What other teams can learn from the Montreal Canadiens rebuild
Not every NHL rebuild has to last multiple presidential terms. For proof, look no further than the Montreal Canadiens. After a surprise appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup finals, the Habs spent three seasons outside of the playoffs before returning to the postseason last year with a young, exciting core of talent. With 65 points through 53 games this season, Montreal once again has eyes on the playoffs and a deeper run towards the Cup.
While teams like the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks spent five-plus years slumming near the bottom of the standings before showing signs of life this season, the Canadiens have reset their roster in an impressively short period, boasting a cache of early- to mid-twenties stars that is the envy of much of the league. It’s no wonder, then, that Montreal was ranked as the NHL’s top rebuild by Paul Pidutti on Wednesday.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Canadiens’ impressive rebuild, and what other teams can learn from their success.
Tyler Yaremchuk: What teams can learn from how quickly this Montreal group was able to turn things around, is they didn’t totally rip this thing down to the studs. Yes, Carey Price stepped away. Shea Weber was hurt and had to retire. You look at the other names on there, they kept Brendan Gallagher, they kept Josh Anderson, they kept that group of guys who at the time were in their late twenties, and they still had a good group of leadership.
I was around a long, long rebuild here in Edmonton. It took 10 years to figure that out, and the problem was they shipped out all of their veterans, they stockpiled draft picks, but then when they were elevating kids to the NHL, there was no culture, there was no holding these kids accountable. They were just kind of stuck in mud for all those seasons. Montreal kept a really good culture around there, even Nick Suzuki has been there for so long, and obviously he wears the ‘C’ now. I just think what teams can pull from Montreal is ripping it down to the studs the way Anaheim and San Jose did can be really dangerous.
Carter Hutton: Buffalo’s a factor in that too, looks like they’re finally out of that. You go all the way down, you try to tank, you try to get picks, it doesn’t mean you’re coming back. Hockey is that one sport where they still prioritize the person over the player. Having the right people around these young guys so they learn the culture, they learn how to grind. If you get pity parties when things don’t go your way, it can spiral fast. Good on the Montreal Candiens for where they’re at.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…