Summer Synopsis: Montreal Canadiens

Montreal finished the 2022-23 season fifth-to-last in the league and if you asked them, they might say it was all according to plan. Kent Hughes and his team have used the 2023 summer to its fullest, clearing out numerous veteran names to make space for U24 talent gathered through trades, RFA signings, and savvy UFA pickups. The Montreal rebuild is fully underway and the team seems poised for a very exciting 2023-24 campaign, even if it may not directly mean success on the scoresheet. The road ahead seems like it stretches for a few more seasons but with a wave of health and emerging new faces, Montreal will undoubtedly be worth following.

Draft

1-5: D David Reinbacher, Kloten (Swiss NL)
3-69: G Jacob Fowler, Youngstown (USHL)
4-101: F Florian Xhekaj, Brantford (OHL)
4-110: D Bogdan Konyushkov, Torpedo (KHL)
4-128: G Quentin Miller, Quebec (QMJHL)
5-133: F Sam Harris, Sioux Falls (USHL)
5-144: G Yevgeni Volokhin, Mamonty (MHL)
6-165: F Filip Eriksson, Vaxjo (Sweden U20)
7-197: D Luke Mittelstadt, Lincoln (USHL)

Montreal became the talk of the draft very quickly, with the controversial selection of David Reinbacher over more publicly-lauded players like Matvei Michkov or Ryan Leonard. But with the selection, Montreal gets a top-end right-hand defender to match with the talent they’re building on the left-side, through the likes of Adam Engstrom, Lane Hutson, and William Trudeau. And the team is clearly confident in the defender, already signing him to his entry-level contract (three years, $6.4MM) only a couple of weeks after the draft.

After their stunner, Montreal receded to a very calm draft focused primarily on finding their next netminder. The Habs took reigning Clark Cup MVP Jacob Fowler; local talent Quentin Miller; and Russia’s Yevgeni Volokhin, who was popular among goalie scouts for much of the year. The trio joins a goalie room already comprised of Jakub Dobes and Cayden Primeau, creating a clear focus for the Montreal development staff. They complemented their goalie haul with a string of savvy picks, including the undersized but dynamic Sammy Harris, hefty two-way defender Luke Mittelstadt, and Florian Xhekaj, younger brother of current Habs defender Arber Xhekaj. It was an admirable draft class for a team in the midst of a classic rebuild.

Trade Acquisitions

F Alex Newhook (Colorado)
G Casey DeSmith (Pittsburgh)
D Gustav Lindstrom (Detroit)

Montreal jumped on the Alex Newhook rumors, dealing Gianni Fairbrother and a first and second round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to Colorado for the centerman. Newhook, 22, has not kicked off his NHL career in the way many expected. But he hasn’t been entirely unproductive either. Playing primarily down the middle – although it’s been more a 60/40 split than a defined center role – Newhook has recorded 27 goals and 66 points through 159 career games. Those aren’t terrible numbers for a young player that still looks like they’re adjusting a bit. There’s reason to be optimistic about the stylistic match between Newhook and Habs head coach Martin St. Louis, but if that will result in a rebound for him is yet to be seen.

Casey DeSmith also joins Montreal via trade, presenting as the team’s reward for middle-manning Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Erik Karlsson. DeSmith will enters the season at 32, only one year younger than Montreal’s Jake Allen. And maybe because of his older age, Montreal is now looking to flip DeSmith. There will likely be no shortage of suiters, looking to acquire DeSmith’s career .912 save percentage and team-friendly cap-hit of $1.8MM. If they do flip DeSmith, Montreal will enter the 2023-24 season with a duo of Allen and Sam Montembeault once again, unless one of their younger names can make a case at training camp.

The Habs also acquired Gustav Lindstrom when they flipped Jeff Petry from Pittsburgh to his hometown Detroit Red Wings. Lindstrom has struggled to stay fully healthy in recent years but offers good, rangy play when he is on the ice. The Canadiens defense was one of their glaring holes last season, and at only 24, Lindstrom helps them patch that hole while still staying young.

UFA Signings

D Brady Keeper (one year, $775K)*
F Phillipe Maillet (one year, $775K)*
F Lias Andersson (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes two-way contract

For a team in Montreal’s position, a quiet UFA signing season isn’t much of a surprise. Montreal isn’t fighting to rank among the league’s best next season – they’re focused on building out a young core that cna compete for years to come. However, they did reel in the 2017 NHL Draft’s seventh-overall selection, Lias Andersson, who has struggled to find his footing in any seemingly any North American league. But with 31 goals and 59 points in 67 AHL games last season, Andersson is finally showing a flash of both high scoring and consistency that’s been missed from his game in recent years. Andersson has 110 NHL games under his belt and only 17 points to show for it, so fans shouldn’t expect the world from him in Montreal. But at 24 years old, and on a league-minimum deal, there’s very little risk involved. And while we haven’t seen it yet, there will always be glimmers of upside in former top-10 picks. If all goes right, there’s a chance that Kent Hughes found his sleeper talent in Andersson.

RFA Re-Signings

F Michael Pezzetta (two years, $1.6MM)
F Cole Caufield (eights years, $62.8MM)
F Sean Monahan (one year, $2MM)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (two years, $2.2MM)
F Mitchell Stephens (one year, $775K)*
F Alex Newhook (four years, $11.6MM)
F Lucas Condotta (two years, $1.6MM)*
D Nicolas Beaudin (one year, $775K)*
F Jesse Ylonen (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes two-way contract

Montreal saved their big splash for the RFA group – effectively building out their forward group through RFA-signings. This includes giving Cole Caufield his first major contract extension. The deal will take Caufield to his age-29 season and carries an annual cap hit of $7.85MM, a figure that could look like an absolute steal for the winger when he enters his prime. Caufield has been lights-out under St. Louis’ leadership, recording 48 goals and 71 points in 83 games under the new head coach. This includes 26 goals and 36 points in the 46 games he appeared in last season, before a shoulder injury ended his campaign.

