It feels like a lot of time has passed since the Montreal Canadiens launched their season with their annual golf tournament last year. Since then, the young Habs have all grown up and gained plenty of experience. Back then, the management group’s message was clear; it wanted to be in the mix. That goal was accomplished and then some when the Tricolore made the playoffs, so what’s the message this year?
There’s no catchphrase this season, but one could sum up what the Habs brass had to say with two words: progress and consistency. Clearly, the organization wants to build on the foundation that was laid in the last few seasons and keep moving forward from there. The way to do that will be for Montreal’s young core to play with consistency.
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When asked what his expectations were for the season, executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton summed it up neatly:
It’s just moving forward. We like our team and where we’re headed. Let’s see what happens next. Ever since we got here, that’s sort of been our mantra: one day at a time, get better all the time.- Gorton on expectations
Would missing the playoffs be a failure? Gorton said it wouldn’t be, but it would be a deception. Management wants to make the spring dance, and so do the players, but no one is thinking about failure right now. The first order of business is to get camp underway and see how the team looks with the new additions and an increased level of experience.
As for Kent Hughes, he was pleased to see that so many players wanted to spend the summer in Montreal, where they could work together and focus on their game. The architect of the team is clearly proud of what he’s been able to assemble:
We believe it’s a talented team; it’s the most talented version of the team we’ve had since I’ve been here, but it’s young. As we saw last year, their 100% performance was excellent, but with a young team and young players, consistency is what’s hard to obtain. We were not as consistent as we would have liked, so if we see change there, we’ll have a good team.- Hughes on consistency
The GM’s words echoed what Coach Martin St-Louis was saying about the team last season: it hasn’t reached its ceiling yet, but it needs to raise its floor as well. A good team’s worst day will often be better than a bad team’s best day, and that’s one of the keys to winning in the NHL. Asked if what he needed to improve his team was to add more 20-something players or a veteran, he declined to answer, adding that he’d be able to answer that question by the midway point of the season.
When asked about the fact that he called Ivan Demidov before drafting Alexhander Zharovsky, Hughes explained that the reason behind that call is simple, he wants to hear about the player from someone who really knows him, not by a scout who’s only see what he does on the ice, Hughes values familiarities, he loves being able to get that kind of first-hand information.
As for Geoff Molson, he expects to see progress; he wants to have a good team for a very long time, and looking at what Hughes and Gorton have put together, he feels that’s already happening. In his 17 years at the helm, Molson explains that he’s never seen an August practice with 42 players on the ice, but it has happened this year.
Meanwhile, coach St-Louis threw some flowers to his GM, saying the team has gotten more talented this offseason, but he’s not worried about outside expectations:
I think the expectations are more from you guys; we’re just moving along. We want to keep progressing, and we’re not too worried about the noise outside.- St-Louis on the outside noise
Asked about how he’ll manage to keep everyone happy when it comes to ice time and power play time, the bench boss replies that he’s going to have a lot of options and everything’s possible. He added that the culture built in the team will facilitate the integration of newcomers, and it’s easy to see what he means.
This is a tight-knit bunch of players, and it doesn’t feel like any of them is complaining to have a bigger slice of the cake; they want to win, and they don’t care who gets to score to do it. This group trusts St-Louis and his staff implicitly. Last season, when Cole Caufield was moved off his favorite spot on the power play, he had no complaints; he understood that it was what the coach thought was best. The same goes for Mike Matheson, who was demoted from the first power play unit. This coach knows how to win; he’s done it, and the players are ready to go to war behind him, no matter the approach.
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