After 69 games, the Habs have formed an identity

March 23, 2024

Life is busy and it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve reviewed where the Montreal Canadiens are at in a rebuild season. They posted a shutout 3-0 win against Columbus on Tuesday, March 12th and suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins the following Thursday. Then the Habs headed to Western Canada where three more losses greeted them. On Saturday night, it was a 5-2 loss to Calgary, on Tuesday a 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton, and then on Thursday night they were defeated by the Vancouver Canucks with a final score of 4-1.

Despite the losses, this stretch was identity forming for the Montreal Canadiens. This is how I saw things go down.

Don’t look now, but the Montreal Canadiens suddenly have goaltending depth.

In his first game following the trade of Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau posted a shutout. Elvis [Merzlikins] had left the building before 6 minutes were played, while Primeau stood on his head to inform everyone watching that he was ready for the back-up role. “It’s just the beginning”, he said.

While Allen is playing well in Jersey – too little too late for Devils fans – Sam Montembeault has continued to demonstrate why he claimed the Habs starter’s net from Allen. Playing behind a depleted line-up, Monty gives them a chance to win every night.

In the meanwhile, pundits are suggesting that it won’t be long before young goaltenders are knocking on the door in Montreal. This past week Pierre McGuire joined Tony Marinaro on The Sick Podcast and suggested Jacob Fowler may be NHL ready as soon as the 2025-26 season.

Pierre McGuire: If Fowler plays 60 games in Laval next season, he'll be NHL ready the year after#thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/QFPwNLRrfE

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) March 21, 2024

That sounds a little premature to me, but if they’re worried Fowler’s development will be stunted in the NCAA next season, perhaps HuGo will choose to bring him to Laval. Whatever they decide, they will need to pay attention to the running clock on an entry-level contract.

Then there’s Yevgeni Volokhin. Marc-Antoine Godin of Radio Canada and The Basu & Godin Notebook recently reported that some members of the Canadiens organization believe that Volokhin may actually have a higher ceiling than Fowler.

It wasn’t so long ago that Kent Hughes was reporting they did not have a starting goalie in the organization. Now the Habs seem to have an embarrassment of riches in development.

Ironically, wherever the Habs are in the standings, they come from a long history of strength between the pipes. Saint Patrick was the face of the franchise when they won their last Stanley Cups, and Carey Price was their leader when they made their last trip to the Final. Before them, names like Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante and even Georges Vezina were associated with dominant Montreal Canadiens teams.

Good goaltending is part of the Habs identity, and there appears to be a path forward to continue that tradition.

Habsence makes the heart grow fonder.

The Canadiens went into the game against the Calgary Flames a week ago having found out hours before that they would be without Head Coach Martin St. Louis… indefinitely. He’s been with the team since February 9, 2022 – just over two years – and it’s hard to argue that any other personality is more connected to the Habs identity than his.

Do you remember feeling this devastated when Claude Julien had to be away for illness, even though we knew it was serious? Dominique Ducharme had to isolate during a Stanley Cup run, and it was a blip on the radar in comparison. Two years leading a team that is expected to lose, and Marty has already made his mark in our hearts and minds as an essential force with the team.

As much as solidifying the net is a return to traditional identity in Montreal, St. Louis represents a departure from recent identities. For years, the Habs have been known as stuck in tradition and unable to embrace the cutting edge. St. Louis is evidence that this regime is not afraid to colour outside the lines of tradition. The coach without a coaching resume is leading a young team through a growth curve that is expected to bring the Habs back to their winning ways.

Concepts above systems, analytics to explain the eye test, a comprehensive developmental program, sports psychology, and the existence of a guy named Dr. Shot all reveal a new version of the team that is ready to break the recent tradition of mediocrity.

The near misses are an indicator of how close to competitive the Habs might be, and what holes need to be filled to complete their identity.

The game against the Oilers was the best example of how competitive the Habs have become against good teams. Look at that line up, night after night, and it is so lean where genuine difference makers are concerned. But they compete. That young core is leading the way of a team that wants to play with speed, possess the puck and spend time in the offensive zone. The new Habs are committed to being complete players, and making life tough for the opposition every night.

Right now there’s just not enough of them. But Dach will be healthy in a year, and at least one and maybe two top-six players will be added this summer. Some of the kids already in the fold need to mature a little. Kent Hughes is already scouring the market for a young player who can be added that will bring speed and offence. It’s a matter of time.

We don’t have to look further than the Canucks team they faced this week to learn that a lot can change in one year.

The new Habs identity has a little swagger in it.

This week Jeff Gorton appeared on The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy. They talked about Jacob Fowler, and Gorton described him as having “swagger.” Then he elaborated on that concept. “He wants to be the guy, he wants that limelight… Having a personality that can handle it.”

This leadership is assembling a core that has swagger and the Habs have not been afraid for them to let their personalities show. Consider Cole Caufield’s recent interview, the way Suzuki has found a new gear since Monahan was traded, and the way Slafkovsky has figured out he’s no lapdog. Consider the pre-game schtick that Xhekaj and Guhle have going on. Remember Dach’s celebration in Chicago last season? The triple-low-five police have been relieved of their duties and the new sheriff in town is welcoming some swagger.

When I heard that comment from Gorton I thought about David Reinbacher and couldn’t quite detect whether he had that swagger. Then this happened.

The whole sequence of Reinbacher's first AHL goal is a beauty!

Steal, dangle, snipe

TIE GAME pic.twitter.com/O2eYtSvtgr

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) March 23, 2024

Did you see him nodding at his teammates after the goal? Swagger.

The identity is coming together. They’re losing night after night, while still competing hard and having fun. But soon there will be more of them, and the tide will turn.