The Canadiens also rounded out their bottom-six, signing Monahan, Pezzetta, Harvey-Pinard, and Newhook to one-way deals that should mean a roster spot for the coming season. Harvey-Pinard’s deal is especially interesting – with a cap hit over $1MM-per-season, after the winger torched the league with 14 goals and 20 points in only 34 games last season. His 24.1 percent shooting percentage is very likely unsustainable but Montreal is letting Harvey-Pinard prove his worth with the new deal. The same can be said about Sean Monahan, who is fighting to find his footing after a shaky last few years with the Calgary Flames. Monahan recorded 17 points in 25 games with Montreal last season.

Fans can gather a strong, general look at who the Habs think will be fighting for a roster spot at training camp through their RFA signings. But, outside of Caufield, there’s not too much certainty in how the list will perform once they’re on the ice. How Montreal can build out their core group through RFA signings will be an interesting storyline as the new season begins.

Departures

F Denis Gurianov (Nashville, one year, $850K)
F Joel Teasdale (unsigned UFA)
F Alex Belzile (New York Rangers, two years, $1.55MM)
F Chris Tierney (New Jersey, one year, $775K)*
F Jonathan Drouin (Colorado, one year, $825K)
D Madison Bowey (Dinamo, KHL)
F Paul Byron (Retired)
D Joel Edmundson (trade with Washington)
F Mike Hoffman (trade with San Jose)
F Rem Pitlick (trade with Pittsburgh)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Habs survived the off-season without any unexpected losses. Joel Edmundson was popular in trade rumors for much of the year and finally got his swap, getting sent to the Capitals for draft picks. Jonathon Drouin also found his long-anticipated departure form the Canadiens, entering free agency before getting picked up by the Colorado Avalanche on a cheap deal.

Denis Gurianov is perhaps the most notable loss. Montreal acquired Gurianov partway through the 2022-23 campaign, sending Evgenii Dadonov to the Dallas Stars in return. Gurianov appeared in 23 games with Montreal, recording a meager eight points. That must’ve been enough viewing for Montreal, who failed to qualify the winger, sending him to free agency.

Also noteworthy is the one-way deal the New York Rangers provided to Alex Belzile. Belzile is a 32-year-old minor-leaguer that played his unofficial rookie season last year, playing in 31 NHL games and recording 14 points. But he appeared in just as many AHL games, signaling where his value may be the strongest. That’s a claim the Rangers will put to the test, though, providing him a contract that should warrant at least some level of NHL consideration. If Belzile is set on an NHL role, or if this deal is just a friendly nod to a 300-game AHL veteran will be a small-but-interesting story to follow.

But like many of their departures, the loss of Gurianov and Belzile doesn’t leave much wake. The Canadiens retooled nicely this summer, clearing out plenty of space on the NHL roster for their RFA signings and young prospects.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Canadiens are up against the cap as of early-September. But they’ll gain roughly $5.77MM in cap space when they’re able to put Carey Price back on LTIR, per CapFriendly. The team doesn’t have any unsigned free agents, so that money could be used creatively to bolster their top-end. Or maybe the Habs will hang on to their ample cap space. There’s no denying the value of flexibility in the modern NHL and teams like Arizona have found ways to turn open cap space into high-end draft picks and prospects.

Key Questions

What Can Juraj Slafkovsky Become? The Canadiens shocked the world by taking Juraj Slafkovsky ahead of Shane Wright, Logan Cooley, and Simon Nemec in the 2022 NHL Draft. And while he still hadn’t fully adjusted, Slafkovsky was made the pick look honorable by appearing in 39 NHL games last season. But he suffered a lower-body injury in January of 2023, effectively holding him out for the rest of the season. With nearly-40 NHL games under his belt, Slafkovsky should have a better sense of what to prepare for in the upcoming campaign. But Montreal will need the most out of their first-overall selection if they want to really speed up their rebuild.

Can Alex Newhook Breakout? Alex Newhook did not look particularly great during his time in Colorado. But his woes can be chalked up, in part, to a mismatch with the Avalanche’s dump-and-chase system. The Canadiens must think so – paying handsomely for him in both trade and contract negotiations. Newhook plays a possession-based, speedy style that could make Martin St. Louis a bit nostalgic. To say that St. Louis has had a special impact on some of Montreal’s brightest stars would be an understatement. Cole Caufield has become a near point-per-game player under St. Louis’ encouragement. It would be unfair to expect a similar breakout from Newhook but he’s only 22 years old, meaning there’s plenty of time for him to find his way on a new roster. If Montreal can get the most out of Newhook, they could add a really effective layer to an already-exciting top-nine.

Which Bottom-Six Studs Will Stick? Rafael Harvey-Pinard headlines what was a really exciting stretch from Montreal’s bottom-six. Along with Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylonen and Michael Pezzetta proved their case for roster spots. Montreal rewarded the trio with new contracts this off-season, giving them all good opportunity to really lock in their spot on the Habs lineup. But if they’ll actually earn their spot is yet to be seen. Maybe more important will be the answer to what Montreal will do if any of the three can’t stick. They should have exciting players like Filip Mesar, Sean Farrell, and Emil Heineman available for call-ups if they need to fill a roster spot. Seeing which of their young prospects are up next, or if the aforementioned trio can stick, should help answer how Montreal will be approaching the next few years.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.