This winter has undoubtedly been one of the most difficult periods in our lifetimes. As many of us attempt to trudge through the post-Holiday dreariness that comes in January, with a distant hope of mass inoculation for the coronavirus, many Canadians can seek more immediate solace with the return of the familiar sights and sounds of NHL hockey, starting on 13 January.
For the Montreal Canadiens, the return of hockey brings with it an unbridled sense of optimism, a genuine glow that has not been seen at the club in over half a decade (it can be argued as to when expectations were genuinely this high for Les Glorieux. Perhaps in 2014, after the Canadiens were felled in the Stanley Cup semi-final by the New York Rangers after losing their stalwart netminder, Carey Price, at the height of his powers? Perhaps it goes back to 2008, when the Canadiens were preparing for a memorable Stanley Cup run in their Centennial season, and bolstered their lineup in the offseason with offensive stars in Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang, to complement the likes of Kovalev and Koivu, who had brought a sense of style, flair and production in the previous season).
The Canadiens and their fans are positively sanguine about their prospects for this upcoming season. Although they entered the NHL “play-in” rounds last summer as the 24th (of 24) ranked team, they managed to upset the heavily favoured Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the best of five series, three games to one.
In the following round, they played the Philadelphia Flyers tight over six hard fought games. The Canadiens ultimately lost, and saw their 9th overall pick (had they lost to the Penguins) tumble and turn into the 16th overall pick, the team found several benefits that GM Marc Bergevin used to build his off season plan.
Bergevin, who has drawn the ire of the fanbase at multiple points over his eight year tenure as General Manager, has earned goodwill for his management over the last two years, as he has accrued draft picks, made a series of savvy trades and has committed to the long term future of the club. Although the future remains the priority, Bergevin has crafted a situation where there is genuine hope for the present, based on the following:
Breakout of the team’s two young centremen
The most notable positive development to emerge from this past summer’s playoffs was the emergence of the club’s two young centremen, Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Suzuki had an impressive rookie season last year, recording 41 points in 71 games, and gradually saw an increase in his usage and responsibilities over time.
Just prior to the interruption of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Suzuki’s overall production and impact took a slight dip, prompting coach Claude Julien to openly question whether Suzuki had hit the proverbial “rookie wall.” Yet, Suzuki was the creative pulse for the Canadiens in the series against both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He notched 7 points in 10 games, and by the end of the Canadiens’ run, had arguably usurped Phillip Danault as the club’s number one centre.
Suzuki is a crafty and cerebral player, who has sublime vision and the requisite puck skills to be a first rate playmaker. He appears to drift in and out of crowds without drawing a commotion, and has a strong innate positional awareness. He also has an impressive defensive acumen, and for a player of only 20 years old, it was remarkable to see the normally conservative coaching staff of Julien and Muller, trust Suzuki with assignments against top centres (Malkin and Crosby), and take crucial defensive faceoffs against the Flyers. Comparisons were made between Suzuki and another Julien young protégé, the highly rated, much lauded Patrice Bergeron, who is considered one of the finest defensive forwards of his era.
After the season, Phillip Danault, who was starting to establish a reputation as one of the best 5 v 5 players in the game, who is entering the final year of his contract, questioned whether he still had a place in the team, prompting a slew of unnecessary and obtrusive trade rumours. It was a testament to how far Suzuki had come in a matter of months.
While Suzuki had a remarkable ascent over the summer months, similarly, the playoffs saw the resurgence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi as a legitimate NHL player, and one that gives the Canadiens an ever spritely duo up the middle of the ice. Kotkaniemi had put together a solid first half of his rookie season, in 2018-19, and finished the season with 34 points in 79 games. Although the numbers may not be eye-catching, Kotkaniemi showed tremendous poise, skill and potential, in a year in which he was the youngest player in the NHL.
