The Montreal Canadiens not only made the playoffs but also made a lot of noise, and the roster is still young. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield have more reasons to celebrate after winning NHL awards.
In hindsight, maybe the Montreal Canadiens were justified in partying it up a day after getting embarrassed in the conference final.
This season might not have ended with a Stanley Cup parade. But it was definitely worth celebrating — even if some fans rolled their eyes and questioned the team's leadership after Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and other Habs were seen shot-gunning beers and singing along with country singer Luke Combs at a concert last week.
It turns out, Suzuki and Caufield had reason to give cheers to one another.
On Friday, Suzuki was named the Frank J. Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's top defensive forward, while Caufield won the Lady Byng Trophy as the most gentlemanly player. Consider them consolation prizes in a season that was a total success — individually and as a team.
The Habs, which were the youngest team to reach the conference final in 33 years, not only made the playoffs but made a lot of noise.
They beat Tampa Bay in the first round and ended Buffalo's Cinderella run in the second round.
In the process, they discovered they've got a Carey Price-like goalie in Jakub Dobes and a future Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in Lane Hutson.
Yes, it all ended with Montreal not really putting up a fight against a Carolina Hurricanes team that outscored them 10-1 in Games 4 and 5. But this was a year of growth for the Canadiens.
This looked like the start of something special.
In his fourth NHL season, No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky went from scoring 18 to 30 goals. He established himself as a top-line left winger. He even fought Brandon Hagel in the playoffs, which might not have been that wise.
Hutson, who finished fourth among defensemen with 78 points, is still the playoff leader at his position with 16 points in 19 games. Dobes stole the net — and a couple of Game 7 wins against Tampa Bay and Buffalo. Rookie Ivan Demidov was a runner-up for the Calder Trophy with 19 goals and 62 points.
Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Alexandre Texier all took steps. But no one took a bigger step than Suzuki and Caufield.
This was the year when Montreal's dynamic duo, who were part of the team that reached the Cup final in 2021, established themselves as superstars.
Suzuki finished sixth in league scoring with 101 points. He took the sixth-most faceoffs, and his plus-37 goal-differential was among the top 10 in the league. His all-around game secured Suzuki a spot on Canada's Olympic team, where coach Jon Cooper called him a "swiss army knife" and said, "That kid can play anywhere. He can play goal if we asked him to."
Indeed, Suzuki had the kind of season for Montreal that usually gets your name on MVP awards.
You could say the same of Caufield, who became the first Habs player in 36 years to reach the 50-goal mark.
Caufield actually finished with 51 goals, which was the second-most in the league. Equally impressive was that not a single one was scored on an empty net. He did have 12 game-winners — including five in overtime, earning him the nickname of Mr. Saturday Night.
"Two great people, unbelievable hockey players that get recognized what kind of impact they have in the league, so it's special," Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis told NHL.com. " 'Suzi' is a little bit older, but he's been a great role model for Cole and took him under his wing. They shared so many things, but I think to share this experience, this day, I think it's something they'll remember.
"Our focus here has been so much about the team that I don't think Cole and Suzi wouldn't want it any other way. As much as they are the recipient, they know that it's also probably a team award because it takes more than one guy to go get these trophies."
They say you cannot win a championship without a No. 1 goalie, No. 1 defenseman or a No. 1 center.
Well, the Canadiens have all three — plus a trio of elite wingers (and maybe even another No. 1 goalie) that are just barely scratching the surface of their prime.
Demidov is 20. Hutson is 22. Dobes is 25. Backup Jacob Fowler is 21. Caufield is 25. And Suzuki, who has played seven seasons in Montreal, is the veteran at 26.
This is an impossibly young team. And while next season, there will be Florida, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and perhaps Ottawa and Toronto to contend with, it looks like Montreal could be the team to beat in the Atlantic Division for many years to come.
And as we saw at the Luke Combs' concert, Suzuki and Caufield will be the ones leading the "Ole! Ole! Ole!" chants.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.