 on the season. Over the course of his career, Montembeault is a .900 goalie, so this is not the level that he can perform at. It hasn’t cost the club yet as they have backed him up by scoring enough, but eventually .870 is not a winning formula.
That number indicates facing an average 30 shots per game that Montembeault would let in four goals. It’s difficult to score five, no matter how talented the club is in front of the goalie, so Montembeault will need to be sharper soon.
Wilde Cards
The Canadiens have managed yet another hometown discount in the signing of Lane Hutson for $8.85 over eight years. The deal kicks in next season, so the club has been able to lock Hutson in for 10 seasons in total. Hutson will enjoy a $55 million dollar signing bonus over many seasons, so he can begin to invest huge money with the advanced funds. It’s a win-win for both sides.
It used to be that hometown discounts were for other teams in more attractive cities than Montreal. What’s changed for Montreal to be a city that players want to play?
Many factors influence that answer, but the biggest factor is the Canadiens are building a winner. However, it’s not just that. Many teams are always on the upswing. Montreal many times has been on the upswing and that never translated into hometown discounts before.
One has to look at a change that is new that didn’t exist before for this momentum shift. That change is the management hired four years ago.
Players want to be treated with respect, and work in an environment that they feel seen. They also want contract negotiations to be respectful where what is sold to them works on every front. The primary reason that players like Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, and Cole Caufield are taking team-friendly contracts is because the team is, in fact, friendly at the management level.
General Manager Kent Hughes makes the players feel they are wanted in Montreal, while at the same time convincing them to take less. It takes quite a negotiator to say “we absolutely love you, and want you to be here and to prove that, here’s less”.
Hughes has shown he is close to a genius at the job, and it may only be a matter of time before the “close to” turns into a “certainly”. The rebuild is still in NHL terms in its nascent stage. Rebuilds, historically, take seven to ten years. This is year four, yet the Canadiens are only the arrival of a second-line centre, and a maturing core away from the NHL’s upper echelon.
Players are also choosing Montreal because of the head coach. Martin St. Louis is an outstanding teacher and a respectful communicator. To a man, the core players feel as if they are learning at a high level. This translates into being a better player which eventually means more money down the line because of career longevity.
We are already seeing it in players like Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher who have re-written their game style to reflect a changing skill-set. Part of this adaptation is thanks to St. Louis stunning understanding of the game to teach them new ways to be viable.
Young players can also see the ability of the head coach to teach. Jake Evans could have found another home, but he could see that his game was clearly elevating under the tutelage of St. Louis.
The final consideration is how they feel about each other. Being a family is also about respect amongst themselves. That requires a mature leader like the captain Nick Suzuki who says and does the right things.
Teams that win titles don’t have cliques. They all pull together toward the same glory. It’s always team first. There’s no guarantee a parade will follow, but to get there isn’t just about the talent.
It’s about how the talent is treated and taught. How they fight for each other is that unique, unquantifiable difference that creates a winner.
The Canadiens are clearly, and finally, on the right path.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
