Canadiens Inconsistent, But Good Enough

If there is one foolproof indicator that expectations are different this year for the Montreal Canadiens, it’s the fans’ reaction to the team’s play. Despite currently being 2nd in the Atlantic Division with 40 points in 34 games (a huge 9 points more than at the same point last season), there is a sense of frustration amongst fans regarding the inconsistency of the team’s play, especially defensively.

While I understand these frustrations, I’m going to try to be the voice and reason here and remind everyone of a few important factors to explain the team’s current situation:

• Montreal remains the league’s youngest team with an average of 25.8 years. Not only that, but the few players that bring this average higher are, for the most part, veterans who are not currently performing in a way to help the young guys fight through any kind of adversity they’ll meet in a long 82-game season.
• While their best offensive players have remained *knock on wood* mostly healthy so far, they’ve had to manage without Kaiden Guhle for a while now, which forced some young defensemen into roles they, quite frankly, are either not suited or not ready for. Struble and Xhekaj each had their moments in a top 4 role replacing Guhle, but it’s more than obvious neither can currently handle such heavy minutes for more than a few games without committing too many mistakes. Injuries to Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook (who looked better than ever before getting injured), and Patrik Laine also didn’t help but didn’t seem to prevent the team from scoring enough goals to win games.
• The NHL’s parity is probably more obvious than ever when you consider a bad stretch of games can make you go from 1st in the division to outside of the playoffs in a very short time. The difference between the good teams and the bad ones is, in my opinion, smaller than people are willing to admit… well, except for Colorado, which seems to be in a class of their own at the top of the league with only two regular losses so far.

So yes, the Habs will most likely continue to look great at times, horrible other nights, and just fine on most days. In the grand scheme of things, this team is ahead of where most projected them when the rebuild started, and, in my opinion, even if they somehow missed the playoffs this season wouldn’t be the end of the world moving forward. They are doing just fine for now, but will need to keep improving to reach their goal.

How are the young guys doing?

Despite not being ideal and definitely not part of the plan when the season began, Montreal decided to call up some players from the Laval Rocket to shake things up, which allowed us to see where these players are in their development and their potential role in the near future with the Canadiens. Here’s my opinion on the latest callups:

Jacob Fowler: With Jakub Dobes facing challenges with consistency and Samuel Montembeault’s season being nothing short of a disaster so far, we got to see the one many consider as being the future franchise goaltender in Montreal in Jacob Fowler. It’s been nice to watch him in action over the past three games, and it’s obvious that he has a bright future, as his technique, lateral movement, and overall poise are impressive for a goaltender his age.

However, it’s also obvious Fowler will need more mileage in the AHL before being ready for full-time NHL duty. A return to Laval is most likely in the cards for him but I fully expect him to return to the team as a full-fledged member when Montembeault’s contract expires in 2027. Until then, let’s enjoy watching the young man grow and learn from his first experience in the NHL.

Adam Engstrom: As fun as it was to watch Fowler get his first win in the NHL, the player I was most interested in seeing how he would do was Engstrom. After looking nothing short of dominating in the AHL early on this season, I was curious to see how he would do once he got his chance. While his first few games were unsurprisingly underwhelming, as they are for most young defensemen, he seems to be improving after every game.

With Matheson coming back sooner than later and Guhle back on the ice, the team might have an interesting decision ahead of them as Engstrom seems to get better and better, while others like Struble and Xhekaj haven’t shown significant improvement in a while.

Owen Beck: After what many considered a lackluster training camp from Beck last September, I think Beck is showing exactly what you can hope for from him. He’s showing intensity, he’s reliable defensively, and if he can shake his streak of bad luck, should be able to chip in and score from time to time. I remain convinced Beck will end up being a full-time NHL player one day, most likely in a 4th line role. With Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson both needing new contracts after the 2026-2027 season, it’s quite easy to see Beck as a natural replacement for them.

Hopefully, we get to see Guhle and Matheson back in action soon, and we see Montreal try to distance itself further from the team chasing them in the standings. So far, this season has been exactly as advertised: Fun to watch with the future looking brighter than ever.