THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'Dub': Connor Bedard's Pursuit for 150 and Kings' WHL Alumni Nick Suzuki [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2NzgxODI4MDYzODk2NjM4/usatsi_20304882.jpg] Nick Suzuki Most NHL teams still have something at stake in their remaining regular-season games. The teams at the top of the league are jostling for playoff position and/or making the playoffs at all, while the league’s bottom-feeding teams are spending their final handful of games trying to win the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Then there are teams that don’t quite fit into either of those categories. Most prominent among them are the Montreal Canadiens, who are more or less stuck as the league’s fifth-worst team. So long as the Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks don’t completely collapse, the Habs aren’t going to move ahead of them in the standings. And unless the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets go on a winning streak, the Canadiens aren’t going to sink any lower in the standings. So, what does Montreal have to play for in their final 10 games? Especially when key components Josh Anderson and Kaiden Guhle are now sidelined for the rest of the year? Well, a couple of things, as a matter of fact. The easy answer is the Habs are playing for their jobs next season. While it’s true much of Montreal’s roster is signed through next season, they still have 10 players who’ll be free agents this summer – five UFAs (including Jonathan Drouin, Sean Monahan, Alex Belzile and Chris Tierney) and five RFAs. Kent Hughes could be one of the more active GMs in the game this summer. Many of those UFAs could be playing hard because they want to return to Montreal in 2023-24, but those same players could also be playing for other NHL employers next season. As per CapFriendly [https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/canadiens], the Canadiens have 19 players under contract for next season, but they have $10.5 million in salary cap space to work with. What happens in the next 10 games could help dictate what direction Hughes takes the team next season. But in addition to their free agents, the Canadiens also have the opportunity to play spoiler. In their remaining games, Montreal has one game apiece against the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders. With little at stake the rest of the way, the Habs can play free and easy and do great damage to the playoff hopes of those teams. It would be easy for Montreal’s players to pull the chute and take a pleasure skate or two, but Hughes and the rest of the Canadiens’ brass want to see the competitiveness levels of their young players, and it would be disheartening to see them shrink from the challenge that’s ahead of them. Canadiens fans have been patient with the Hughes regime, as they’re keenly aware the big rebuild is the most proven route to getting generational-type talents to form the core of their lineup for the next decade or longer. Certainly, that process would be accelerated if the hockey gods smile on Montreal and they win the right to take Bedard first overall. But even if they don’t, the odds are still good that they’ll come away from the deep upcoming draft with a top-five pick. It will hurt not to have Stanley Cup playoff hockey in Quebec this spring. It’s always good for the game when Montreal is involved in the chase for the Cup. But something will be at stake for them in the remainder of the regular season. Next year probably can't come soon enough for Habs supporters, but they still have good reason to tune in.
