powered by:
valneva canada inc.
what the puck: some fans wish habs had done more to improve team
"we didn't get better and the other teams are getting better. it's going to be tough," hardcore fan thomas vaillant says.
aug 9 2024
4 minute read
we apologize, but this video has failed to load.
try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
most media pundits are giving canadiens general manager kent hughes an a grade for his work this summer, even though hughes didn’t make any major moves. and many of the team’s supporters agree that hughes in on the right track with his slow-but-sure rebuild.
but some fans, like hardcore habs follower thomas vaillant, are disappointed the montreal gm didn’t do more during the off-season and i can understand his impatience. the brutal reality is the canadiens are in what most consider to be the toughest division in the national hockey league — the atlantic — and a realistic bet is that our beloved habs will probably once again finish dead last in the division.
“we didn’t get better and the other teams are getting better,” said vaillant, who was having a beer with his buddies on the outdoor terrasse of mclean’s pub this week. “it’s going to be tough. we have the same players. there were no additions that can help us right now.”
vaillant thinks hughes should have tried to get someone this summer, either by trade or free agency. he mentions he would have loved to see jonathan marchessault in a canadiens uniform. in fact, hughes did try to snare marchessault, the productive former vegas knights winger who was signed by the nashville predators.
advertisement
advertisement
the québécois star, who won the conn smythe trophy in 2023, inked a five-year, $27.5-million deal with the preds and word was that hughes simply didn’t want to go beyond a three-year pact.
“so we didn’t get better and i don’t trust the goalies,” said hardcore fan vaillant. “samuel montembeault is not carey price. the team still has a long way before they make the playoffs.”
vaillant and i also agreed that the team still has to contend with a number of the terrible contracts with aging, less-productive players signed by former gm marc bergevin — notably brendan gallagher, christian dvorak and josh anderson.
but other fans are perfectly ok with the habs’ lack of splashy deals this summer. they are happy to see that the gm signed long-term deals with juraj slafkovsky and kaiden guhle , a two-year pact with rugged defenceman arber xhekaj and managed to nab flashy young russian winger ivan demidov and promising french-speaking centre michael hage in the draft .
“i’m very happy with what was done this summer,” said juan duran. “i’ve followed the habs for ages and it’s been a long time since it’s been well managed like this. we’re rebuilding from the ground up. they’ve made a lot of good picks and i think the future looks bright. some people were hoping they’d sign a big star this summer but i think the team has a bunch of future stars already. maybe next summer will be the time to sign a star player. we have a very good young defence, good forwards that are already developing well.”
advertisement
advertisement
john and lynne west, a couple from owen sound, ont., who were relaxing over drinks by the window of the pub, are habs fans. john, who’s originally from toronto, grew up as a leafs fan but he ditched his hometown team in favour of montreal when his favourite player frank mahovlich was traded from toronto to the detroit red wings in 1968. mahovlich was then later traded to the canadiens, winning two cups with the ch. the wests are also big nick suzuki fans, mostly because the canadiens captain played for four seasons with the owen sound attack in the ontario hockey league. the wests are attack season-ticket holders.
john west is upbeat about the canadiens, but cautioned it’s going to take a long time to become a contender. he talked of how competitive so many other teams are … and how tough.
“montreal might be missing a bit of grit,” west said. “you have to protect your players. they always protected wayne gretzky.”
antoine bériault said he’d give hughes a grade of 80 per cent for his work this summer.
“it was ok, we had a good draft, but no huge moves,” bériault said.
the consensus that day at the pub was mostly upbeat with the majority of fans believing the team is on the right track. but if vaillant turns out to be right that the team really hasn’t improved and they end up finishing near the bottom of the standings this coming season, the feeling is there will be a lot more grumbling.
though there weren’t any major new players signed this summer, the team could get a bounce from the arrival of a number of promising prospects already in the organization, notably logan mailloux and especially lane hutson , who looked positively brilliant in the two games he played at the end of the season.
advertisement
advertisement
it would also be huge if kirby dach manages to stay healthy . he looked amazing in his first game last season before going down with a season-ending injury in game 2 .
and do all the top players already here — like suzuki, slafkovsky and cole caufield — improve? many naturally assume they will, but there are no guarantees. maybe the biggest wild card is goaltending. vaillant said he doesn’t trust montembeault and this will be a big test for monty given it’s going to be his first season starting as the uncontested no. 1 netminder here.
if he’s great, maybe they do make it out of the atlantic basement. if not, it could be another lottery-pick year.
share story
