A letter, a trade, a lengthy camp roster, and the consistent message in all of it

September 27, 2023

With the NHL preseason underway for the 2023-24 hockey season, fans and pundits have already had some events to enjoy and bits of information to absorb. The golf tournament, pressers, the Prospects Challenge, trades, medicals, and an enormous cast of characters getting a look – there has already been a lot to take in.

We shouldn’t make assumptions about the Habs’ plan for Michael Matheson.

The annual golf tournament has traditionally been an opportunity for the Montreal Canadiens to name their player leadership group for another hockey season. Remember the photo of Pacioretty with Subban, Markov and Plekanec? Doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago? Last season we learned Nick Suzuki would be the captain. This year we learned that Michael Matheson would wear a letter for the 2023-24 season.

With Joel Edmundson traded this summer – man, is that ever looking like a good move – a new alternate was needed, and Matheson is their guy.

Why wouldn’t he be? A brand of offensive defenseman like the Habs haven’t seen in years, and he’s in his prime. A player who takes care of himself on and off the ice and the young guys describe as a perfect mentor for them. A local kid who is able to conduct a media interview in French. Why wouldn’t Matheson be their guy? And why are fans so certain he will be dealt before his contract ends?

The return in the DeSmith trade raised some eyebrows and answered some questions.

After creatively moving out Mike Hoffman, it was somewhat of a surprise that GM Kent Hughes was willing to take another forward back in the Casey DeSmith trade. The forward group looked crowded even after the departure of Hoffman and Pitlick, and now veteran Tanner Pearson is added to the mix. What about opening roster spots for kids?

That’s a good question and here is the answer. HuGo doesn’t feel the rush to promote kids that fans and pundits do. Hughes said it himself – if kids earn the spot, they’ll find a spot for them, but he also doesn’t want to force them to be ready before their time.

What happened with the defensemen last season was out of necessity not design. Remember the plan at camp before the injury bug hit? The plan was to rotate defenders in and out of Laval – give them some exposure to the NHL and then send them back to Laval to work on things. I suspect we’ll see that strategy play out this season, with both defensemen and forwards.

The Habs are developing chemistry for the long haul.

I remember writing a harsh critique of Dom Ducharme and the Habs during the 2021-22 training camp that followed their short-falling cup run. They had lost some core players and had invited a small nation to camp, affording little time for the new roster to find chemistry before the season started. It didn’t matter – they were awful. Too much had changed and they were eventually forced into the rebuild.

This isn’t that.

This management group knows where they’re at – they want to be competitive and will aim for playoffs, but they know that the team they have on paper will have to overachieve for that to happen. They’re building for the long term, so they want to give every asset a chance to shine, just in case they have a Martin St. Louis or even a Paul Byron in their midst that they might not be noticing.

There’s a consistent message in all of it.

On a rebuilding team, there’s a place for a veteran leader and a place for a veteran placeholder, because the entire point is building for a long window of contention and you can’t rush it.