Until the playoff rounds however, Kotkaniemi’s sophomore season resembled more a nightmare than a fairy tale. He had arrived to training camp, slightly behind the pace, having had knee surgery in the summer. He never fully settled physically, eventually suffered a pair of injuries, and saw a complete erosion of his own personal confidence and the trust of his coach. Kotkaniemi posted a mere 8 points in 36 games, before being ignominiously sent down to Laval in early February. His season was thought to have ended a few weeks later, when he suffered a ruptured spleen in a game against Cleveland.
The layoff with the pandemic offered Kotkaniemi a chance to heal, focus on his training, and rediscover his joy for the game. He returned to the Canadiens for their camp in July, looking noticeably more muscular and refreshed.
His solid playoff performance, where he scored 4 points in 10 games, managed heightened responsibilities and became more of a physical force (including taking a game misconduct), was well noticed by everyone with the Canadiens. The young Finnish kid had grown from a naïve stick figure to a hulking behemoth, who could cope with the physical demands of being a centreman in the NHL.
Much of the success for the Canadiens this year will depend on how Suzuki and Kotkaniemi develop and take the next step in their professional careers. This certainly will saddle them with significant pressure, which risks overwhelming youngsters aged 21 and 20 respectively, but given their pedigree, proven skillset and the opportunities that they will be trusted with, they should be reliable bets to flourish this season.
Having a rested Carey Price
Over the last two seasons, it is fair to say that Julien lost complete faith in the backup netminders that Bergevin had enlisted to give Carey Price an occasional breather, in both Anti Niemi and Keith Kinkaid. As a result, in 2018-19, Price was forced to start 66 games, and in 2019-20, he started 58 (of 71 games). While Price had been brilliant at times to the most ardent, rose-coloured glass wearing Canadiens fan, his overall save percentages demonstrated that he was no better than an average netminder (.918 in 2018-19, .908 in 2019-20).
Indeed, over the last three seasons, when Price had more than three days off between starts, he posted a .919 save percentage. If he had less rest than that, his save percentage dropped to .907. Although Price prefers to play every game if possible, his performances clearly dropped, and has been one of the reasons for why the Canadiens have not been higher up the standings, in spite of their elite 5 v 5 play.
The value of rest was demonstrated in the play-in/playoff of last season, where after nearly four months off, in the 10 games that Price played, he posted a .936 save percentage, and his cool and calm play was reminiscent of the halcyon days of 2014 when he captured a Gold Medal at the Olympics and in 2015, when he captured the Hart Trophy as league’s most valuable player.
The acquisition of Jake Allen finally gives Price a quality backup, that Julien will actually feel comfortable in playing. The former St. Louis Blues’ netminder was fourth in the league last season in save percentage, for goalies that played more than 20 games, at .927. Over the last two seasons, as the Blues handed over starting duties to Jordan Binnington, Allen adapted well to the daily expectations of being a backup goalie and performed admirably.
Critics will point to the Canadiens spending $15 million of their cap space on goaltending for this season. Yet, by trying to limit the number of starts for their number one netminder with a competent backup will ensure that they get the best out of both players.
The arrival of Alexander Romanov
Since being drafted in the second round, 38th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2018 draft, Russian defenseman Alexander Romanov has seen his stock soar. He played his way onto the famed CSKA Moscow senior team as an 18 year old and helped the club win the 2019 Gagarin Cup. Romanov also dazzled on defense for the Russians at the 2019 and 2020 World U20 tournaments, being named the best defenseman at the 2019 tournament, and being named to the all-star team at the 2020 tournament.
Upon arriving to the Canadiens in 2016, Shea Weber has never had a solid or consistent partner on his left hand side, and the left side on defense has long been an area of weakness for the Canadiens. Romanov’s performance over the World Junior tournaments and two seasons in the KHL provided fans a glint of excitement, in that he is exactly the type of player that the Canadiens have long coveted.
