Montreal officially eliminated from playoff contention
After riding Carey Price like a rented mule all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, reality hit the Montreal Canadiens like a Mike Tyson haymaker this year. Injuries to Shea Weber and Carey Price to start the season derailed them before they could even get out of the gate. The Habs even sent a first and third round pick to Arizona before the season started to acquire centreman Christian Dvorak. Clearly Marc Bergevin thought that even without Price and Weber, the Habs were still contenders. I'm not sure I've seen a GM be that wrong since the Leafs swapped Tuukka Rask for Andrew Raycroft.
What do the Montreal Canadiens and the Titanic have in common? They're both at the bottom of the Atlantic. With just 44 points on the season so far, the Habs are tied with Arizona in the Shane Wright sweepstakes. The difference is, Arizona is bad on purpose. Montreal is not only over the salary cap for this season, they're over it for next season as well. Perhaps that's why Marc Bergevin was fired after a 6-15-2 start. Dom Ducharme entered the season with a Stanley Cup Finals appearance under his belt, he only lasted until February 9th before he was given his walking papers, less than one year into his 3-year, $1.75 million per season contract.
As a Leafs fan, I have to say I'm feeling some schadenfreude in the news that, with the Capitals' win over the Buffalo Sabres Friday night, the Habs are officially mathematically eliminated from the 2022 NHL playoffs. They are the first to be eliminated this season. Throw all the hate my way you like in the comments. "It was 3-1" will now be answered by "eliminated on 3/25." Remember that one for Saturday night when the Leafs roll into the Bell Centre.
Of course, recently, the Habs haven't been as bad as they were early in the season, Martin St Louis has a 9-7-3 record since taking over as bench boss. That's at least respectable. The best news is that Cole Caulfield has improved massively under St. Louis' tutelage. No surprise there, as St. Louis knows a thing or two about being an undersized star in the NHL. Its also good to see Carey Price on the ice again after everything he's been through. Hate the Habs all you want, Carey Price deserves our respect as a player and as a person and we wish him all the best. Unless he's playing against our beloved Leafs of course.
| POLL | ||
MARS 26 | 163 ANSWERS Montreal officially eliminated from playoff contention Will the Habs go scorched earth rebuild this summer? | ||
| Yes | 98 | 60.1 % |
| No | 65 | 39.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
