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I was amongst those who were advocating for a stop gap captain. To me, Suzuki was both young and already had his plate full of becoming a number one center in the NHL so I felt giving the C to a veteran on a short contract made sense. As I said prior to the season, my choice would have been Joel Edmundson while Suzuki matured for a year or two. But Suzuki certainly showed me that he was more than ready.
ONE-HANDED + WHILE FALLING + SHORTHANDED– NICK SUZUKI ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 😧 pic.twitter.com/19pNkbrhwO
— NHL (@NHL) April 13, 2023
Not only did he fulfill his role of captain with pride and dedication, but he also managed to set career highs in both points and goals in a year in which there was very little stability around him. Even without his trusty sidekick Caufield from mid-January, Suzuki kept producing and leading by example no matter who was on his wings. When new players started their NHL career, he welcomed them and took them out of dinner with a few teammates to facilitate their integration as well as taking them under his wing. Suzuki was more than ready, he spent the year playing the role he was born to play and if lady luck is on the Habs’ side next season injury wise, there is no doubt in my mind that he can become a point per game player. For all these reasons, Suzuki is my first star of the year. I’m not alone in my camp either since he won the Molson cup for the second season in a row. The last time a forward won it two years in a row, Suzuki wasn’t even born since it was Mark Recchi back in 1996-1997 and 1997-1998. And how about those "Datsukyan" moves in the shootout?
Cheeky stuff from Nick Suzuki in the shootout! pic.twitter.com/rAsBGQzJHB
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) September 20, 2019
We’ve got to turn to the blue line for my second star of the year, there are many candidates there but I’ve got to go with Mike Matheson. Even though he only took part in 48 games because of injuries, the left-handed blueliner set a career high in points with 34. His previous best output was 31 but he had done that in Pittsburgh last year playing 74 games in a star-studded line-up. If he had produced at the same pace in an 82-game season, he would have notched 58 points which would have made him the second biggest producer in the line-up behind Suzuki.
To be honest, I’ve come to the conclusion that Matheson is the best puck-moving defenseman the Canadiens have had since Andrei Markov left the team and that’s saying a lot. As the season went on, he increasingly showcased his skating ability and showed an offensive instinct that surprised many. To obtain that kind of player in a deal where Kent Hughes had next to know leverage because the whole league knew Jeff Petry wanted out was nothing short of a miracle and if Matheson can build on this season, he’ll be a legitimate first pairing defender and at 29 years old, he’s still got quite a few good years left ahead of him. Furthermore, he’s still got 3 years left on his contract at a very manageable $4.785 M a year, that’s cheap for a first pairing defenseman who wants to be here and can serve as a mentor for the Canadiens’ young defense corps.
Mike Matheson doing his thing, and Johnny Kovacevic RIPS one to get the #Habs back in the game. pic.twitter.com/DYiQuz57nx
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 9, 2023
Finally, Samuel Montembeault is my third star of the year. Last season, I wasn’t convinced by his performance and I wasn’t alone, but I was willing to give him more time to show what he could do because of the injury he played through and boy, that was time will invested. While his traditional stats are not all that impressive, he’s got a 3.42 GAA and a .901 save percentage, those numbers have got to be put in context. The 26-year-old netminder posted these numbers behind one of the youngest blue line of the league which at times featured 5 rookies at once. I’m not saying the rookies weren’t good, but they are just learning to play in the NHL and they have and will make mistakes that more experienced players wouldn’t make, which no doubt made Samuel Montembeault’s task more complicated.
#Habs goalie Samuel Montembeault made 24 saves last night vs the #Capitals including several big saves. #GoHabsGo #Hockey #NHL pic.twitter.com/D1YMe9XAKW
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 7, 2023
He finished 13th in the whole league for goals saved above expected just behind Dallas’ Jake Oettinger and in front of Hart, Kuemper and Fleury to name a few. The Canadiens’ other goaltenders ranked 67th (Cayden Primeau) and 71st (Jake Allen) which says a lot. I’m glad Montembeault is headed to the world championships, it will give us a chance to see what he can do behind a better team and one that isn’t depleted by injuries, hopefully. There is no doubt in my mind that Montembeault has impressed the Habs brass and he’ll likely be around for quite a while, he’s made Jake Allen expendable but he may not be a bona fide number one goaltender it’s too soon to tell.
Honorable mentions: Kirby Dach who has showed that he can be a center in the NHL and has made Hughes look good for trading Romanov in order to land him, Kaiden Guhle who’s already so good at such a young age and Arber Xhekaj, who’s been showing everyone that you can still make your way in the NHL even if you were never drafted.