Despite a four-game win streak and the momentum building for the Montréal Canadiens, questions are looming about what type of team the Habs truly are.
Just over two weeks have passed since the Canadiens cut head coach Dominique Ducharme loose after an abysmal start and equally abysmal continuation of the team’s season.
Things couldn’t have been going any worse for Ducharme. The team conceded 33 goals in his last five games as coach – a franchise record. It lost seven straight, including two in overtime, and had lost 13 of its last 14 games with Ducharme behind the bench, including four OT losses.
Needless to say, Ducharme had it coming.
Now the Canadiens find themselves with a four-game win streak, outscoring their opponents 15-6 over those games. Quite the turnaround in only two weeks.
It’s obvious that DD was unable to coach the team and that his system, or lack thereof, simply wasn’t working anymore. The way he ruined Cole Caufield’s chance at a Calder Trophy will never be forgiven.
Now with the NHL’s trade deadline less than a month away, it’s unlikely that the team will divert its plan of offloading as many bad contracts and “bad players” as possible between now and March 21, 2022.
However, as the young guns like Caufield and Nick Suzuki continue to flourish under Marty St. Louis, and with players like Jeff Petry shedding his depressing ‘Ducharme’ skin, just what kind of team are the Montréal Canadiens?
They’re still a bad team.
There are still too many bad contracts and too much dead weight within their lineup to be considered anything but a bad team.
In fact, even after trading players like Petry, Brendan ‘Have Fun With My Awful Contract’ Gallagher, Ben Chiarot, and others, the Montréal Canadiens are sure to find themselves as one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League this season.
While the four-game win streak is great to see and possibly an indication that the players are fully buying into St. Louis’ system, the damage has already been done.
Tanking isn’t something any professional sports team in any league likes to think about, let alone talk about. But perhaps a gentle reminder of the team’s long-term goals might be appreciated.
The Canadiens are presumably still looking at drafting high and collecting as many first-round picks, or at the very least, top three-round picks as they can. To end the season in a position that would allow them to do that, they might need to rack up a few more losing streaks despite the momentum the team is currently riding right now.
Again, this isn’t a suggestion that anyone is thinking of tanking.
I’m merely saying that remaining successful on the ice amidst a lost season will mean nothing when that same team is drafting mediocrity again after this year.
Even if the Canadiens can’t get a grip on their true team identity this season, they can’t forget their long-term goals and needs. In order to break through the mediocrity and act like a winner, it’s imperative that the team drafts high, sheds its dead weight and looks at turning a new leaf in time for the start of next season.
While the winning streaks and momentum building is great, putting those short-term goals ahead of future prospects can only make for another season of problems in Montréal.
Andrew Stuetz