There is a lot of buzz surrounding the Montreal Canadiens this season. They are looking to take the next steps in their rebuild. Whether they make the playoffs or not is not the ultimate goal.
The Montreal Canadiens goal is to be in the mix. That means playing meaningful games in March and April, the next step in their rebuild. Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes have been building a good young team that will be competitive for years, ever since the Canadiens last ran to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
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Montreal fans have been very accepting of this approach. It is the same approach Gorton took in New York when he rebuilt the Rangers. Players like Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Huston, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Arber Xhekaj, and Kaiden Guhle, along with acquiring Patrik Laine.
The pieces are in place for the Canadiens to take the next step. It will be a tough division for that execution to happen. However, with Martin St. Louis behind the bench, the Canadiens are poised to be in that position.
However, as Jeff Gorton told TSN Radio in Toronto, he does not want to overpromise. The Canadiens will take it one day at a time and see where they are at the end of the season. But he understands the hype and buzz surrounding the Canadiens this season.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Looking to Add a Defenseman and Forward
Bryan Hayes: “With Jeff Gorton, the Executive VP of Hockey Operations with the Montreal Canadiens. I mentioned that crave series, the rebuild, where it’s been ongoing for a couple of years, and you, yourself, Kent Hughes, ownership. Everyone’s been pretty clear-cut on that. I think the fans, from my standpoint, in Toronto, sounds like people Montreal been very understanding, very welcoming of this.
Yet I get asked, I’m sure you get asked all the time, and you’re the guy would have that answer like, where are you in the stages of this rebuild? How would you answer fans when they ask you that, where are we here? Final Chapter? You still writing chapters? How do you explain that to fans?”
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Jeff Gorton: “Yeah. I mean, I hate to be a cliche guy all the time, but we’re moving in the right direction. I think we have the pieces to be better this year. We want to be. We’ve used that phrase around here a lot and people get frustrated with the same phrase in the mix. We want to be in the mix at the end of the year.
But I don’t want to be, you know, I don’t want to promise anything. We’re too far ahead and then have it cave in on us. So we’re just going to take one day at a time and see where we are. I think we’ll be better. I’m excited about where we are. We’ll just have to see. There’s a lot of good teams.
I’m sure you guys do it. You try to pick what teams are going to make the playoffs. It’s hard. It’s not easy to make the playoffs in the National Hockey League. And you look, to see what teams would possibly fall out and how you can get in there.
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So, we’re looking at that, but we’re taking it a day at a time, and we’ll see what lies ahead for us.”
If you ask him off the record or candidly, he might admit that the Canadiens season will be disappointing if they don’t play meaningful games.
Again, many young kids are playing in the lineup this season, but the Montreal Canadiens should not be out of the playoffs by December. It will be interesting to see what happens this season in Montreal.
The hype train and buzz are real. While they are still rebuilding, the Montreal Canadiens expect to be playing meaningful games in March and April of this season and, by next year, crack the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference.