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As the tradition goes, all players were invited to the Habs’ Brossard training center to clean out their locker and have their exit interview with both the team and the media. That’s always a busy day for media and fans alike as players start arriving at the facility around 7:30 AM and by the time the last one leaves, it’s gone 3:00 PM. As is tradition, around 50 fans stood outside the building in the hope of seeing their favorites one last time before they left town for a long off season and getting some autographs.
Carey Price was the first to arrive and within less than an hour, he was out of the door, making a pit stop to sign autographs for fans for what looked and felt like the last time. With the short time he spent inside, there’s just no way he had a discussion with the Habs brass, yet another hint that his time as a Hab is coming to a close. I doubt he’ll be traded considering the structure of his contract, but he’ll live out the remaining 3 years on LTIR and never set foot on an NHL ice again. Since the goaltender didn’t play a single game this year, he wasn’t made available to the media. The truth of the matter is, there’s not much left to be said.
Paul Byron, who also spent the year on the long-term injured reserve did speak to the media since he was in the last year of his contract. Candid as ever, Byron was very open about the fact that he still feels significant pain whenever he skates, but also in his day-to-day life, much like Carey Price. He stopped short of saying that it was retirement time, but he did say that he’s very aware that the more he plays, the more he’ll hurt later in life and mention that he had told the organization he’d like to remain with the team in another capacity, perhaps as a player development coach. Just like everyone who’s contract is ending, he was told the team would get back to him. Always a trooper, Byron then came out of the building and signed autographs for everyone present. Clearly, there’s no more room for Byron on this Canadiens’ team, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to offer him a job. A waiver pick-up from Calgary 7 years ago, the speedy forward played 383 games with the Habs and put up 160 points in that span. He’ll be remembered for his speed and shorthanded goal as well at that shorthanded game-winning goal against the Leafs in the 2021 playoffs. Byron always lead by example and had a wonderful work ethic, something that was always inspiring for his teammates.
When Sean Monahan spoke, he did his mea culpa for playing on a broken foot which lead to him overcompensating on the other leg and eventually, to his groin injury which derailed his chance of coming back. The 28-year-old is a competitor and he wanted to face the Flames after playing in Calgary for 10 years, the Habs won that much-up, but ultimately they lost Monahan for the rest of the season. According to him, he’s 2 weeks and a half away from being back on the ice and he is not worried about his health, he believes that he’s got a lot of good hockey left into him and he’d love to be back in Montreal next season. Obviously, Hughes and co. didn’t tell him if that was likely to happen since they need a bit of time to take stock. Should he come back, the Canadiens could have quite a center line with Suzuki-Dach and Monahan, but personally, I’d stay away. Whatever Monahan says, his health is a gamble and I’d rather see a young player being developed than use a veteran who you plan to flip for assets at the deadline, but the plan collapses because of persistent injuries. Don’t get me wrong, I like the player and he’s very good, but he’s not a viable solution for the Canadiens in my mind.
Another player who’s on an expiring deal had a lot to say, Jonathan Drouin admitted that the last game and the last few days had been different as they could potentially be his lasts in Montreal. While he’s not been told he won’t be receiving an offer, the writing seems to be on the wall for the former 3rd overall pick. He’s had 6 years in Montreal and says that he’s made a lot of good memories through the high and lows of his career, but I believe his roster spot would be best used by a younger player who can stay healthy and has a lot of potential. It’s a shame for Drouin, but he never lived-up to the fans, the medias and his own expectations. When RDS François Gagnon asked him if his expectations of Drouin being a point per game player were perhaps too high, Drouin didn’t shy away he said his own expectations were higher than that but that it just didn’t happen. Clearly, he didn’t like the way he was thrown at center when he first arrived with the Habs, but it’s all in the past now. Drouin said he’d like to be back, but what else is he going to say? For the good of both the team and the player, I believe now’s the right moment to call time on the Drouin experiment in Montreal, best of luck to him in free agency, but Drouin said that he’s showed this year he can still have an impact on a team and he seems confident he’ll get a new deal somewhere in the league.
As for Brendan Gallagher, he confessed that he broke his ankle breaking a shot in the 12th game of the year but soldiered through and played on it for ages instead of coming out and telling the medical staff that he couldn’t go on. Gallagher is widely known as a warrior who gives his all for the club, and he said that in his own mind, it’s easier to keep playing if you tell the medical staff that you have a contusion rather than you suspect you’ve broken a bone. Clearly this is a problem. Whatever a player is telling you, when you see on the ice that he’s not performing as he should and as he’s able to, you need to dig deeper. The Canadiens’ medical staff has got to be more proactive and protect these players from themselves. Monahan, Gallagher and Caufield all admitted that they played injured and re-injured themselves. Caufield explained earlier in the year that they were 2 separate incidents with his shoulder this season, whether or not the medical staff changes, the approach they take has got to be fixed. The health professionals have got to be able to tell players; this is the situation and no, you’re not playing. In the long-run, this playing through the pain thing hurts the team more than it helps it and it makes no sense to let things go on this way.
While Samuel Montembeault confirmed that he’d be headed to the World Championships, Nick Suzuki confirmed that he wouldn’t be going. The only player to take part in the Canadiens’ 82 games, the captain confirmed that he’s got bumps and bruises that he needs to heal and so he’ll be resting instead of competing for his country. To be honest, I was happy to hear that, this is a guy that truly puts the Montreal Canadiens above anything else and that’s the way it should be. For the second summer in a row, he intends to stay in town this off-season and stay involved in the community, much as he was last year. Spoken like a true captain really.
As for Cole Caufield, his new contract still isn’t signed but he’s optimistic it will get done sooner rather than later. The Canadiens’ marksman is leaving the contracts talk to his agent and just keeps his focus on rehabbing after his shoulder surgery. Apparently, he’ll be clear to golf by June 1st which means he’ll be able to shoot pucks by then and he should be firing on all cylinders come October. In case anyone needs reminding, the striker’s contract expires at the end of June and he’ll be a restricted free agent by then, meaning that he could receive an hostile offer much like Jesperi Kotkaniemi did a couple of seasons ago, but let’s not kid ourselves if it did happen, it would be a disaster for the Canadiens, they need both Caufield’s goals and skills if this rebuilt is to be successful and he’s just the kind of player that fits into the St-Louis system. Finally Josh Anderson clearly has had enough of hearing both rumors or questions about being traded and told the media in no uncertain terms. He signed a long-term contract in Montreal and he is still in Montreal right now. The big forward said he was happy with his improvement this season, under the coaching staff’s tutelage, he’s learnt to best use his speed and he added that he now had to set his sights on how to score on the breakaway, given how many opportunities he’s squandered this past season. Sadly for the fans gathered outside of the training facility, Caufield, Suzuki and Anderson didn’t come to see them and left without making the fans’ day by signing a few memorabilia pieces.
I won’t go through each and every media availability here as I believe I’ve captured most of the important things that were said, but I’ll add a bit about Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes’ presser which came at the end of the day. Both men appeared pleased with how the season went for their team although they would have liked to see less injuries but they seemed confident that won’t have hindered their youngsters’ development, after all, you can still learn a lot from watching from the press gallery. Gorton put to rest the rumors that he might not be back next season and commenting had the whole room laughing when he said he heard the expression “beaucoup de blessures… a lot in the French questions, he now knows what that means. At the close of their second season in charge, both men were adamant that the focus will still be on development next season but that they expect to have a more competitive side. They stopped short of saying that missing the playoffs would be a failure, but clearly, they’re not dismissing it before the season even starts.
It looks like they’ll stay the course, but Gorton added that he expects Hughes to remain his aggressive self on the market and to pull the trigger on deals that stick with the organization’s philosophy and improves the team for the future and not just for this upcoming season. Something tells me whatever happens on draft lottery night, the Canadiens might try to steal the show by rocking the draft with a deal…Time will tell…
Suivez le bilan de fin de saison de Jeff Gorton et Kent Hughes en direct de Brossard.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 14, 2023
Tune in to the end of season media op with Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes live from Brossard.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/UY7fHStFf2