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Let’s not kid ourselves, 2022 might just have been the worst year in Montreal Canadiens’ history. Last season was a nightmare and by the time Dominique Ducharme was dismissed, watching the Habs play felt like pure torture, it reminded me of never-ending advanced maths classes in high school, ones I had no interest in or use for. Since Martin St-Louis was appointed at the helm, things have gotten better but the Habs have now hit a really rough patch, and some are starting to worry about what that will do for the youngsters’ development.
Admittedly, December has been a disaster for Montreal, in a busy 15-game month, the Tricolore was only victorious 4 times and suffered a few blowouts along the way. The 5-1 defeat to the Lightning mid-month was hard to watch, just like the 4-1 one against these same Bolts 4 days ago. More than these though, the last 2 games have got fans worried, losing while being competitive is one thing, but getting blown out of the water by the struggling Panthers 7-2 and 9-2 by the aging Caps is another, is this becoming a toxic environment for the Canadiens’ youth?
Personally, I do not feel like pushing the panic button just yet. This is a rebuilt and it’s meant to be hard. We’ve heard a lot about the growing pains a young team must go through, but this edition of the Montreal Canadiens has to go through pain period. Why? Because the new Habs brass is trying to fashion a team with a new identity and a new style of play while using players chosen by the previous regime and ill suited to this new style. Right now, it’s not the blue line’s lack of experience that is the issue, but rather the lack of effort and offensive output by overpaid veterans. The likes of Joel Armia, Jonathan Drouin, Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman are paid big bucks and are not doing a whole lot. Soon, they’ll be gone and that will be helpful to this rebuilt.
Will this mess the young Habs development in the long run? I’m hoping it won’t, I trust Montreal has got the right staff in place to make this trying season a learning opportunity no matter the final scores. Martin St-Louis isn’t yelling at his youngster and going full on Tortorella on them, if he was, there would be a problem. The coach knows the predicament his team is in right now and understands that the expectation isn’t to win a truckload of games, so he does his best to teach at practice and to keep the kids happy and the environment positive.
Au revoir, 2022.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 31, 2022
Bye, 2022.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/oP6VzABpOy
Keep the faith Habs’ fans, the path ahead is a rocky one but when all is said and done, you’ll be glad you stuck around to reap the benefits a few years from now. The new year will bring you more than its share of defeats, but you’ve got to keep seeing the bigger picture.
As we welcome 2023, I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to read my blogs and discuss hockey with me, these last few years have been trying times for us all and you’ve been a ray of sunshine for me. Thank you for your time and your passion for the game, this team, and its players. Have a wonderful new year and I hope it brings you everything you need and want.
Message spécial des boys 🎇#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/n29rwioecR
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 1, 2023