The formation deployed by the Canadian on Wednesday evening in Toronto for the opening of the season bears a marked resemblance to that of last year. Fifteen of the twenty players in uniform on October 12, 2022 are back. Is it really that similar? On pixel, perhaps, but in reality, no.
Perhaps the biggest change is at the center of the second line. The arrival of Kirby Dach caused a certain excitement and we had already forgotten the charismatic defender Alexander Romanov, sacrificed to obtain him, but at this time last year, Dach, despite his interesting potential, had obtained only 26 points, including 9 goals, in 70 games in Chicago and some wondered why the Blackhawks, despite being in full reconstruction, had given up hope of making this third overall pick in 2019 a player of the future. We were also wondering in Montreal if Dach, 21, would not be better off on the flanks.
A year later, Dach was an established NHL player. He produced 38 points in 58 games at just 22 years old, 54 points in a full season. Some even wonder if he won’t become as good, if not better, than Nick Suzuki. Dach is 18 months younger than Suzuki, after all. At the same age, Suzuki obtained 41 points in 56 games in his second season with CH.
On the flanks, we replace Mike Hoffman with Alex Newhook, younger, faster, more valiant. Newhook, obtained from the Avalanche for late first-round and second-round picks, is a project like Dach was last year. His 33 points in 71 games in his first full NHL season in 20 years shows some interesting potential. It was more production than Dach had in his final year in Chicago, but his 30 points last year left many wanting more.
Juraj Slafkovsky was kept in Montreal last year to learn the basics of the trade in accelerated, personalized fashion, to correct the many flaws in his game. We were able to see at work a more confident attacker, improved in preparatory matches . His two goals and three points in five games could give him some confidence. But since there are many dips in youth development, let’s wait before predicting 25 goals for him. He’s only 19, after all.
The two new offensive stars of the decade in Montreal, Suzuki and Caufield, continued to progress, at 23 and 21 years old respectively. Without regular wingers, Suzuki reached career highs with 66 points and 26 goals, five points more than the previous season. Caufield has scored three more goals (26) in 21 fewer games. He was on pace to score 46 before getting injured. Josh Anderson should give roughly the same output, around twenty goals, a lot of enthusiasm and speed.
The third line looks similar in some ways to last year, despite Slafkovsky’s promotion. Monahan solidifies the center there in the absence of Dvorak and Brendan Gallagher tries to survive despite the wear and tear of time. In two years, Owen Beck should occupy the center position of this trio and Gallagher and Tanner Pearson will have been replaced by a Joshua Roy, Sean Farrell, Jesse Ylönen or another.
On the fourth line, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is the Rem Pitlick of the previous season. Pitlick was quickly forgotten, traded to Pittsburgh after a disappointing season, but he produced 26 points in 46 games two years ago and was seen as a potential quality supporting player. We wish Harvey-Pinard a better future, nothing indicates otherwise at the moment. Dadonov was resurrected in Dallas, but he was ordinary in Montreal. Ylönen is younger, faster and dynamic. Let’s see how he progresses after a 16-point season in 37 games.
On defense, Mike Matheson had an exceptional training camp in 2022 before getting injured, but we did not know exactly which defender CH had just acquired for Jeff Petry. Actually, yes: his first six seasons in the NHL showed us a mobile number four defenseman, capable of amassing between 20 and 30 points per season, nothing more, certainly not a dominant defenseman, offensively or defensively, capable of producing at a pace of 58 points over a full season, as his 34 points in 48 games seemed to indicate. He must remain healthy.
Montreal began the previous season with four rookies on defense, but Johnathan Kovacevic, obtained on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, was the one least talked about after Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Kovacevic has developed into a quality defensive back. In his last game last year, he played 25:36, and more than 20 minutes in the previous three. He will begin the season as part of the second pairing with Kaiden Guhle, another colossus at 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds.
Speaking of Guhle, we knew the potential of this first pick, 16th overall in 2020, but we didn’t know he was capable of establishing himself so quickly in the NHL, at age 20, nor of being capable of amassing points at a rate of 33 per season without playing on a numerical advantage. With Arber Xhekaj at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, five of the Canadiens’ six defensemen are over 6-foot-1 and four are over 220 pounds.
Goalkeepers Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau constitute the enigma. Who will be the two starting goalkeepers in two or three years when the Canadian has reached cruising speed? Good question.
But when we look at the overall picture, in attack and defense, we understand why management insists on the expression “internal growth” and the future seems promising, provided we are a little patient, as the last year what.
Connor Bedard didn’t score four goals like Auston Matthews in his first NHL game, or score like Sidney Crosby in his big league debut.
But the 2023 first overall pick not only got an assist, but at 18 years old he was the best player on the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. And unlike Matthews and Crosby, he won his first game, against Crosby’s Penguins.
Bedard played 21:29, a high among Hawks forwards. He directed ten shots towards Tristan Jarry’s net, five of which were on target. The only downside is his ineffectiveness during faceoffs. These exceptional players cause excitement with each of their presence on the ice. The spectator has the impression that they will manage to pull off a coup at any moment. This was the case on Tuesday.
The young man seems to have inspired this relatively untalented troupe. And good old Corey Perry, part of a trio of veterans with Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno, made the two big plays in the third period.
Bedard and the Blackhawks will be in Montreal on Saturday for the local opener, after a stop in Boston on Thursday.
1- Guillaume Lefrançois, Simon-Olivier Lorange and Richard Labbé discuss the Canadian, position by position.
2- Simon-Olivier took advantage of his visit to Toronto to explore the soul of the Maple Leafs players at the dawn of the season opener.
3- The reaction of promoter Yvon Michel towards judge Benoit Roussel and the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux after the defeat of his boxer Kim Clavel by split decision is causing discussion. Jean-François Téotonio takes stock.