Habs looking Leafish tonight. Soon be doing the handshake line. They played like true pretenders. Too many smurfy players to get the job done. It shows that brawn and discipline continues to rule the NHL playoffs.
Montreal got outplayed in every series but managed to get lucky when it mattered. Game 7 vs. Tampa Bay, 2 goals on 9 shots, both of them basically miracle goals that 99/100 don’t go in. Against Buffalo, again, they played vs. two goalies because Buffalo has two back-ups and both shat the bed at one point or another. Montreal survived on a lot of PP goals and luck. Against Carolina, they stole a win because the Hurricanes had been off for almost two weeks waiting for an opponent. Then basically got swept after that in every metric, barely able to put together 20 shots in most games.
All that being said, Montreal was the youngest team in the playoffs and finished with 106 points. So long as management is diligent, they will only get better from here as their prospects continue to develop and their young roster players also start to peak. I highly doubt they would be able to reel in a UFA like McDavid in two years time but if the Habs swing a deal for more strength up the middle and figure out their goaltending situation, Montreal will be a serious contender within the next 5 years.
Montreal’s rebuild wasn’t perfect but the Leafs could learn a lot from them. Montreal traded Pacioretty for Suzuki. Then, from there, tanked a few times, drafted well and now are reaping the benefits from it. If the Leafs can do the same with Matthews + Nylander, they could be exactly where Montreal is right now but a lot better off considering the number of individual assets they have to sell. It’s a matter of having the right people making the trades (Chayka sucks at trades so he ain’t that guy) and the right people at the draft table (Chayka’s draft record is also trash so he ain’t that guy either).