NHL Hot Seat Radar 2023: Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are on the hot seat to finally show growth from their young core, but some players are on thin ice in that pursuit.

The NHL’s 2023-24 off-season continues, but there’s always pressure on the league’s players, coaches, GMs and team owners. That’s our focus in this continuing THN.com “Hot Seat” series.

Looking at teams in alphabetical order, we’re picking out three-to-four individuals per team on some sort of “hot seat.” One NHL player, team owner, GM or coach will be on the hot seat as a person dealing with a lot of pressure to have a high-impact showing in 2023-24 or reside in the team’s doghouse; a second player, coach, team owner or GM is placed on the “warm” seat as a person not facing an imminent firing or trade, but whose time with the team may end this year; and a third player, GM, team owner, or coach will be on the “cold” seat, labeling them as highly likely to stay with their team for the long-term.

Canadiens’ Hot Seat: Jeff Petry, D

After being acquired from Pittsburgh in the three-team trade that made Erik Karlsson a Penguin, Petry is on the Hot Seat in Montreal – to the point he may never remain a Canadien by the time training camp opens. The 35-year-old blueliner has value in the remaining two seasons of his contract (all financial numbers via Puckpedia), especially with the Pens retaining 25 percent of his $6.25-million annual salary cap hit.

If you’re acquiring Petry, it’s not for his defensive acumen. Rather, it’s for his skills on offense. Although he’s played only 129 games in the past two seasons, Petry has produced at an approximate 40-point pace since 2017-18, and he averaged 22:21 of ice time last season in Pittsburgh. You can’t fault Petry if he doesn’t want to be part of Montreal’s rebuild at this late stage in his career, and the Habs likely can trade him for some young assets to be part of their team for years to come.

It’s not Petry’s fault he’s on the Hot Seat, but that’s the reality for him at the moment. All he can do is accept a trade – he still has a modified no-trade list that prevents him from being moved to 15 teams of his choice – and it’s difficult to see him lasting long in Montreal. It may take until the trade deadline to maximize his value, but frankly, we don’t see him lasting that long. He’s one of the above-average NHLers most likely to be moved before the season begins.

Canadiens’ Warm Seat: Jake Allen, G

Allen’s individual numbers soared to career-worsts in goals-against average (3.55) and save percentage (.891) last season, but you have to factor in the reality that he was playing behind an abysmal Canadiens team. The 33-year-old enters 2023-24 in the first year of a two-year, $7.7-million contract, but the fact he’s signed through next season could make him more attractive as a cost-certain asset to potential employers.

Montreal GM Kent Hughes brought in former Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith in the Karlsson trade, and DeSmith and Samuel Montembeault could wind up being the Canadiens’ tandem in net if Allen is traded. The Habs aren’t yet in a position to be a playoff team this coming season, and Allen may well choose to explore other options with another team. He’s been a good citizen in Montreal despite tough times, and Hughes may reward Allen’s team-first behavior with a deal that sends him to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Canadiens’ Cold Seat: Cole Caufield, RW

The Canadiens’ core moving forward includes forwards Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky and defensemen Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris, as well as the 22-year-old Cole Caufield, who managed to generate a career-best 26 goals in only 46 games this past season. Caufield is now Montreal’s second highest-paid active player and is in year one of an eight-year, $62.8-million contract extension, but there’s no worry from the Habs that Caufield won’t live up to expectations.

By the time Caufield is in his prime, the Canadiens intend to be a playoff team each and every season, and there’s little doubt Caufield will be a driving force for them for the life of his current contract and beyond. It’s hard to fathom that Caufield fell to the 15th-overall slot in the 2019 entry draft, but that’s a big bonus for Montreal. Caufield is a first-rate talent, and he’s going to be a Hab until further notice.