2023-24 Season
Transition Time
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Goaltending – Shifting Emphasis?
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Drafting Prowess
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Super Sophomore
For the sake of argument let’s say that a player’s sophomore season begins after he has played a full NHL season. When it comes to Juraj Slafkovsky, he played only 39 games last season and didn’t reach the 82 game threshold until mid-January of this year. Since then, it what could be considered the start to his 2nd full NHL season, Slafkovsky has 10 goals and 16 assists in 31 games. At that pace, he would reach 69 points in an 82 game schedule and those numbers were almost entirely achieved as a teenager. It bodes well for the Montreal Canadiens and their young winger. – Trask
Power Forward Famine
A quick scan of the Montreal Canadiens’ prospect pipeline reveals a lack of power forwards in the organization. Other than Luke Tuch, who may or may not sign after his college career, and Florian Xhekaj the Habs lack a true power forward prospect in their system. Xhekaj has really come into his own during the last half of the season and is somewhat of unicorn among Habs prospects. Emil Heineman may be the closest among the rest but he seems to lack the “bite” of a prototypical power forward. Last year Kent Hughes has shown a willingness to draft for need in the later rounds when he selected three goaltenders. Given that every successful team seems to have this type of player on their roster, will he take a similar approach at this draft to address the shortage of power forwards. – Trask
Habs Need Forward Thinking
This season’s edition of the Montreal Canadiens has made noticeable progress over last year’s team, even without 2nd line center Kirby Dach in the lineup. The next goal for the team is to challenge for a playoff spot. The question is, what will it take to do that? Various suggestions as to what is required have been put forward. Some want to improve the PP or improve the PK, others want a top 6 winger or a top pairing RD added to the mix, and the list goes on. Another way to look at it is by taking a big-picture view. For the sake of argument let the top 16 teams make the playoffs. If you look at those teams who are challenging for that last spot, they all have one thing in common. Their goal differential hovers around zero; they score approximately the same number of goals as they allow. The Canadiens are currently around -49. They sit 28th in goals for and 26th in goals against, so both departments need improvement. Adding 25 goals for and subtracting 25 goals against should put them right in the middle of a fight for a playoff spot. With those issues identified, general manager Kent Hughes can look for solutions. The return of Kirby Dach should help the offense, and the continued maturation of the young defense corps along with a more settled goaltending picture should help the defence. But more will be needed. What approach will Hughes take? We will learn more at the draft and in the offseason. – Trask
Newhook Draws Attention
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Internal Competition at Center
It’s a good sign for the Montreal Canadiens when they have strong internal competition for spots within the organization. And that is exactly the case when it comes to Owen Beck and Oliver Kapanen. Both are RH centers that have continued to develop nicely since the Habs drafted them. Kapanen has played the last three years in a men’s pro league while Beck has played his past three years in the OHL so using scoring statistics as a measure isn’t a good comparison. Kapanen has been lighting it up lately in Liiga, particularly in the playoffs where he has 10 points in seven games. Similarly, Beck has broken out offensively since joining Saginaw for their run at the Memorial Cup with 51 points in 32 games. In addition to their offensive skills, both players are noted for their attention to the two-way game. Extended playoff runs will be a great experience for both players and there is a good chance that both players will be in Laval next year. Maybe they will even get a cup of coffee with the Canadiens. It’s another reason for Habs fans to be optimistic. – Trask
College Free Agents
At this time of the year there is always speculation about NCAA free agents who are legitimate pro prospects. Signing these free agents allows teams to add to their prospect pipeline without using a draft choice and because these players are older, NHL general managers will often have a better idea of the floor and/or ceiling. A handful of the top NCAA free agents are still involved in playoffs so the final destination for these players will remain unknown for a while. Some will make it directly to the NHL, others will require development in the minor pros before making the jump and still others will never make it to the NHL. But signing these players eats into the 50-contract limit and once that limit is reached, teams would be unable to offer contracts to unsigned draftees before July 1. It’s a bit of a chess game. Four teams are already at 49 contracts and five more are at 48 contracts. One way around it would be if the player was willing to sign an amateur tryout (ATO) with the AHL affiliate of an NHL team and then sign an NHL contract on or after July 1. For the record, the Canadiens have 45 players under NHL contract but may want to sign Lane Hutson, Luke Tuch, Jared Davidson, Cedrick Guindon and one or more of their European prospects. Of that group, only Davidson and Guindon require contracts before June 1 for the Canadiens to retain their rights. Will Gorton and Hughes be active in the college free-agent market? Time will tell. – Trask
Progress Report – Jakub Dobes
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