The final episode of The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens has aired and focussed on the end of the season and an important new beginning.
Even though the Montreal Canadiens missed the playoffs last season, the players never stopped trying until the final buzzer went. As the last few games went on, the Habs had a newfound enthusiasm, thanks to the arrival of young defensemen Logan Mailloux and Lane Hutson. The latter played the final two games, collecting a pair of assists, while the former took part in the last game, picking up an assist.
Hutson’s impact on the fans was immediately obvious. He made them jump up from their seats right away, and he’s still doing it this season. The fans are not the only ones who are excited, either, as the bits of the exit interviews you'll see will show.
Of course, you'll only see part of a positive exit interview featuring Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki, but it's still interesting to see how those go. I'll admit that if it was my exit interview, seeing Hughes play with his golf club like that might make me worried if I had an underwhelming season.
In Slafkovsky's interview, the men in charge tell him that next season (the current one), the tolerance for losing will have to go down, especially when answering the third with a 4-1 lead. It looks like being in the mix this season has been the plan for a while before they acquired Patrik Laine.
In that final episode, we also follow a group of fans so dedicated that just watching the Canadiens at home at the Bell Centre doesn't cut it for them anymore, they go on the road to watch the Canadiens. On this road trip, Pierre Lévesque, Sophie-Catherine Houle, Pierre-Luc Cantin, Mylene Cusson, and Lina Quiriault head to Ottawa to watch their favorite battle with the Senators. Unfortunately, they didn't get the result they were after, but they had a great time, as they always do, no matter the result.
A couple of seasons back, Lévesque had organized another group to go to Ottawa, but on that day, there was an ice storm. Many opted to be safe and watch from home, but not Lévesque and his most die-hard friends. They headed to Ottawa as planned.
As we watch the final moments of the Canadiens' season in this final episode, the song "Something to Believe in" by Poison plays in the background, and I have to say that it was absolutely the perfect song choice. Those who live and breathe Canadiens' hockey may just get goosebumps.
That's a wrap on season one. Apparently, from what I've seen on Habs Reddit, they're already filming season two.
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