History Says Canadiens Can Go From Fifth-Last to Playoffs in 2024-25 – Hockey Writers – Canadiens History

A simple vision of a healthy Montreal Canadiens team could go from the bottom five in 2023-24 to him. easily competing for a 2025 playoff spot is far from universally accepted. Tell that to a non-Habs fan and you might get some backlash, despite the undeniable fact that the team is definitely on the rise, loaded with young talent and has improved the past few seasons by 55, 68 and 76 points.

If you measure that two-year improvement, the Canadiens are expected to climb 11 points in the ranking to 87, while the Washington Capitals made the 2024 postseason with 91. The Florida Panthers reached the playoffs as the eighth seed last season with a 92. So, by any reasonable assessment, a difference of about two wins averages out to be “in the mix” at the end of the regular season.

However, counter-arguments fly from each side: There are too many teams above them (assuming that not all of those teams will improve and that some playoff teams will inevitably fall). They don't have a top-quality goaltender (it negates how Samuel Montembeault and Cayden have performed adequately based on stats like goals saved above expectations). They give up too many chances (dismissing how the defense consists of a young talent that is constantly gaining more experience, which is the core of every argument and the situation that the whole team finds itself in).

It's like facing an argument heading into 2023-24 when, before, Juraj Slafkovsky finally develops into a top-six forward, just because the nature of a difficult rookie season is what everyone knows. It's crazy and narrow-minded and, look again, the 2022 primary election came up with a 50-point effort, to the shock of all the bad Nancys who should know better.

Slafkovsky sums up the conundrum facing the Canadiens' critics well. Hope failed to materialize until they took the next step in their development. A relegation team is only a team from the bottom of the fifth until it isn't, especially a young team with a lot of young players ready to take the next steps. theirs development.

Resistance runs counter to numbers, logic and, in fact, history. Truth be told, the Canadiens themselves finished third from last in 2012, only to win the Northeast Division the following season. The detractors simply argued in response that they were upset in Round 1 of those play-offs. It's understandable.

However, ignoring the fact that the Canadiens' history is littered with examples of dramatic single-season turnarounds, so is NHL history. A good example is the 2012-13 season, when the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders also made the playoffs, despite finishing ahead of the Canadiens in 2011-12.

Related: Canadiens' Highest Single-Season Turnover in Team History

Obviously that shortened lockout period is just different, they might argue. Spoiler: They wouldn't have done their homework by arguing so much… and they're not. From that one season (and excluding the pandemic-affected 2019-21 seasons) here are 12 (12!) instances of the same repeating “occurrence” (apparently) since then, where five teams started again in just one year. to make the playoffs:

2023: Seattle Kraken, New Jersey Devils

Apparently, neither the Seattle Kraken nor the New Jersey Devils took advantage of the improvements they made to make the playoffs in 2023 to make it back in 2024. In the case of the Devil, you have to believe that the deviation is based on their lack of honesty. goaltending, which they hope to improve with the trade of Jacob Markstrom. However, the fact remains that both were bottom five teams in 2021-22. Both still managed to reach the postseason in 2022-23.

2018: Devils, Colorado Avalanche

The Devils first appeared on this list (in chronological order) as a direct result of Taylor Hall's Hart Memorial Trophy season. Considering their first-round exit and how they hadn't made the playoffs since appearing in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals and not again until 2023, as shown above, there's a case for 2017-18 to have been a mistake.

As for the Colorado Avalanche, 2016-17 was their infamous 48-point season as one of the worst teams in the cap era. They didn't just make the playoffs in the postseason, though five seasons later won the Stanley Cup, giving Canadiens fans everywhere hope following their team's final season in 2021-22. With the power of first-round draft picks like Cale Makar (2017), Mikko Rantanen (2015), Nathan MacKinnon (2013) and Gabriel Landeskog (2011), the Avs serve as a model of success, from end to end. in short order.

2017: Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs

In the interest of full disclosure, the Calgary Flames made another appearance on this list in 2015. They clearly missed the playoffs in 2016 and again in 2018, making a number of false starts and stalling as a franchise, a trend that has all of its goals. the goals continued to this day, as they alternated between disappointments and success stories.

Admittedly, that is an argument against the premise of this piece. In hindsight, the Canadiens should also be back in the playoffs next season, what's the point if they can't sustain that level of success? Ironically, however, the fact that four different teams that finished as the bottom five last season make up this entry shows that there is something to this idea: A dramatic turnaround in one season is possible. Whether they are sustainable or not is another matter entirely.

In fact, for the Canadiens' purposes, the Maple Leafs are proving rebuilding with young talent is the best way to do that. Rookies Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander all contributed in the team's first season since 2012-13. The Leafs haven't missed since (even if they struggled to get as far as Round 2 in the process).

2015: Flames, New York Islanders

For the Islanders, their 2015 playoff berth was a direct result of Maple Leaf John Tavares' near Art Ross Trophy-winning 86-point campaign. Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn stole the show with 87 points, ending his season in spectacular style.

Tavares, however, was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the award that Canadiens goaltender Cary Price eventually captured. Ironically, Tavares scored the highest points per game pace last season in 2013-14 (66 points in 59 games). He was injured during the 2014 Winter Olympics and missed the entire season as a result.

However, even when healthy, Tavares couldn't put a team that wasn't ready to compete on his shoulders, as evidenced by then-general manager Garth Snow's early do-it-all move, acquiring Thomas Vanek. Ice eventually re-traded him for pennies on the dollar to the Canadiens that 2013-14 season.

Before the Olympics and the Tavares injury, the Islanders were sitting in the same spot as they were to end the season. Interestingly, Vanek's early season acquisition coincided with a slump from which they were unable to recover. However, 2014-15 marked something of a resurgence for the franchise, despite the first round loss. They made the playoffs again in 2016, winning their first series since 1993.

2014: Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning

This marked Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper's first full season behind the bench, after replacing Guy Boucher in 2013. Thus, after two consecutive non-playoff seasons, the Lightning turned the corner in 2013-14, despite a first-round bye. swept into the hands of the Canadians.

The Lightning have since gone on to make the playoffs in 10 of Cooper's 11 full seasons, winning two championships in that span. If there is another big difference that should be mentioned between the two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14), it is the change of guards, as the Lightning bought the contract of Vincent Lecavalier who was 33 years old at the time in the summer.

Outside of the 2013–14 playoff final, they also traded current Canadian coach Martin St. Louis midseason to the New York Rangers (although they have another full season under contract). In the process, they successfully handed the keys to the car to a new generation led by Steven Stamkos, who literally returned from a months-long injury and was named captain shortly after St. Louis with help, along with Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat. and Tyler Johnson.

It is worth noting that the Lightning lost for the second time in a row in the first round these past playoffs. Therefore, they may be behind their impressive nine-decade run as a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference (and the rest of the league), which serves as a reminder of the cycle of professional sports. Once they're out, the other team will be on the upswing, at their expense. It's definitely not the Canadiens, but it's possible.