Canadiens on verge of Stanley Cup contention, but still too young

One of the hot and rising teams in the NHL is the Montreal Canadiens. Yet, despite recent success, are they quite in the realm of being considered championship material?

Last season, the Habs returned the fire to Montreal. With a young core and solid depth, the team managed to make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years. Led by the likes of captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Sam Montembeault, and the incredible rookie season by Lane Hutson, the Canadiens portrayed one of the league’s most confident teams.

Heading into this season, the team has the expectation of at least matching the same level of success, if not going beyond that. There are many things to like about Montreal, but it doesn’t seem quite in the same conversation as teams that are true contenders to win the Stanley Cup.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discuss why the Canadiens aren’t quite in the Cup contendership conversation yet.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I look at Montreal, and there is so much upside in that forward group. That blue line, I really like. Again, with some young pieces, I see enough reason to believe that Montreal could get better as the year goes on. If you’re going to get better as the year goes on, maybe you just peak at the right time.

Carter Hutton: I think the Montreal Canadiens are very good, but I think at times last year during that run, they were so one-dimensional with their scoring, with that one line being their powerhouse. You’re not catching anybody off guard. So, my only concern with Montreal…is the fact that you’re not really fooling anybody this year. A lot of times with youth, with energy, you come in and you don’t get the same amount of respect as you would with a team like Florida, with a team like Tampa that has that traditional offensive powerhouse.

Now, you’re going to deal with tougher matchups. You’re going to be hitting it head-on. I think that’s something Montreal is going to have to deal with while managing expectations.

You can watch the full segment and episode here…