When your team is eliminated in the Stanley cup playoffs, you often see fans feel frustrated watching the rest of the playoffs as they wonder why their team didn’t manage to keep their run going and start analyzing what’s missing to make it further next year.

More than two weeks after they’ve been eliminated, as we’re about to watch the conference finals, it still feels like Montreal does have a lot of tinkering to do on their roster to even begin thinking about competing for the Stanley cup with the best teams in the league, but I think most would agree the word that best describes the feeling around the team’s season is pride.

We are proud of what this team accomplished, against all odds, this season. We are proud of them for not only reaching the expectations set for them, but showing enough perseverance when things got tough to actually get past them and make the playoffs, being the youngest NHL team ever to do so.

The Habs young players, the ones that are part of the current and future core of this team, all acquired extremely valuable experience playing a more experienced and, quite frankly, better Capitals team in the first round. That experience cannot be bought, it needs to be lived first hand and I’m convinced we’ll see the benefits of it all sooner than later.

For now, the focus is on the draft and the potential players that can be added with the 16th and 17th overall picks owned by the Canadiens… or how they intend to use these assets to acquire help via trade.

I am convinced one or both of these picks will be in play in the hunt for a 2nd line centre, which is likely the first priority for Kent Hughes this summer. This being said, I think it’s important that management stays focused on the long term success of this team and waits for the right player, the right opportunity and not just try and get a player to fill a need. You don’t give up first round picks while rebuilding a team unless the return adds a player both good enough and young enough to be part of your core players for a long time.

The Canadiens’s general manager has done everything to make us trust him with these decisions and I’m eager to see what his next move will be.

Playing above or under expecations

I’ve said it numerous times this season, how you end up judging a season, whether it’s a player's or a team’s, it always comes down to what you originally expected of them before the season compared to the actual results.

As we are looking back one last time to the Habs 2024-2025 season before focusing on the offseason, here’s a small list of the players I think played significantly above or under expectations

Above expectations:

Josh Anderson: After what was probably the most disappointing season of his career, he not only accepted a new role as a bottom 6 forward and penalty kill specialist, he thrived in it. Anderson was a leader for this team all season long as he battled through injury without missing any games and was a much needed physical presence in the playoffs.

Brandan Gallagher: Despite being a fan favorite for over a decade, Gallagher’s contract and performances these past two seasons made it believe his body was breaking down and talks of a buyout eventually were not farfetched at all. This season, Gallagher had an amazing bounce back year as he posted his first 20+ goal season since the 19-20 season. His “veteran” line along with Dvorak and Anderson were extremely useful at 5 on 5 and Gallagher, as we mentioned with Anderson, showed the kind of leadership that will be remembered by our still-learning young players.

Lane Hutson: Let’s not pretend like Lane Hutson’s performance was a complete surprise. Expectations were high for the small defenseman, but we were ready to see him go through growing pains and know for sure he could effectively defend at the NHL level. His answer to these questions? A record breaking season offensively and rapidly evolving into the team’S best defenseman. If you had to pick the biggest difference between the previous season, which ended in a bottom 5 finish, and the team making the playoffs this season, it’s probably adding Lane Hutson and his elite skillset.

Nick Suzuki: Another player who had high expectations coming into this season was the Captain Nick Suzuki. After posting career highs the previous season, there were still people questioning if he was a legitimate first line centre in the NHL. Well 89 points later, after showing tremendous leadership after asking management not to trade away players at the deadline, literally putting the team on his shoulders and carrying them when the odds were stacked against them, I think he put these questions to rest.

Under expectations:

Alex Newhook: Alex Newhook is a NHL player, there’s no doubt about that, but the jury is still out on the role best suited for him. Last season he was put into a top six role (first at wing and then at centre) and produced underwhelming numbers despite being sent out mostly on offensive zone situations. Of course having the carry Patrik Laine at 5 on 5 would likely slow anyone down but it was mostly Newhook’s lack of finish this season that hurt his chances to be counted on as a top six solution towards next season. His speed and intensity will keep giving him scoring chances, but unless he finds a way to bury his chances, odds are we’re looking at a third line player moving forward.

Cayden Primeau: After showing a stretch of good performances in the NHL the year before while splitting the net three ways with Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault, it’s safe to say Primeau’s performance in the NHL were, not only subpar, but absolutely horrendous. He posted league worst numbers across his 11 starts that pretty much forced management to bring in Jakub Dobes earlier than expected because Primeau simply didn’t give his team a chance to win whenever he played. He bounced back in the AHL once he arrived in Laval, ironically having the best stats in the AHL after arriving there. It’s more than likely Primeau will be included in a trade so he can have a fresh start somewhere else as I don’t see Montreal considering him at all for the backup position next season.

Kirby Dach: When people wondered about Nick Suzuki as a first line centre last summer, there were fans that actually believed Kirby Dach was Montreal’s centre with the biggest upside. Despite playing only two games the previous seasons, expectations for the former 3rd overall pick in the 2019 draft were absolutely through the roof as he was counted on to centre the team’s 2nd line and had a spot on the first powerplay wave to begin the season. It would be a huge understatement to say Dach showed underwhelming performances as fans and management alike showed great patience with him, hoping it was simply the needed time to get back to his highest level after missing so much time on LTIR.

Unfortunately, Dach never managed to show us the extent of his abilities and finished with only 22 points in 57 games as rumors of lack of seriousness with his physical preparation last summer began to surface once he got injured once again. Dach will be back with this team next season for the last year of his current contract, but the role in which he will be used remains up in the air as Montreal will undoubtedly try and find a better solution to centre the 2nd line. I think Dach can be a much better player than what we’ve seen from him in the 2024-2025 season and while he will likely find himself sitting a on a new chair with this team at the beginning of training camp, he will get another opportunity at some point and it will be up to him to show management if he can be part of this team’s future.

Of course this list could have been longer and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on who were your biggest surprises or deceptions this past season for Montreal.

Thank you all for reading and have a nice day!

Hugo Brossoit (Scabeh)

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