Habs Notes from the Stanley Cup Final

June 14, 2023

Last night, the Vegas Golden Knights became the Stanley Cup Champions for the 2022-23 season. This is the outcome that GM Kent Hughes is driving toward for the Montreal Canadiens. The wily GM has already been productive in the off-season, recently signing restricted free agents Cole Caufield and Michael Pezzetta to contract extensions. But you can be sure he’s paid attention to each round of the playoffs and taking notes.

This is the fourth of a series of articles about the notes Hughes should have been taking through each round. In the first round, notes focused on goaltending, spending on skilled players, and building a consistent contender. The second round provided insight into the emotional make-up of gamers, trade deadline acquisitions, and the performance of draft lottery winners.

In the Conference Finals, Hughes should have been noting the uphill battle of cap management for Canadian teams, risky trades, and load management. With the Stanley Cup Final in the record books, it’s time for the final set of notes from this year’s playoffs.

One team’s misfit is another team’s champion.

Hemmed in or not, you have to love the call from Bruce Cassidy to send out five of the misfits as his starting line-up on Tuesday night. Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith made up the forward trio with McNabb and Theodore on defense. I wonder if he considered throwing Carrier in net for a shift. They are the six remaining original players from the expansion draft that formed the first Vegas roster.

It’s a fascinating concept – an entire team being born out of players other teams chose to give up on. Fans will recall that Florida traded Smith for a 2018 fourth-round draft pick and as a condition the Vegas Golden Knights selected Marchessault. Last night he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. One team’s misfit is another team’s champion.

An expansion draft is an extreme example, but every year teams give up on good players. Sometimes it’s because they abandon their development too early, or they can’t afford them due to cap constraints, or the player just doesn’t fit their plans. Good players become available all the time and, for the savvy buyer, can be attained for cents on the dollar.

Kent Hughes drew from that well last summer when he swung a deal for Kirby Dach. He’ll probably try to do it again in the coming weeks. Is there a young right-shot defender available in Columbus after they just added two big pieces to their top four? Habs fans are waiting for word on Pierre-Luc Dubois, but does another young centre become available if the Los Angeles Kings win the sweepstakes?

As other teams identify their misfits this summer, you can be sure Hughes is considering whether he can be something more for the Habs.

“It hurts to win.” ~Bruce Cassidy

Jesse Granger wrote about a hit on Jack Eichel in Game 2 and provided that fantastic quote from Coach Bruce Cassidy.

It’s a playoff ritual. After each team is eliminated, the end of season presser includes an injury report. There are guys who played with broken ribs, torn muscles, functioning only because of the latest in sports medicine. For Habs fans, we remember the last run from Shea Weber and Carey Price. Broken bodies, laying it all on the ice in hopes of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup. No doubt, it hurts to win.

Man, is this ever an important note for the Montreal Canadiens. In the last two seasons, the Habs have not come close to even making the playoffs, and injuries have been a significant factor. Their off-season began with HuGo committing to turn over every stone to understand why and how they might fix their injury woes. Yesterday, news broke that the Habs had relieved their Head Physiotherapist and Head Athletic Therapist of their duties. They will do all they can to address the never-ending flow to the injury list.

Beyond that, there is something to be said about acquiring players built for the playoffs. Yes, I mean players with size whose bodies can hold up, but not only them. The current iron man in Montreal is not exactly Paul Bunyan. In the meanwhile, big bodies like Joel Edmundson and Joel Armia have spent more than their fair share of time on the injured list.

The Stanley Cup is the hardest championship to win in all professional sports. Four arduous series against four opponents who each bring a new challenge to the table. Claiming 16 wins in as many as 28 games. Serious contenders do as much as they can to bring a sturdy group to the show.

It’s not a perfect science – some would say it’s pure luck. I suspect it’s somewhere in between. A team needs some big bodies that can manage the rigor. It also needs some guys who have demonstrated their ability to stay healthy, for whatever random reason.

Leadership is more than a letter on a jersey.

When the Habs went to the Final in the 2020-21 season, Shea Weber was captain. But the leadership group was enormous. Yes, Carey Price was there, as was Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron. But Marc Bergevin was all in that year for what he knew was likely the last chance for Price and Weber. So he added a ton of leadership – Cup winners – to support the leaders he already had.

Corey Perry. Joel Edmundson. Eric Staal. Tyler Toffoli. Jake Allen. Can you even imagine that run without those guys?

The Vegas Golden Knights iced six of the original misfits. Their roster also included six players who owned a Stanley Cup ring. Winning the toughest championship in pro sports requires some leadership – some guys who have been there before.

When Weber’s career was done he pointed to Nick Suzuki as his best successor. It was a great choice. Other young leaders will emerge as the team is built and grows together toward contention. Eventually, Hughes will have to add some guys who have been there before.

Who knows? Maybe someone who hoisted the Cup on Tuesday night will hoist it again one day in Montreal. It’s never too soon to add a Cup-tested leader.