How Romanov integrates into the Canadiens’ lineup will be one of the questions to watch during the course of training camp. He will likely find himself on the third pairing to start, as Julien will pair Ben Chiarot with Shea Weber, and possibly newcomer Joel Edmundson with Jeff Petry. In spite of this, the Canadiens remain bullish on the young Russian, and I expect that he will work his way up the lineup as the season progresses.
The reality is that though young, Romanov has the tools that the Canadiens are in desperate search of. At the World Junior level, Romanov demonstrated strong skating, a courageous streak when attacking from the point, and an offensive knack. Over two tournaments, he posted 14 points in 14 games.
In a review of Romanov’s shifts in CSKA, Arpon Basu highlighted that Romanov was far more conservative, defensively sound, less risk averse playing the professional game, compared to his exploits at the junior level. I envision that initially, Romanov will be sheltered and asked to play in this conservative manner as he adjusts to the NHL pace and intensity. The question will be how soon do we see the unleashed version? Furthermore, how long will it be until he is paired on the first pairing with Shea Weber?
The Canadiens finally have offensive depth
Over the last two seasons, the Canadiens have been one of the league’s best teams at 5 v 5 play, led by the line of Tomas Tatar, Danault and Brendan Gallagher. However, despite that 5 v 5 dominance, the Canadiens were only 19th in the league in goals scored last season. The relatively disappointing production numbers have largely resulted from a mediocre power play, that ranked 22nd in the league last season (and 30th the season before).
Marc Bergevin bolstered the Canadiens’ attack this off-season, bringing in sniper Tyler Toffoli, who scored 24 goals last season (playing with Los Angeles and Vancouver). Additionally, Bergevin traded Max Domi for a bullish forward, in Josh Anderson, who scored 27 goals in 2018-19 (unfortunately, Anderson was injured for much of 2019-20 with a shoulder injury, which limited him to only 26 games). Bergevin further reinforced his forward corps, by signing wingers Michael Frolik and Corey Perry to bargain basement deals, providing the Canadiens with some veteran depth, grit and playoff experience.
Unfortunately, the Canadiens still lack a five star alpha general in their forward ranks to play the big minutes. Instead, they possess a wealth of options along the wings, and this ensures that Julien is armed with four lines that can evenly distribute minutes, and play every shift with an elevated intensity. Over the last two seasons (and last season in the playoffs), the Canadiens were at their best when they played an ultra aggressive forecheck/reload system.
Last year, the Canadiens started the season strong, were able to establish their desired style of play and were 11-5-3 and near the top of the Atlantic Division standings on 15 November. That night both Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron suffered significant injuries, and in their absence, the Canadiens experienced the first of two 8-game losing streaks which derailed their season.
Having a deep complement of forwards ensures that Julien can play his high intensity pressing style for far longer, and allow the Canadiens to play the bulk of their games on the front foot.
The excitement of the “All Canadian Division“
Like many Canadians who have had the chance to live in different parts of the country, I have made numerous friends that support different teams, and can count many friends that support each Canadian team.
In a compressed 56 game schedule, where all Canadian teams play each other nine or ten times, where every game will have the weight of a proverbial “four-pointer,” this season will prove to be particularly intense, and will give the impression that every game matters. Not having an outright “favourite” will only enhance that feeling that everything is up for grabs. Even more so, having friends and colleagues that provide daily (online) banter and chirps will make the experience ever more colourful and immersive. I can already foresee the daily ritualistic glance at the standings, checking over opposition schedules, and feeling the angst of where the Canadiens fall in the mix. I yearn for that palpable tension in sports, where everyone in my circle is also invested.
So while the pandemic continues to cast a pall over much of Canadian society and daily discourse, the prospects of a winter and spring filled with the intense cauldron of NHL hockey will surely help distract us as we huddle in our homes, limit our physical excursions and patiently await our turn in line for the much coveted vaccine. There are far worse ways to spend an otherwise gloomy winter, and a successful, glory filled hockey season will help to make that time feel even better.
Here’s hoping it is the Canadiens’ year!
Jaideep Kanungo
Jaikan Sport 