Reasons to watch the Montreal Canadiens in 2023-24

The Montreal Canadiens have had an… interesting past three years, to say the least. From representing the “Western” Conference, of all things, in the Stanley Cup final in 2021, to finishing at the bottom the following year, it’s been a wild ride for the league’s oldest fanbase. The 2022-23 season was another difficult one, but it landed them an early draft pick for the second season in a row.

This year? Expect more of the same. And that’s precisely how it should be. Montreal’s first game against Toronto was a chaotic mess, and that’s exactly what you should expect this year.

When you’re a fan of a bottom-feeder, you need to find something – anything – to keep you from going utterly insane. If you’re willing to subject yourself to significant losses all season long, you’re a brave trooper. But for many teams, the pain is short-lived (sorry, Buffalo. But it’ll get better very, very soon). Granted, Montreal hasn’t lifted the Stanley Cup in 30 years. But it feels like this team – armed with one of the best prospect pools in the game – is destined for better things sooner rather than later.

These reasons alone keep you interested in the Habs in 2023-24:

Cole Caufield’s pursuit of 50 goals

No matter whom you talk to, just about everyone believes Caufield can hit the 50-goal mark this year. That would be one heck of a step for a young forward with just 53 goals to his credit, but it’s not too crazy the more you think about it. He was on pace for just under 50 in a full season last year, only to get injured after 46 games. He’s a point-per-game player under the guidance of coach Martin St. Louis – a former small, but skilled goal-scorer himself.

With a shot release like Caufield’s, and the awareness to put himself in those scoring positions, it’s not a question of if he’ll hit 50 goals. It’s when. Realistically, 50 this year will be an arduous task given the team’s bound to finish in the bottom five again. But I’d hate to be the one counting Caufield out.

The Wisconsin Badger alum showed this scoring ability early, setting the single-season goals record with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2018-19. Since then, he has had his ups and downs, but he really seemed to look comfortable before his injury last year. With Nick Suzuki as his setup man, and, hopefully, a full year of Sean Monahan, 50 could be achievable as the Canadiens utilize Caufield in every scoring scenario possible. It’s not like he has much competition on the left side, with all due respect to Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Brendan Gallagher and Tanner Pearson.

Caufield already has one. So let the fun begin.

Juraj Slafkovsky’s first full season (hopefully)

So much was made about Montreal’s decision to draft Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in 2022 over the likes of Shane Wright, Logan Cooley, Simon Nemec, and David Jiricek. While it’s ridiculous to judge a team too harshly in the short term for drafting a player. But when most seemed to agree Slafkovsky wasn’t ready, and then he struggled out of the gate, bounced around the lineup, and missed the second half due to injury, the optics weren’t great, either.

The 6-foot-4, 238-pound winger was thrust into a big role in one of the biggest hockey franchises in the world – in a completely foreign environment – and struggled.

Not ideal. And neither was the season-ending lower-body injury in January.

Slafkovsky had his moments during the preseason, recording three points in five games while getting more comfortable getting back into game-playing shape. Slafkovsky seems poised for the second line beside Kirby Dach, who stood out in a big way in his first year in red, white, and blue.

If Slafkovsky can catch on to Dach’s coattails, we’ll already see a bigger impact from Slafkovsky, who struggled to get significant, high-quality opportunities. But Slafkovsky needs to do a better job seizing the opportunity. The effort needs to be there every night. He’s got to start finishing. The shift-to-shift engagement needs to be evident.

With a goal in the first period and a big hand in making the fourth one happen in the season opener on Wednesday, Slafkovsky is off to a spicy start with his new buddies. Based on that effort alone, don’t expect that trio to be split up any time soon.

A taste of the future – now

With 12 players 24 and under on the opening night roster, the Canadiens have one of the youngest teams in the NHL. That includes three 21-year-old defenders, Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron, as well as 22-year-old forwards Caufield, Dach and Alex Newhook. Suzuki is a grizzled veteran at this point at 24.

Situations like those are typical for teams in a rebuild. As the Buffalo Sabres look poised to make a playoff run this year, they’re still boasting one of the youngest cores around.

The Canadiens don’t have a rookie in the lineup this year, but they’ve got a handful of sophomores – like Guhle and Xhekaj – looking to improve. They’ve also got another year of Dach, who revived his career in a big way in a top-six role in Montreal last year. There’s also Newhook, who has a chance to flourish in Quebec after getting buried in Colorado the past few years. The full season debuts of Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylonen will be fun to watch, too.

And the good news? Another high draft pick in the cards. All the same flaws from a year – except, hopefully, significant health issues – are still prevalent. The 2024 NHL Draft looks deep from the get-go, even without a Connor Bedard-esque prospect. Macklin Celebrini, Cole Eiserman, Ivan Demidov, Berkly Catton and Konsta Helenius are among the forwards projected to go early, with an abundance of defensemen also looking to make their mark.

It’s a good year to be bad again.