It is a cliché of hockey to say that the start of the season will be important. But after years spent without having to worry about it, this reality is fundamental in the development of the Canadian this season.
A good start to the season will be crucial in several aspects. First of all, in what he will reveal to the staff about the needs of the team.
With the exchange of the Carey Price contract and other decisions made during the summer, the Canadian finds himself with an advantageous financial cushion from which he could be tempted to take advantage of a good season.
CH is in a position of strength, and he knows it.
I think we can afford to be meticulous (in English: picky) Compared to the rest and what we need
agreed the vice-president of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton.
Meticulous.
Montreal Canadian players are addressed to the media during the traditional team golf tournament, which launches the training camp.
Photo : Radio-Canada
It is the luxury of a team that can wait before being sure of the next gesture to take. This year, the narrative framework surrounding the Canadian golf tournament may be to say that expectations are higher, and that players’ expectations meet more those of managers than in the past years, the fact remains that having the luxury of choosing and waiting reminds us that its moment is not yet entirely.
But then why is the start of the season so significant?
It is important with Dobson who arrives, with Bolduc who arrives, with some guys who took one more year, and also we want to see where Kirby (Dach) is, said Gorton. There are a lot of things we have to learn. How is Ivan (Demidov) …
So I think we need to take time to clarify this and to assess, and then we will be picky To determine what our next gesture will be.
The Canadian still has one or two possible shines in reserve if we take into account his choices at the draft, but especially his young players’ bank.
Hughes reiterated that he was ready to surpass for a player who would be able to help the team for years. Note whether this future acquisition would be another player in the age group than the young nucleus, or if it could be an older veteran, Hughes said that he would answer this question in mid-season.
It should be concluded that the Canadian will wait to have certain answers before determining if it’s really the right time to play his cards.
It is certain that Kirby Dach’s performances (which management now expects to see in the first match) will play a big role in the way Martin St-Louis can design his second trio. At the same time, if Ivan Demidov continues to impress his teammates and he is able to be the manufacturer of his trio from his recruit season, the urgency of adding a leading center may not be perceived in the same way.
The Canadian has time, money and ammunition. It’s up to him not to waste them for short -sighted decisions.
Avoid widening a hole
In terms of performance, the start of the season is also important, because the team cannot count on the fact that it will repeat its irresistible push at the end of last season to carve out a place in the playoffs. He had to survive performances in roller coaster, enjoy an excellent health training, and also see some of the best players on the team do immense steps for the CH manage to get out of the hole he had dug at the start of the calendar.
Martin St-Louis’ men have achieved their ends, on the last day of the regular season.
Captain of the Montreal Canadian, Nick Suzuki, during the annual team tournament on Monday
Photo : Radio-Canada / Charles Contant
However, teams like the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings will be on the Canadian’s kits. Its room for maneuver will not be larger.
We do not want to find ourselves again in such a situation. We saw what to do to get out of it, and it was difficult. A good start really allows you to position yourself well until the middle of the season is therefore something that you absolutely have to improve.
Last year, we really had misery about Christmas, added goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault. If we can start in the same way that we finished last season and be like that for 82 games, we will be in very good position at the end of the year.
This is why we have heard as much about Constance on the occasion of the golf tournament. A young team – which will be even younger, but whose nucleus will still be more experienced – sometimes struggles to sail with the ups and downs. If the tricolor wants to continue his ascending trajectory, he will not only have to make sure that his floor performance is better than last year, but he will also have to learn to keep his cool at times when it goes tighter.
The most important thing is that we know that there will be a moment in the year that will be a little more difficult than what we would like, said defender Mike Matheson. So, it is to be sure, when it happens, that we do not panic, that we keep our confidence and that we continue to improve with each match.
Mike Matheson at the Canadiens Golf Tournament, in Laval-sur-le-Lac on Monday.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Charles Contant
Happy start for Milan
On an individual level, big beginnings of the season may make the difference between a presence at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games and two weeks off in the middle of the season.
Suzuki preferred to say that he did not care too much about this question, and that he was going to leave his work with the Canadian to decide his fate. Montembeault went in the same direction, but had the candor to admit that a big start to the season is essential if he wants to be one of the three guards chosen by team Canada.
Of course I have it behind my head, but what is important now is the start of the season for me and for the team, he said. If I don’t have a good start to the season, I can forget that the Olympics. So that’s what I’m going to focus on, for me and for the team.
Lane Hutson, defender of the Montreal Canadiens, was not invited to the American Hockey Team Camp
Photo: Montreal Canadians
His teammate Jakub Dobes is in a similar position within the Czech team. And that’s not to mention Cole Caufield, Dobson and Patrik Laine, all players who can expect a position within the national team, but for whom nothing is acquired.
These personal motivations cannot supplant the team’s ambitions, but they can be used as additional motivation elements.
In short
* Mike Matheson Began the last year of his contract and the arrival of Noah Dobson moves him more from the attacking mandate he filled in his first seasons in Montreal. What does the future have in store for him? The Quebecer did not comment on the few talks that took place earlier this summer between his agent and the Canadian, but it is clear that he would like to remain a CHO carrier for a long time. My goal is to be here as long as possible and help this team go where you want to be, Matheson said. If it becomes the last year, or something like that, it will never change: this is where I want to be.
* The owner Geoff Molson looks like a man ready to take all the time that it takes to structure the next TV contract for the Canadiens. What will look like his next agreement with French -speaking televisionrs? Molson remained stingy with details, but he kept the door open to a digital platform enters the dance and broadcasts certain matches. The Canadiens’ control shareholder, faced with the great success of the 4 nations confrontation, also confirmed that he intended to submit the Montreal candidacy to obtain the 2028 World Cup. As for possible matches in Paris, the project did not advance, he admitted.
* Kent Hughes had accustomed us to release a rabbit from his hat during the second half of the summer, whether it was the acquisition of wool, that of Sean Monahan, or the small waltz around Jeff Petry’s contract. Admittedly, getting rid of the last year of the Price contract is not commonplace, but the CEO was surprised to see how difficult it was to find dance partners. It is by far the calmest summer (through the league) since I have been here, admitted Hughes. I was going to play golf and I felt the need after making calls just not to feel bad … and to make sure that I was not the only one to live that.
