After 28 games, the Habs are growing

December 11, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens had a busy four-game week. On Monday, they won 4-2 over the visiting Seattle Kraken. The mighty Los Angeles Kings were in town on Thursday and the Habs were better than in their last encounter, but the result was the same in a 4-0 loss. The Canadiens were in Buffalo on Saturday night and claimed an exciting 3-2 shootout win over the Sabres. Then on Sunday, they were back at home to greet the Nashville Predators and lost 2-1. Here are my thoughts about the Habs after 28 games.

Juraj Slafkovsky shone against Seattle on Monday, while his Kraken counterpart took another perfectly acceptable developmental pathway.

Slaf made the most of an opportunity to play with Suzuki and Caufield this week, and while the 19-year-old is still putting it all together, and while his linemates are still learning to anticipate him, we saw glimpses of what the Habs envisioned when they drafted Slafkovsky, and how that trio might fit together for the long term. The growth can’t be denied.

Earlier this season, a game against Arizona gave birth to some revisionist history, and criticism of the Habs choice of Slaf over Logan Cooley. On Monday, the guy fans were actually clamouring for at the time, Seattle’s Shane Wright, was nowhere to be found because he was developing in the AHL. He’s actually having a great season, scoring at nearly a point per game pace. But there was little comparison between the two guys because Slafkovsky has silenced the naysayers for a few minutes.

The top four picks in that draft all took different developmental pathways. Wright was returned to the OHL for another season, and is now in the American Hockey League. Cooley went the College Hockey route for a year before joining the Arizona Coyotes. Simon Nemec went straight to the AHL. Of course, Slafkovsky has been developing in Montreal. All perfectly acceptable developmental pathways, and all appear to be on their way to successful NHL careers.

Did the Habs dodge a bullet when they lost out on the Dubois sweepstakes?

PLD has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 25 games for Los Angeles. Pro-rated to a complete 82-game season, that’s 36 points. Alex Newhook, acquired by Montreal after the Dubois deal was done, has seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 23 games. That’s a 46-point pace if he hadn’t been injured. The difference is that Dubois is a couple of years older and makes nearly three times as much.

Of course, Dubois is playing in the dullest hockey system on the planet behind Kopitar and Danault, and his numbers are impacted by that. He may also get to hoist a Stanley Cup this Spring, so he’s probably okay with it.

Saturday’s game in Buffalo featured some firsts for the Habs.

I was in Buffalo for the game on Saturday night, and it was an absolute treat. Cayden Primeau may have played his best game with the Habs, and kept them in it at times. It was an emotional – sometimes dirty – affair with some firsts for the Montreal Canadiens. Jayden Struble, who has been solid since joining the Habs, scored his first NHL goal, and Juraj Slafkovsky had his first NHL fight. The shootout winner wasn’t a bad accomplishment for Slaf either.

Watching Primeau and Montembeault warm up for this one, and then seeing the outcome, the path forward was obvious. It may be tough to make happen, but it’s time for Kent Hughes to find a new home for Jake Allen.

Small surprise that Allen got the call on Sunday, with the Oilers AGM looking on.

It looks like Hughes also knows who needs to find a new home. My criticism of the Habs current leadership group has been sparing, and you don’t need to brace yourself for any here. But when they signed Allen to that contract extension I didn’t love it. I saw what they were trying to do – a guy who is a great veteran presence and embraces his role in a rebuild is not to be slighted.

But the time has come. There are several teams who can use what Allen brings while the Habs need to know what they have in their two young netminders. I think Hughes knows it, and I think a deal will eventually get done. In a perfect world it gets done before the Christmas break, but fans need to manage their expectations on return.

The Habs developmental approach took more criticism this week when Xhekaj was loaned to the Laval Rocket.

I confess I wasn’t fussed, in part because I wouldn’t really be fussed about any of the kids spending some time in Laval working on one aspect of their game or another. Frankly, Xhekaj may have benefited from the demotion a few times since his first game on Montreal ice. Were it not for the injury curse, the conversation may be reversed – Xhekaj may be just now getting looks for his first call-up.

I remembered an article that I wrote in June of 2022, leading up to the draft that brought Juraj Slafkovsky to Montreal. I had seen Xhekaj play a few times in Hamilton, and the article was about the developing competition at left-side defense for the Habs. I even proposed they may trade a defenseman at the draft – we now know what happened. Here is what I said in that article.

My assessment of Xhekaj hasn’t changed much. I may have underestimated his offensive capacity, and we know he’s an NHLer now. But, for me, his success depends on how he is able to balance life on the edge. Specifically, he needs to maintain his Sheriff identity on the blue line, while limiting poorly-timed penalties, and while being a consistent, steady force in his own end. I suspect his stay in Laval will be brief if he can tidy up a few things. There is still room for growth.

Perhaps things would have been different if he were in the line-up in Buffalo. Perhaps it would have kept some of the garbage in check, or perhaps he would have spent considerable time in the box and the game might have been lost to special teams. We don’t know. I hope Xhekaj finds a balance where he can be that Blueline Sheriff, without losing sight of the forest for the trees.

Four of eight points claimed this week. That’s about right for where the Habs are at, and before the season is done we will likely see a slide in the points gained ratio. Despite that, there is real growth in some important places, and that’s what a rebuild season is about.